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
282 episodes
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...
Why “How Can I Help You?” Is a Dangerous Question for Chiefs of Staff
This episode explains why Chiefs of Staff should avoid asking "How can I help you?" and instead focus on what will move the needle for their principal and team. Emily Sander shares real pitfalls, like getting stuck with small admin tasks, and s...
Lessons from the Role of Chief of Staff and CAO
Nick McDonough talks about his path from manufacturing and M&A to becoming Chief of Staff and later Chief Administrative Officer at the healthcare startup QuikMedic. He shares how his role expanded as the company tripled in size, taking on ...
Giving 100% of Your 70%: Leading on Days That Feel Blah
The episode tackles what to do when you feel a case of the "blahs" at work, making sure to distinguish it from burnout. Chief of Staff tips include taking a walk, stretching (like the doorway stretch), listening to motivational music or intervi...
Decoding the Modern Chief of Staff and Their Essential Responsibilities
Rachael Goldfarb shares real-life stories from her time supporting the Chief of Staff to President Clinton and leading at the Gates Foundation. She breaks down what a Chief of Staff is and isn’t, highlights why the role is senior and not admini...
Growth Isn’t Always Obvious - Give Yourself Credit
Emily Sander shares stories about a former coaching client worried his current job stress might cause health issues like it did ten years ago, and a military veteran adjusting to planning her first personal vacation after years of work travel. ...
How Coaching Transforms Leadership at Every Level
Brian Miller, president of Coach Approach Ministries, explains the difference between coaching, consulting, and therapy, and why a "coach approach" helps people solve problems by seeing new perspectives. The discussion includes practical exampl...
Q&A: How to Handle Changing Directions at Work Without Losing Your Cool
A listener asks how to handle frustration when work on a project is dropped because directions change. Emily Sander shares that this happens often to Chiefs of Staff and explains the value of understanding the reason behind changes, reframing “...
Leadership Lessons from the Beehive: Productivity, Decision-Making, and Organizational Wisdom
Philip Atkinson shares how being a Chief of Staff inspired his work as a beekeeper and his book, "Be Wise." He explains leadership lessons from bees, like avoiding busywork, practicing servant leadership, and making decisions through consensus....
The Critical Role of Clear Expectations in Team Success
A Chief of Staff shared how her boss thought a high-talent sales team wasn’t meeting expectations, but no one could clearly say what those expectations were. Emily Sander highlights the importance of clearly defining what success looks like for...