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Matt Spielman – Igniting Careers and Energizing Lives (EP.463)

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Oct 6, 2025

Guest

Matt Spielman

Matt Spielman, Founder and CEO of Inflection Point Partners, specializes in executive coaching for investment leaders. He discusses the challenges of leadership, emphasizing the need for empathy, feedback, and a clear organizational vision. Spielman highlights the loneliness faced by top executives and the value of external support. He shares insights on leadership dynamics, the importance of structured onboarding, and how AI can enhance coaching. With a focus on appreciation as a leadership tool, he explores how great leaders can translate personal motivations into collective goals.

48:28

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Episode notes

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ADVICE

Use Structured Systems For Coaching

Provide a clear system and structure for coaching to make progress tangible and repeatable.
Couple that structure with relentless focus on outcomes to increase client engagement and results.

insights

INSIGHT

Loneliness At The Top

Leadership at the top is often lonely because issues can't be shared inside the firm or at home.
External coaching provides a confidential outlet to process weighty strategic and personal matters.

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ADVICE

Clarify Your Personal Why

Clarify a leader's personal 'why' early to fuel resilience and decision-making.
Use that why to power through obstacles and align on meaningful goals.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Why system and structure matter in coaching

04:40 • 52sec

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Coaching outcomes are client-driven

05:33 • 1min

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Loneliness at the top of organizations

06:50 • 1min

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Handling major departures confidentially

08:11 • 30sec

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Leaders who know their why are resilient

08:40 • 2min

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Translating individual why into organizational vision

10:13 • 1min

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Creating organizational game plans

11:40 • 1min

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Why investment professionals often aren't natural leaders

12:50 • 2min

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Fixing the common hiring-to-onboarding gap

14:28 • 2min

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Assessment tools and rigorous candidate evaluation

16:50 • 50sec

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Personality impacts: thinkers vs feelers in finance

17:40 • 2min

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Appreciation as a leadership superpower

19:49 • 2min

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Judging vs perceiving and team dynamics

How private equity and venture cultures differ

25:00 • 45sec

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Giving feedback effectively with SBI

25:45 • 2min

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Feed forward and highlight reels for growth

28:10 • 2min

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Coaching questions that prompt reflection

30:00 • 60sec

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Weekly check-ins and winning the day habit

31:00 • 4min

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From short engagements to long-term partnerships

35:00 • 2min

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Benefits of being an external coach

37:13 • 2min

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Differences working with LPs versus GPs

39:03 • 3min

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Common failures: communication and delegation

41:35 • 1min

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Applying leadership principles to his own firm

42:40 • 1min

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Balancing working in vs on the business

44:00 • 1min

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Why he wants to ignite careers and energize lives

45:20 • 1min

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Using AI to scale coaching insights

46:33 • 1min

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Personal passions and influential mentors

47:35 • 2min

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Hard work as the foundation of success

49:22 • 53sec

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Joy from client impact and measurable outcomes

50:15 • 39sec

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My guest on today’s show is Matt Spielman, Founder and CEO of Inflection Point Partners, an executive coaching firm that works with leaders primarily in investment organizations. Matt first joined me on the show four years ago, where we discussed his path into executive coaching, inflection points in his career, and his GPS system that aligns an individual’s goals and helps execute.

Our conversation this time builds on that foundation with what Matt has learned since. We explore the challenges of leadership at the top, the personality dynamics that shape investment organizations, and the essential role of feedback, empathy, and appreciation in managing people. We discuss the evolution of Inflection Point from one-on-one coaching to firmwide leadership systems, and the role artificial intelligence may play in scaling his work going forward.

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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com ⁠)

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