Enterprise Sales Leader | Business & Sales Performance Coach | Ultramarathoner | mikegoncalves.com

20+ years of experience in consultative sales and client development within the leadership development and coaching space. Throughout my career, I’ve partnered with senior leaders, HR, and L&amp;D teams to help organizations drive real performance through human-centered growth.I currently serve as Director of Client Development at Activate 180, where I work with organizations to design coaching experiences that deliver meaningful, measurable change. I’m passionate about aligning coaching to real business outcomes and believe that while AI can support development, leadership growth is fundamentally human.If you’re focused on developing leaders—not just skills—and want coaching that actually sticks, we’re likely aligned. Let's connect!

Michael Goncalves

Ben Fanning

Your podcast should be your best-performing sales and branding asset. 📈 🎙️

...With a top 2% globally ranked show

...28,000+ engaged LinkedIn followers

....and the 2025 Gold Stevie Award for Best Business Podcast...

...we help B2B companies accelerate growth by building podcasts that actually drive revenue.

We’ve hosted over 600 C-level leaders from iconic brands like:

Honeywell, HP, Lenovo, Intel, IBM, Dunkin’, Rackspace, ESPN, Kraft Heinz, Lockheed Martin, Volkswagen, Kenneth Cole, Milwaukee Bucks, Ricoh, Total Wine, USA Fencing, MetLife, G2, Tetris, and L'Oréal.

And we’ve helped companies turn their shows into powerful growth engines by:

✅ Generating enterprise-level sales opportunities with every episode.

✅ Attracting high-value B2B decision-makers.

✅ Building stronger, stickier relationships with customers and partners.

✅ Creating content that scales across marketing, sales, and internal comms.

✅ Fast-tracking brand authority and access to the C-suite.

One client generated $13.5M in sales from just 3 episodes.

This isn’t about vanity metrics — it’s about creating a branded asset that drives pipeline, relationships, and revenue.

If that’s the kind of strategy you and your team could benefit from, message me here on LinkedIn and let’s schedule a quick 15-minute call.

Leadership Columnist

My fresh approach helps senior leaders get the most out of their workforce, reducing the catastrophic turnover and increasing employee engagement.

Don't fire another employee until you've read this column.

That first all-hands.

Patrick Dennis, CEO of Avaya, walked in expecting nerves and optimism.

Instead, one question he was asked changed the room.
It wasn’t dramatic or confrontational.
But it was revealing.

It showed to him that the organization wasn’t aligned on reality.
And misalignment at that level doesn’t stay neutral. It compounds.

I’ve seen this pattern more times than I can count.
Leaders hear a question and assume pushback.
But sometimes the question asked IS THE DATA.

Sometimes the raised hand is the WARNING LIGHT.

What inspired me most in our conversation was how Patrick responded.
No corporate speak or protecting people from the numbers.

You'll hear in our conversation how he chose to communicate with clarity,  knowing it would cost comfort.

That decision shifted everything and ultimately made HUGE results possible.
It shifted the organization's trajectory.

So, when your team asks the uncomfortable question,
how often do you treat it as resistance or as information?

I Interview World‑Class CEOs | Honeywell, Dunkin’ & ESPN Featured | Host of Top 2% Spotify/Apple Podcast | 2025 Gold Stevie “Best Business Podcast” Winner

What Only Hard Seasons Teach

Matt Zilli, CEO of Planview, told me the hardest years of leading a company through billion-dollar growth (including restructures, tough people decisions, and uncertainty) became the most valuable leadership training of his career.

That really resonated for me.

Some of the most uncomfortable stretches building my podcasts and business were the exact moments I wondered if I should pivot, slow down, or walk away. 

The audience wasn’t growing yet. 
The results weren’t obvious. The path felt uncertain.

Ever had that kind of "uncomfortable stretch"?

Those seasons forced me to get clearer, tougher, and more patient as a leader.

Matt called it in our conversation “SCAR TISSUE"...the kind you only earn by staying in the work when it’s not fun, not fast, and not guaranteed.

Wins build confidence. 
Hard seasons build leaders.

Looking back, the seasons I wanted to escape were often the ones doing the most to shape how I lead today.

👉 Do you think we leave the hard season too early or make a mistake by avoiding it all together?

Leaders Are Built in the Blur.

Jed Ayres, CEO of ControlUp, told me something many leaders will never admit:

Clarity usually comes after you move, not before.

If you’re waiting for the perfect signal…
you’re already late.

That “responsible” decision you’re about to make?
It might be the very thing preventing your momentum.

In our conversation, Jed breaks down:

- The decision where speed beat safety...and how that mindset helped drive 600% revenue growth in three years and a path to a $1B valuation, even when visibility wasn’t perfect.

- What each leap in his career demanded...and how those repeated jumps trained him to lead before he felt fully ready. 

- Why six Ironmans reshaped how he handles pressure, and how that endurance mindset shows up when the data is noisy and the stakes are high.

There’s a mental shift required when the finish line disappears.

When the path gets blurry, that’s not a warning sign.
It’s the PROVING ground.

👉 Consider...where are you leading through the blur…and where are you blaming it?

Alignment isn’t a feeling; It’s a shared understanding.

Patrick Dennis, CEO of Avaya, realized in his first all-hands that something subtle was off. 

Just a question that was asked revealed the team wasn’t starting from the same place.

And when people aren’t starting from the same place, even the best strategy won't matter much.

I’ve seen this pattern more times than I can count.

Leaders cast vision....
...They set direction.
... They outline the goal.

But they skip one critical step:

Making sure everyone AGREES on where they are actually starting from.
(and check back regularly)

Because if the starting point isn’t clear, the destination doesn’t matter.

Dennis shares his powerful playbook for leading into the future.
And it shows us all how to  define it clearly, repeatedly, and without spin.

So here’s the question:
👉 If you asked five people on your team where you are, would you get one answer or five?

Olympics Proved Podcast Power

NBC just reported the highest Winter Olympics audience in 12 years.

It wasn’t just hockey or figure skating.

Viewership surged for sports most Americans can’t explain the rules to:

biathlon
Nordic combined
speed skating
even curling 

If you watched these a lot longer than you thought you would (like I did) then you know…

…NBC leaned massively into the human stories behind them. 

When audiences care about the person, they’ll watch anything.

In an AI-saturated world, people aren’t craving more content.

They’re craving real stories, real people, and real stakes.

If 23.5 million people will show up for narrative-driven storytelling at that scale, companies that aren’t building their own leadership platforms (aka podcasts) are missing an incredible opportunity.

That’s what we do.

The microphone is no longer optional.

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The hard part is the whole the point?

When I asked Matt Zilli, CEO of Planview, about his best stretch of leading billion-dollar growth, he didn’t mention wins...

He talked about the uncertainty. The tough calls. The seasons that made him question himself.

That helped me recognize how those stretches in my own career became the ones that shaped how I live and lead today most.

Still sitting with this question...

👉 How often are we (and our teams) trying to skip the very scars that build us?

Most leaders say they want transformation.

Jed Ayres, CEO of ControlUp, wanted it enough to bet the company.

It wasn’t obvious, safe, or clear.

But the results speak for themselves....
600% revenue growth in three years.
and a $1B valuation.

Jed breaks down:
- What the “safe” decision almost cost him.
- The step he always taks to "Lead in the Blur".
- And what it takes to move an organization when everything’s on the line.

It's a story of courage and perseverance.

👉 What’s your threshold for clarity before you act?

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The Battle

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