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
224 episodes
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
From Planning to Communication: A Leadership Deep Dive on Layoffs
This episode talks about how leaders, especially a Chief of Staff, should handle layoffs with respect and care. Emily shares real-life examples of leadership teams deciding who gets cut, the importance of considering all other options first, an...
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Season 1
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Episode 210
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23:22
Blending Chief of Staff and People Ops at La Tourangelle: Benefits of Dual Roles
Marcelo Elliott, Chief of Staff and head of HR at La Tourangelle, shares how his combined role helps connect HR strategy directly to company goals. He talks about using AI to handle repetitive HR tasks, setting up ad hoc committees for grassroo...
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Season 1
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Episode 209
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37:10
Listener Question: Building a Mini PMO as Chief of Staff - Growth or Backslide?
Emily answers a listener question from Tamsen in Minneapolis, who’s been asked to build a mini PMO function. She talks through concerns about returning to project management work, possible worries about people management, and how to clarify the...
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Season 1
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Episode 208
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9:24
A No-Nonsense Guide to Rolling Out OKRs That Actually Work
Sara Lobkovich explains how to use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) without the common pitfalls, like having too many goals or confusing milestones with actual key results. She gives practical examples, such as how "launch Project X by end of ...
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Season 1
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Episode 207
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44:18
Listener Question: How to Restore Trust When Your CEO Overcommits Publicly
A listener asks how to handle a CEO who overpromises big ideas in public, causing staff to lose trust when they don’t happen. Emily suggests privately discussing the real impact with the CEO, sharing clear examples like lost productivity after ...
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Season 1
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Episode 206
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12:58
Why Consulting Remains a Top Career Choice for Ambitious Professionals
Vivek Modi shares his journey from engineering in Africa to consulting at Ernst and Young and Roland Berger, and now to Chief of Staff for two CEOs at a fast-growing German startup. He compares consulting and Chief of Staff roles, breaks down h...
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Season 1
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Episode 205
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41:40
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome as Chief of Staff: Lessons From the Deep End
Emily shares a personal story about being made the interim leader of a digital marketing department as Chief of Staff, even though he knew nothing about digital marketing at the time. She talks about asking basic questions like "What does SEO s...
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Season 1
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Episode 204
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31:07
Australia’s Chamber of Commerce: Bridging Local, National, and International Business
Chanelle Pearson, Chief of Staff at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, shares how her career moved from journalism to leading teams in advocacy, media, and events. She talks about launching the Chamber Change women’s leadership pro...
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Season 1
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Episode 203
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29:39
Listener Question: Defining VP Roles and Titles for Growing Teams
Emily answers a listener’s question about job titles in a growing 50-person company, giving advice on moving beyond generic VP roles and considering more specific titles like VP of Operations or Chief of Staff. She explains the importance of pl...
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Season 1
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Episode 202
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8:38
Department of Defense Chief of Staff on Missions, Mental Health and Mentorship
"Any views expressed are the opinions of Mr. Williams and do not reflect the position or represent the U.S. Department of Defense. Mr. Williams' participation does not constitute any implied or actual endorsement of any nonfederal entity by...
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Season 1
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Episode 201
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51:40
Listener Question: How to Handle the One Team Member Who Won’t Submit Their Flash Report
A Chief of Staff asks how to handle a team member who never submits their flash report, despite lots of reminders and training. Emily suggests letting the slacking team member feel the peer pressure in meetings, such as by leaving their section...
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Season 1
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Episode 200
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12:59