The Ambitious Coach Lab

Cam Lawson
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Business

The Ambitious Coach Lab is a practical, human-centered podcast for business coaches who want to grow and scale a meaningful, sustainable practice. Through real conversations, proven frameworks, and stories from the field, we explore what it takes to build the coaching practice of your dreams. 

  1. 4d ago

    Great Coaching Begins Where the Playbook Ends with Cam Lawson

    What happens when the playbook runs out of pages and the coach has to make the call? In this solo episode of The Ambitious Coach Lab, Cam Lawson unpacks a conviction that has emerged after more than 40 conversations with coaches, consultants, and fractional leaders: the coaching industry overvalues knowledge and undervalues judgment. Cam explores why knowing a framework is different from mastering the craft, the danger of becoming a “page-turner” coach, and five judgment calls great coaches constantly navigate: when to speak or stay silent, ask or tell, push or protect, follow the agenda or follow the energy, and solve the problem or return ownership to the team. He also explores why AI will make human judgment even more valuable and offers a simple path toward mastery: reps, reflection, and community. Ultimately, great coaches don’t abandon the playbook. They become fluent enough to know what the humans in front of them need when the playbook no longer has the answer. Biography Dr. Cam Lawson is a fractional CRO, entrepreneur, partnership leader, and host of The Ambitious Coach Lab. With an MBA and PhD in Strategic Communication, Cam brings together academic research and real-world experience across growth, revenue, partnerships, entrepreneurship, and the business coaching ecosystem. Through The Ambitious Coach Lab, he has interviewed dozens of coaches, consultants, facilitators, and fractional leaders to explore both sides of building a great coaching practice: mastering the craft itself and building a sustainable business around it. Links Connect with Cam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camlawson90  Learn more about Cam’s work as a fractional CRO: https://readyforthenextlevel.com/  Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://www.ninety.io/?utm_source=community&utm_medium=abl&utm_campaign=cam  Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/

  2. Sep 24

    The Humans Behind the Business: Lessons From the Session Room with Wendy Waldron

    What changes when a coach stops seeing seats on an Accountability Chart and starts seeing the humans sitting in them? In this episode of Stories From the Session Room, Cam sits down with Certified EOS Implementer Wendy Waldron to explore the human side of building better businesses. Wendy shares a powerful story about a longtime sales leader who everyone assumed wanted a bigger role, until one honest conversation revealed that the life he actually wanted looked very different. They unpack why great coaching starts with listening and presence, how to create a session room where people feel safe enough to be open and honest, and why coaches have to balance empathy for individuals with what is best for the company. Wendy also shares how she builds trust beyond the owner, why “coachable” has become one of her filters for choosing clients, and what she has learned about creating workplaces that simply make more sense for the humans inside them. Biography Wendy Waldron is a Certified EOS Implementer who works with heart-centered leaders to transform their companies. Before becoming an Implementer, Wendy built a career in healthcare leadership, where she led teams, scaled services across hundreds of miles, navigated organizational change, and worked inside complex healthcare environments. After discovering EOS in 2018, she recognized many of the principles that had shaped her most successful leadership experiences and began helping entrepreneurial leadership teams use those tools to build healthier, more aligned organizations. Today, Wendy brings a deeply human approach to the session room, helping leaders build companies that work better for both the business and the people behind it. Links Connect with Wendy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendywaldron/  Learn more about Wendy’s work with EOS: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/wendy-waldron/  Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://www.ninety.io/?utm_source=community&utm_medium=abl&utm_campaign=cam  Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/

  3. Sep 18

    What’s Really Happening in the Room? How Great Coaches See Beneath the Surface with David Ridenhour

    What if the biggest issue in the session room is the one nobody feels safe enough to put on the issues list? In this episode, Cam sits down with David Ridenhour, founder of Undercurrent, to explore the human dynamics operating beneath the surface of every coaching engagement. David challenges coaches to look beyond frameworks, tools, and processes to understand the fears, desires, relationships, and defensive patterns influencing how people actually behave. They unpack the difference between technical and adaptive problems, why a lack of buy-in may be a desire problem rather than a knowledge problem, and how unresolved tension can quietly undermine even the best operating system. David also shares how coaches can become more curious about what is happening beneath the surface so they can move beyond simply “turning the pages” and help clients discover the issues they may not even realize are shaping the room. Biography David Ridenhour is the founder of Undercurrent, a platform designed to help coaches, consultants, and fractional leaders better understand the behavioral dynamics operating beneath the surface of an organization. His background spans more than 20 years across nonprofit leadership, pastoral ministry, technology, cybersecurity consulting, and entrepreneurship. Through Undercurrent, David brings together behavioral research, organizational dynamics, and technology to help advisors identify patterns that traditional frameworks and surface-level data can easily miss. Links  Connect with David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dfridenhour/  Check out Undercurrent: https://undercurrentresearchlabs.com/  Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://www.ninety.io/?utm_source=community&utm_medium=abl&utm_campaign=cam  Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/

  4. Sep 10

    Why Great Coaches Should Embrace Technology, Not Fear It with Christine Watts

    What happens when technology stops competing with great coaching and starts making great coaches even better? In this episode, Cam sits down with Christine Watts, one of Ninety’s earliest employees, to explore how technology has evolved alongside the coaching experience. Christine shares stories from Ninety’s earliest days, how COVID accelerated the shift toward virtual sessions, and why software can create structure and visibility but can’t fix broken team dynamics. They also explore how coaches can use technology and AI to better prepare for sessions, stay connected between quarterlies, manage their practices, and spend more of their energy on the deeply human work that makes coaching transformational. Biography Christine Watts is the Head of Professional Services at Ninety and one of the company’s earliest employees, joining when the platform was still in beta with roughly 50 users. Over the past decade, she has held leadership roles across client success, marketing, product, and chief of staff, giving her a unique perspective on how technology can support coaches and leadership teams. Today, Christine leads Ninety’s Professional Services team and continues to help shape how companies use technology, data, and AI to work more effectively. Links Connect with Christine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wattschristine/ Check out Christine’s podcast “Impact Moments”: https://www.ninety.io/impact-moments Learn more about Ninety’s Maz: https://www.ninety.io/features/ask-maz Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://www.ninety.io/?utm_source=community&utm_medium=abl&utm_campaign=cam Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/

  5. Sep 3

    Build Your Own Referral Engine: The Power of Centers of Influence with Mike Snively

    What if the best business development strategy for your coaching practice is building a network of people who can sell you when you’re not in the room? In this episode, Cam sits down with Mike Snively to unpack his systematic approach to building an intentional network of Centers of Influence. Mike shares how he arrived in Greenville with virtually no network and grew from zero to more than 1,300 connections in three years by replacing transactional networking with consistent relationship building. They explore his “pie” model for identifying ideal referral partners, the 18 “Purple Pelicans” who know his business well enough to pitch it themselves, and why he gives 10 to 15 times more than he expects to receive. Mike also breaks down the habits behind hundreds of introductions and COI meetings, offering coaches a practical roadmap for building a network that compounds over time.  Biography Mike Snively is a business development leader with decades of experience across sales, marketing, and executive leadership. Today, he leads business development for a cybersecurity-focused managed service provider while teaching leaders how to systematically build meaningful professional networks. Known for his highly intentional approach to relationship building, Mike has developed a repeatable methodology around Centers of Influence, consistent giving, and strategic introductions that turns networking from an occasional activity into a business development habit.  Links Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-snively-17944513/  Learn more about Mike’s work: https://expertip.net/  Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://www.ninety.io/?utm_source=community&utm_medium=abl&utm_campaign=cam  Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/

  6. Aug 27

    Stop Selling Your Time: How Coaches Build a Practice That Scales with Gil Gerretsen

    What if the key to growing your coaching practice isn’t more marketing, but building a system that makes your expertise scalable? In this episode, Cam sits down with BizTrek founder Gil Gerretsen to explore what more than 30 years of coaching CEOs and founders has taught him about building a scalable practice. Gil shares his Hive methodology for identifying exactly who you serve and where those people already gather, why coaches get stuck chasing marketing tactics, and how turning expertise into a repeatable system creates a stronger offering. They also unpack his 10% Rule for client concentration, the danger of building a practice entirely around selling your time, and why coaches should think beyond scale toward what Gil calls “superscale.” Biography Gil Gerretsen is the founder of BizTrek and a longtime business mentor who has spent more than 30 years helping CEOs and founders build scalable businesses and more effective marketing systems. After a career in corporate turnarounds and building and selling his own software company, Gil launched BizTrek in 1994 and has since worked one-on-one with more than 1,000 business leaders. His methodology helps entrepreneurs turn marketing from a collection of tactics into a repeatable, scalable system. Links Connect with Gil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilgerretsen/  Learn more about BizTrek: https://biztrek.com/  Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://www.ninety.io/?utm_source=community&utm_medium=abl&utm_campaign=cam  Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/

  7. Aug 20

    Change the Question, Change the Answer: Lessons From the Session Room with Ren Flickinger

    The best coaches don’t give their clients the answer. They create the conditions for their clients to discover a better one. In this episode of Stories From the Session Room, Cam sits down with Ren Flickinger of Exit Momentum to unpack the discipline behind great coaching and facilitation. Ren shares how changing the way you frame a question can materially change what a leadership team sees, why coaches need to resist the urge to solve their clients’ problems, and how silence can sometimes be the most valuable tool in the room. Through stories from real sessions, including a $2 million inventory problem where the 51st idea became the breakthrough solution, Ren explores the balance between letting a team wrestle with an issue and knowing when to step in and refocus the conversation. They also dig into session preparation, continuous improvement, accountability, and why mastery means constantly examining how you could have coached the room better. Biography Ren Flickinger is a business coach and partner at Exit Momentum, where he works with leadership teams to build stronger operating rhythms and scale their organizations. Before becoming a coach, Ren helped a construction company grow from roughly $20 million to more than $120 million in revenue while adding eight locations and hundreds of employees. That experience gives him a unique perspective in the session room because he has personally lived through the growth, complexity, and challenges his clients are navigating. Today, he brings that operator experience into his coaching, helping leaders identify blind spots, ask better questions, and build the discipline required to execute at a high level. Links Connect with Ren on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ren-flickinger-2529b330a/  Learn more about Exit Momentum: https://exitmomentum.com/  Take the free Exit Momentum Assessment: https://app.exitmomentum.com/ Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://www.ninety.io/?utm_source=community&utm_medium=abl&utm_campaign=cam  Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/

  8. Aug 13

    You Can’t Learn This From a Playbook: Lessons From the Session Room with Pete Srodoski

    What happens when the tension in the session room gets so high that the framework is no longer enough? In this episode of Stories From the Session Room, Cam sits down with business coach Pete Srodoski to explore what it takes to lead through the messy, emotional, and unpredictable moments that happen inside leadership teams. Pete shares lessons from coaching more than 150 CEOs, including how to address the elephant in the room, create space for necessary conflict, and know when to push versus when to listen. They unpack why experience matters more than simply knowing a methodology, how great coaches give quieter voices permission to speak, and why the best facilitators are willing to abandon the script when the people in the room need something different. Biography Pete Srodoski is a business coach, former CEO and COO, bestselling author, and creator of R3. After beginning his career in retail and working his way from bagging groceries to executive leadership, Pete went on to lead multiple organizations before transitioning into coaching. Today, he draws on decades of real-world leadership experience to coach CEOs and leadership teams through growth, conflict, accountability, and the complex human dynamics of running a business. Links Connect with Pete on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petersrodoski/ Learn more about Pete’s work: https://rollwithpunch.com/ Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://www.ninety.io/ Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/

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About

The Ambitious Coach Lab is a practical, human-centered podcast for business coaches who want to grow and scale a meaningful, sustainable practice. Through real conversations, proven frameworks, and stories from the field, we explore what it takes to build the coaching practice of your dreams. 

Information

  • Creator
    Cam Lawson
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    43
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Ambitious Coach Lab
  • Show Website
    The Ambitious Coach Lab