Leveraging Leadership
Are you ready to up your leadership game? Tune in to Leveraging Leadership, where Chiefs of Staff, executives, and business professionals find the tools, strategies, and insights they need to excel. Hosted by Emily Sander, a C-suite executive turned leadership coach, this podcast delivers practical and tactical takeaways every week.
Whether you're tackling tough conversations, fine-tuning your KPIs, or mastering delegation, this show offers new perspectives and actionable advice to help you feel confident and thrive in your role.
Each Monday, enjoy interviews with leaders from diverse fields—primarily business, but also from military, politics, and higher education. Every Wednesday, catch a solo episode where Emily shares concise, actionable insights on a specific topic you can apply immediately.
If you appreciate relatable, informal conversations that pack a punch with no fluff, you’re in the right place. While especially valuable for Chiefs of Staff and their Principals, the insights are useful for any leader aiming to grow.
Don’t miss your chance to advance as a leader.
Episodes
235 episodes
Mastering Power, Office Politics, and Leadership in Modern Organizations
Emily Sander talks with Tinna Jackson about navigating power dynamics as a Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate, handling office politics, and the importance of emotional intelligence and trust in leadership. Tinna shares tips on building relation...
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Season 1
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Episode 235
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35:11
Listener Q&A: Managing Sales Reps Who Focus on Rebranding Over Revenue
Emily Sander talks about what to do when a Business Development Rep starts doing graphic design, website tweaks, and HubSpot updates instead of making calls. She shares ways to set clear expectations, give frequent feedback, and explains when i...
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Season 1
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Episode 234
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13:50
Balancing MBA Studies with a Chief of Staff Startup Internship Experience
Conghao Tian shares how he landed a Chief of Staff internship at Zenblen while studying for his MBA at Chicago Booth, starting with a background in music and art history. He talks about building KPI systems for the startup’s robotic smoothie ki...
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Season 1
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Episode 233
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31:47
Listener Question: Why Your Boss Wants Results, Not Databases
Emily Sander answers a listener’s question about how to get through to a boss who says, “I don’t care about the database, I care about results.” She talks about reframing communication to focus on the boss’s priorities, suggests offering option...
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Season 1
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Episode 232
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13:38
From Google to Coaching: Supporting Leaders and Building Relationships in Business
Emily Sander talks with Katie Rohn about her journey from sales to strategy at Google and her time as a Chief of Staff. They share stories about the different versions of the Chief of Staff role, how relationships shape the job, and why self-re...
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Season 1
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Episode 231
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44:16
The Key Question to Propel Yourself Through Challenges
Emily shares a practical question prompt to help you focus on what matters most when facing challenges at work or in life. She gives real examples, like choosing between launching a product on time and not burning out, getting out of your comfo...
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Season 1
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Episode 230
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6:51
Mediation Strategies Every Chief of Staff Should Know
Alex Yaroslavsky talks about his journey from navigating conflict as a kid new to the U.S. to building a career in mediation and executive coaching. He shares how Chiefs of Staff can handle disagreements between colleagues, coach their principa...
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Season 1
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Episode 229
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39:28
Overcoming Presentation Anxiety: Focus on Meaning and Emotion, Not Perfection
Emily answers a listener’s question about feeling stuck to a script during presentations. She explains how to focus on key points instead of memorizing every word, suggests adding emotion and attitude to messages, and demonstrates this techniqu...
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Season 1
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Episode 228
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22:10
Expanding Leadership Impact: Angel Investing and Chief of Staff Insights for Purpose-Driven Ventures
Erika Aquino, an angel investor with 26 portfolio companies across five countries, and her Chief of Staff Patricia de Leon, share how they work together to find and support women and minority founders in sustainability, wellness, education, and...
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Season 1
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Episode 227
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36:35
Strategies to Protect Leadership from Low-Value Choices and Mental Clutter
This episode covers practical ways for a Chief of Staff to reduce decision fatigue for their principal and executive team, like removing low-value tasks from their plate and organizing clear, concise email options for faster decisions. Emily sh...
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Season 1
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Episode 226
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15:19
How to Secure a Seat at the Boardroom Table: Gaining the Right Skills for Board Service
Dr. Keith Dorsey talks about his book, "The Boardroom Journey: Practical Guidance for Women to Secure a Seat at the Table," explaining what corporate boards do, why diversity matters, and how anyone - no matter their career stage - can start pl...
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Season 1
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Episode 225
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41:39
Listener Question: Making Presentations Pop: Tailoring Content for Employees, Customers, and the Board
A Chief of Staff struggles to make three different presentations - an internal all hands update, a customer pitch, and a board meeting - feel meaningful and tailored for each audience. Emily suggests using common core info but adding exclusive ...
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Season 1
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Episode 224
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12:49
Chief of Staff and Communications Officer Collaboration: Real Stories of Effective Partnership
Tracy Van Grack and Michael Patino talk about working with a Chief of Staff, sharing real stories from startup and established companies, including how early-stage teams can build a culture of communications even with limited resources. They co...
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Season 1
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Episode 223
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49:11
You’re Not Alone: How Chiefs of Staff Can Build Community
Chief of Staff can be a lonely job, even when you're surrounded by people. Emily shares real ways to handle this, like joining Chief of Staff networks, leaning on trusted coworkers or friends outside the company, and working with a coach. She a...
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Season 1
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Episode 222
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15:36
Redefining Success as Chief of Staff in a Global Organization
Frank Noyola shares how he went from turning down the Chief of Staff role at Quest Global to shaping it into a job focused on strategy, team building, and supporting a rapidly evolving CMO/Chief Strategy Officer. He talks about building a small...
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Season 1
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Episode 121
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30:40
Transforming Leadership Meetings with the Flash Report: Insights from CEOs, CFOs, and CoSs
Emily, Ed, and Rory break down how to use a Flash Report to keep leadership teams aligned and focused on key business metrics. They give a real example of a Flash Report, show how it highlights things like cash, sales, and training completion r...
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Season 1
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Episode 220
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56:27
What Chiefs of Staff Can Learn from the Supporting Concerts and World Tours
Tarra Stubbins shares her journey from dropping out of high school to travel with rock bands as a personal assistant—including wild hotel room requests from Mick Jagger—to founding the Take It Easy Group, where she now provides Chief of Staff a...
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Season 1
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Episode 219
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30:13
Finding Small Opportunities to Delegate and Free Up Time
Emily shares practical delegation tips like breaking up complex tasks such as invoice processing into smaller, easier pieces, moving teammates upstream in a process, and letting others help with basic steps like data collection. She explains ho...
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Season 1
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Episode 218
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20:27
How Chief of Staff Network Sees the Future: From Chief of Staff to Chief of AI
Scott Amenta, founder of Chief of Staff Network, shares key findings from their recent AI report, including that 84% of surveyed companies are already piloting AI tools and that change management and ethical concerns are major barriers. He talk...
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Season 1
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Episode 217
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51:49
Turning Tactical Requests Into Visionary Department Plans
Emily shares a story about someone who gave their boss a basic org chart when asked about their department’s future, but missed the bigger picture the boss wanted. She explains how to shift from being just a task-doer to a strategic leader by c...
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Season 1
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Episode 216
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14:50
How Venture Capital Firms Utilize Chiefs of Staff for Firm and Portfolio Growth
Remi Guarini, a three-time Chief of Staff, shares how she moved from fashion operations at Maison Kitsune to working at Capital Factory, and then to helping launch Neon, an early-stage venture capital firm. She talks about learning on the fly, ...
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Season 1
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Episode 215
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40:53
Addressing Team Turf Wars: Leadership Lessons for Chiefs of Staff
This episode covers how a Chief of Staff can address two teams stuck in a blame game at a biotech startup. Emily shares examples like holding one-on-one meetings with managers and team members, presenting anonymized feedback, setting clear expe...
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Season 1
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Episode 214
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26:57
Moving from Chief of Staff to Principal: Lessons from a Leadership Transformation at Microsoft
Andrew Kisslo talks about his journey from marketing roles to Chief of Staff at Microsoft, sharing what it was like working in the role during a period of massive growth and change. He describes the different Chief of Staff archetypes, the impo...
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Season 1
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Episode 213
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36:35
From Execution to Aftermath: Managing the Realities of Layoffs
Part 2 focuses on the practical steps and real-life challenges of carrying out layoffs, like coordinating with HR and IT, preparing benefit info, and setting up conversations with those affected. Emily shares personal experiences, including han...
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Season 1
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Episode 212
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16:15
Lessons from a Long-Term Chief of Staff Partnership
Jennifer Baron shares her 18-year journey working alongside her principal, Justin, starting as a temp cleaning a file room and eventually becoming Chief of Staff for a private equity firm. She talks about helping manage company growth, supporti...
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Season 1
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Episode 211
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39:49