Leveraging Leadership
Leadership is messy. Most advice isn't built for the reality of competing priorities, difficult stakeholders, limited time, and imperfect information.
Leveraging Leadership is a practical leadership podcast for Chiefs of Staff, executives, founders, and senior operators who want to lead more effectively and navigate complexity with confidence.
Hosted by Emily Sander, former Chief of Staff and executive advisor, each episode delivers real-world lessons, practical frameworks, and candid conversations with leaders across business and beyond.
Topics include executive communication, leadership presence, decision-making, delegation, organizational influence, operating rhythms, team effectiveness, and the often-unspoken challenges leaders face behind the scenes.
If you're looking for thoughtful conversations, practical takeaways, and leadership advice you can actually use on Monday morning, you're in the right place.
Episodes
291 episodes
The Chief of Staff Role Through the Eyes of Principals
This episode breaks down what a Chief of Staff actually does in different industries, from startups to government, and covers how the role is changing with AI according to Scott Amenta. Guests like Clara Ma share practical advice for pitching t...
Practical Ways Leaders Can Release Guilt and Move Forward
Emily Sander talks about how Chiefs of Staff often feel guilty or frustrated about things like not working long enough hours or not helping a struggling teammate. She explains that being too empathetic or self-critical can backfire and suggests...
Weaving People First Leadership and Business Demands in the Chief of Staff Role
Emily Sander talks with Lindsey Gardner, a multi-time Chief of Staff and co-founder of Sapphire Chief of Staff, about balancing people and business priorities. Lindsey Gardner shares lessons from working with the same CEO for a decade, why she ...
Q&A: Turning Board Back Channels into Your Strategic Leverage
Emily Sander answers a listener question from Sarah in Charlotte, a Chief of Staff handling board governance, leadership meetings, and benefits rollout. The episode covers how to build strategic relationships with the board, use back channels p...
Real Stories from Leaders on Chiefs of Staff Relationships
This compilation features conversations with four principals about why they brought on a Chief of Staff, how they built trust in the role, and the impact Chiefs of Staff had on their teams. Examples include Lawrence Coburn hiring a former inter...
How to Show Up as the Leader You Want to Be
Emily Sander shares why showing up as an unhurried, intentional leader matters more than always hustling. She gives practical tips like taking walks, working out, or even sipping coffee outside to set the right mindset. Chiefs of Staff and exec...
Driving Fast-Paced Change from Private Sector to Public Innovation
Emily Sander talks with Lindsay McCleary about her journey from project management to Chief of Staff roles in both the private sector at Binc and the public sector for the City of Charlotte. Lindsay McCleary shares how she created her own job d...
Optimizing Knowledge Management: Ensuring Information Flows Freely Through Your Organization
Knowledge management is explained as making sure important information flows up, down, and across an organization, using direct examples like leadership decisions being shared with teams, or customer feedback reaching the right people. The epis...
Practical Strategies for Post-Crisis Recovery and Team Performance
Savio P. Clemente, a two-time cancer survivor, shares how his experiences shaped his adaptive resilience leadership framework and gives practical advice for avoiding burnout and decision fatigue. The discussion covers high-pressure healthcare l...
Making Progress in Interim Periods: Focusing on What Has to Happen Anyway
This episode shares practical ways to handle uncertain times at work by focusing on the tasks that need to get done no matter what. Emily Sander gives real examples, like mapping and merging data systems during a leadership shakeup, a Chief of ...
Exploring Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, and Disability Rights from a Chief of Staff at the State Department
Andrea Cilliers shares her journey from joining the Department of Defense through a disability internship to becoming Chief of Staff for the U.S. Special Advisor on International Disability Rights. She talks about working on diversity and inclu...
How to Use Skill-Based Assessments for Effective Hiring Decisions
The episode breaks down how skill-based assessments can help make better hiring decisions, whether you’re hiring for an entry-level analyst, a digital marketing specialist, or a software engineer. Emily Sander shares real-life examples like usi...
Chief of Staff Careers: Launching Pad, Capstone, or Both?
Emily Sander talks with Keosha Lucas about whether the Chief of Staff role is a career destination or a stepping stone. Keosha shares her path from Lyft, where she did Chief of Staff work under different titles, to startups and eventually becom...
Handling Unfamiliar Acronyms Without Feeling Embarrassed
The episode looks at jargon and acronyms in the workplace, using examples like ARR (annual rate of return) and CPA (cost per acquisition or certified public accountant), and talks about ways to learn or clarify business lingo. It emphasizes tha...
Exploring Feedback and Emotional Intelligence for Thriving Workplace Cultures
Emily Sander talks with Maren Perry, founder and CEO of Arden Coaching, about what HR really does beyond paperwork, why leadership development should start early, and the habits of high-performing teams. They cover tips for giving and receiving...
Q&A: Practical Ways Chiefs of Staff Can Collaborate Laterally
The conversation focuses on practical ways a Chief of Staff can work with peers across departments, like finding small ways to make someone’s workflow easier or kicking off cross-team projects such as company-wide KPI dashboards and revamped pe...
The Intersection of Sports Psychology, Mindfulness, and Effective Leadership
Emily talks with performance coach Benjamin Smith about using sports psychology and mindfulness for better leadership. They cover tools like visualization, breathwork, and grounding exercises for handling pressure, and discuss the importance of...
Q&A: Overcoming the Overqualified Hurdle as a Former Business Owner Seeking a New Role
Emily answers a listener named Dallas, a longtime tree company owner, who’s struggling to get traction applying for Chief of Staff roles after his business closed. She talks about being seen as overqualified, how to preempt concerns on a resume...
From White House to Venture Capital: Leadership and Chief of Staff Insights
Veer Sawhney talks about his transition from working as a personal aide at the White House to becoming Chief of Staff at an investment firm. He shares how skills like anticipating needs, managing high-pressure situations, and helping his princi...
How New Chiefs of Staff Can Build Ongoing Relationships with Leadership Teams
Tips for keeping conversations going as Chief of Staff, like following up after a listening tour and spotting ways to help teammates. Examples include offering to QA an automated process or noticing patterns such as a lack of people management ...
The BOLD Framework for Leaders: Outlast Adversity and Disrupt the Norm
Audley Stephenson shares his journey from basketball fan to podcast host and sports league commissioner, highlighting how audacity shaped his life and career. He explains the BOLD Framework for living audaciously, discusses meeting Kobe Bryant,...
Practical Strategies for Building a Culture of Feedback in Your Team
Learn practical ways to build a culture of feedback at work, whether your team is new to honest conversations or already open to input. Emily Sander shares examples like using simple "what did we learn?" discussions after meetings, asking for f...
Leadership Lessons From Portugal: Managing Two Principals and Dual Roles (HR and CoS)
Maria Paiva shares her path from chemical engineering to a blended Chief of Staff and HR role at a small Portuguese company, explaining how her job covers everything from people management to company strategy. She discusses working for two prin...
Taking Time to Value the People Around You at Work
Emily Sander talks about appreciating the people you work with during each season of your career - like learning from Jamie, being challenged to grow by a boss like Rohit, or having fun working with someone like Matt. She also encourages listen...
Building Credibility and Clarity in Moments of Uncertainty
Chief of Staff and crisis communication expert Jeff Evans shares lessons from working in the California legislature, discussing the importance of building relationships across the aisle and handling unexpected crises. He explains the difference...