When sales targets are missed, most leaders look at the pipeline, process, or personnel. But what if the real issue is a lack of psychological safety? In this episode of Coach to Scale, host Matt Benelli sits down with John Walston, author, entrepreneur, and founder of the Keep On Movement, to explore how vulnerability, empathy, and consistency in leadership can transform sales outcomes. Walston shares how personal adversity reshaped his leadership style, making him a more effective coach and culture builder.
This episode is a must-listen for CROs, VPs of Sales, and frontline managers navigating burnout, underperformance, or high turnover. You’ll walk away with tactical ways to shift from transactional management to human-centered leadership, without sacrificing accountability. Topics include managing anxiety in high-pressure environments, turning 1:1s into developmental moments, and why “get over it” is the fastest way to lose trust and performance. If you lead teams, this conversation will challenge how you measure success and show how culture is a quota strategy.
Lessons from John Walston on Why Compassionate Leadership Drives Consistent Revenue
Sales leaders are trained to inspect numbers. We forecast. We model. We stack-rank. And when things go off track, we’re taught to look at productivity levers more pipeline, more activity, more pressure.
But what if the underperformance isn’t a process issue? What if your frontline managers and reps aren’t burned out because they’re soft, but because we’ve conditioned them to suppress, hide, or ignore everything except the number?
That’s the conversation I had with John Walston, entrepreneur, author of Keep On Moving, and founder of the Keep On Movement, on the latest episode of the Coach to Scale podcast. John’s story is raw. He went from business success to a personal mental health collapse, and then fought his way back to rebuild not only his life, but his leadership philosophy. The result? A framework that’s just as relevant to CROs as it is to anyone struggling to lead in today’s pressure-filled environment.
Here’s what revenue leaders need to take from this episode and why it matters more than most sales methodologies you’ve read this year.
1. Anxiety isn’t rare and it’s killing your performance culture
We all know sales is high-pressure. But John said something that stuck with me: “Negative thinking always works. It never fails.” The brain latches onto fear faster than confidence. And when FLMs or reps don’t feel psychologically safe, they stop experimenting, they stop learning, and they default to survival mode.
What does that mean for your team? No coachability. No growth. No discretionary effort. If your managers are still leading with “suck it up” energy, you’re going to see it in missed targets and attrition. Not because your people aren’t tough, but because they’re disengaged and exhausted.
2. “No Asshole Policy” isn’t a gimmick, it’s a performance lever
John’s company doesn’t just talk culture; they operationalize it. When he says “no asshole policy,” he means no tolerance for emotional disconnection from leadership. He shared that once he made empathy and connection a priority, his team operated better than they ever had. More clarity, more stability, and yes, more results.
CROs often look for efficiency. But the real unlock is effectiveness. And effectiveness comes from how your managers lead, not just what they inspect.
3. 1:1s are either coaching moments or wasted time
This episode reminded me how often companies treat 1:1s as pipeline check-ins. That’s not coaching, it’s status reporting. John calls for more intentional conversations. Ask how the rep is doing. Know what their kid had going on last weekend. Then hold them accountable to their growth goals because you’re invested, not in spite of it.
This is where CoachEm comes in. We built it to remove the guesswork and give managers a coaching framework based on real data so your FLMs stop playing “super rep” and start developing people. When 1:1s shift from transactional to transformational, your numbers follow.
4. Movement matters literally
One of the most unexpected insights from the conversation was how physical activity connects to leadership. John shared that exercise saved his life and cited the science to back it up. Studies show movement matches or outperforms medication for many dealing with depression and anxiety. And it’s not about running marathons. It’s about momentum.
That lesson applies to your team. When things get hard, the worst thing we can do is sit still. Get moving. Forward progress builds belief. It’s true in your body and your business.
5. You don’t need to be happy to be positive
This one hit hard. We often mistake “positive culture” for forced enthusiasm. That’s not it. Positive leadership isn’t about ignoring pain; it’s about showing up with hope anyway. It’s doing the hard thing with optimism, not because it’s easy but because it’s worth it.
The reps on your team don’t need motivational posters. They need leaders who are honest, consistent, and show up for them with purpose.
6. Small moments change trajectories
John tells a story about a man on a bridge hoping just one person would look at him and say, “Don’t do it.” It never happened, and he jumped. He survived and now speaks around the world.
What does that have to do with sales? Everything. Your reps are carrying more than you see. One meaningful moment from a manager, an encouraging word, a coaching plan, or a show of belief might be what turns around their quarter, their confidence, or their career.
You Don’t Have a Coaching Problem. You Have a Leadership Opportunity.
You don’t fix underperformance by doubling down on dashboards. You fix it by building a culture where coaching is consistent, empathy is real, and expectations stay high but human. That’s what John Walston reminded us of.
And it’s why we built CoachEm.
If you’re tired of watching your best people leave, your average reps stall, and your managers spin their wheels in status updates, it’s time to rethink your approach. Start with this episode.
🎧 Listen now: How Compassionate Leadership Unlocks Consistent Sales Performance
Because if you want to keep them, you’ve got to coach them.
