In this episode of Leveraging Leadership, Host Emily Sander breaks down the book "The Expansion Sale" by Eric Peterson and Tim Riesterer. She explains the four must-win sales conversations—renewals, price increases, upsells, and apologies—and provides practical examples like how to highlight the cost of change, offer repair, and communicate evolving pressures. Emily also shares insights on timing and situational fluency in sales conversations.

Links Mentioned:

• Book: The Expansion Sale
• Clarity Call with Emily

Free Resources:

• Strategic Planning Checklist
• Chief of Staff Skills Assessment Checklist
• A Day in the Life of a Chief of Staff
• Chief of Staff Toolkit

Get in touch with Emily:

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Follow on YouTube
• Learn more about coaching
• Sign up for the newsletter
• Clarity Call with Emily

Who Am I?

If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want.

Time Stamps:
00:27 Overview of 'The Expansion Sale'
01:34 Understanding the Four Must-Win Conversations
05:03 Renewals: Why Stay?
07:44 Price Increases: Why Pay More?
09:06 Upsells: Why Evolve?
12:22 Apologies: Why Forgive?
17:51 Situational Fluency and Implementation
21:31 Timing in Upsell and Cross-Sell Conversations

In this episode of "Leveraging Leadership," host Emily Sander chats with Dr. Helen Ofosu about creating a resilient work environment and overcoming imposter syndrome. Dr. Helen, author of "How to Be Resilient in Your Career," shares practical tips like being intentional in hiring practices and preparing for big moments to combat feelings of inadequacy. They also tackle the real effects of a toxic workplace, highlighting Helen's point that recovery from bad behavior takes longer than from other workplace issues.

Links Mentioned:

• Dr. Helen Ofosu's Book "How to Be Resilient in Your Career, Facing Up to Barriers at Work"
• Dr. Helen Ofosu's Website
• Clarity Call with Emily

Free Resources:

• Strategic Planning Checklist
• Chief of Staff Skills Assessment Checklist
• A Day in the Life of a Chief of Staff
• Chief of Staff Toolkit

Get in touch with Emily:

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Follow on YouTube
• Learn more about coaching
• Sign up for the newsletter
• Clarity Call with Emily

Who Am I?

If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want.

In this episode of Leveraging Leadership, Emily Sander shares how using analogies can improve communication in leadership. She discusses examples like a soccer midfielder needing to "pass the ball" for effective delegation and a swimmer needing to "stay in their lane." Emily also emphasizes the importance of listening to the analogies others use and offering your own to help them explain their thoughts.

Links Mentioned:

• Clarity Call with Emily

Free Resources:

• Strategic Planning Checklist
• Chief of Staff Skills Assessment Checklist
• A Day in the Life of a Chief of Staff
• Chief of Staff Toolkit

Get in touch with Emily:

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Follow on YouTube
• Learn more about coaching
• Sign up for the newsletter
• Clarity Call with Emily

Who Am I?

If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want.

Time Stamps:
00:25 The Power of Analogies in Communication
00:36 Delegation Through Soccer Analogies
02:16 Staying in Your Lane: A Swimming Analogy
04:28 From Circles to Spheres: Leadership Growth
06:05 Using Everyday Analogies
06:48 Client Stories and Visual Analogies
10:23 Creative Thinking with Shapes and Colors

In this episode of "Leveraging Leadership," Phil Burns talks about the crucial role of the Chief of Staff and the risks of not defining it properly. He and Emily discuss the differences between an Executive Assistant and a Chief of Staff, emphasizing strategic thinking and rebranding for those transitioning roles. Phil also shares about the Chief of Staff Roundtable, a community providing resources, peer learning, and discussions on key topics like executing business rhythms and solving big problems.

Links Mentioned:

• Chief of Staff Roundtable Website
• Connect with Phil Burns on LinkedIn
• Clarity Call with Emily

Free Resources:

• Strategic Planning Checklist
• Chief of Staff Skills Assessment Checklist
• A Day in the Life of a Chief of Staff
• Chief of Staff Toolkit

Get in touch with Emily:

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Follow on YouTube
• Learn more about coaching
• Sign up for the newsletter
• Clarity Call with Emily

Who Am I?

If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want.

Time Stamps:
01:21 Phil's Path from EA to Chief of Staff to Founder
06:59 Challenges and Realizations in the Chief of Staff Role
12:45 The Birth of the Chief of Staff Roundtable
14:05 Growth and Evolution of the Roundtable
22:01 Membership and Offerings of the Roundtable
27:18 Understanding the Tools of the Trade
28:42 Membership Benefits and Access
30:19 Networking and Peer Learning
31:25 Diverse Membership Base
32:41 Role Clarification and Career Pathing
47:49 Strategic Conversations and Trends
53:25 Connecting and Learning More

In this episode of Leveraging Leadership, host Emily discusses the concept of creating 'good' problems—like being swamped with sales or having too many top job candidates—as signs of a healthy business - comparing it to the Seattle Seahawks' strategy of drafting the best talent regardless of position.

Links Mentioned:

• Clarity Call with Emily

Free Resources:

• Strategic Planning Checklist
• Chief of Staff Skills Assessment Checklist
• A Day in the Life of a Chief of Staff
• Chief of Staff Toolkit

Get in touch with Emily:

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Follow on YouTube
• Learn more about coaching
• Sign up for the newsletter
• Clarity Call with Emily

Who Am I?

If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want.

Dorothy Mashburn, a leading expert in salary negotiations, shares straightforward strategies on compensation discussions for Chiefs of Staff. Learn how to effectively prepare for pay raise conversations, use data to back up your requests, and handle rejection to keep the discussion going. If you're looking to get a better handle on negotiating your worth in the workplace, this is the episode for you.

Links Mentioned:

• COS Network Annual Compensation Report deep dive w/ Rahul Desai
• Dorothy Mashburn's Website
• Connect with Dorothy Mashburn on LinkedIn
• "Salary Negotiations Made Simple" Podcast

Free Resources:

• Strategic Planning Checklist
• Chief of Staff Skills Assessment Checklist
• A Day in the Life of a Chief of Staff
• Chief of Staff Toolkit

Get in touch with Emily:

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Follow on YouTube
• Learn more about coaching
• Sign up for the newsletter
• Clarity Call with Emily

Who Am I?

If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want.

Time Stamps:

00:45 Meet Dorothy Mashburn: Salary Negotiation Expert

01:13 Understanding the Chief of Staff Role

03:01 Researching Salary Information

05:28 Demonstrating Your Value as Chief of Staff

08:22 Preparing for Salary Negotiations

16:02 Creative Negotiation Strategies

24:50 Handling Rejection and Next Steps

32:10 Final Thoughts and Resources

In this episode of Leveraging Leadership, Emily discusses how showing empathy and really looking at the world from their perspective, can go A LONG way. Like when a chief of staff helps a CTO who's stuck with a messy, old tech system.

Links Mentioned:

• Clarity Call with Emily

Free Resources:

• Strategic Planning Checklist
• Chief of Staff Skills Assessment Checklist
• A Day in the Life of a Chief of Staff
• Chief of Staff Toolkit

Get in touch with Emily:

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Follow on YouTube
• Learn more about coaching
• Sign up for the newsletter
• Clarity Call with Emily

Who Am I?

If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want.

Time Stamps:

00:46 Navigating Executive Frustrations

02:34 Empathy and Action

03:51 Support for Tech Challenges

04:42 The Power of Understanding in Leadership

How do you lead and serve at the same time?

Author Jon Kidwell discusses his definition of a true servant leader, focusing on three key attributes: character, relationships, and skills. Jon debunks nine myths about leadership, contrasting ideas such as mission over people-pleasing, embracing tension, and choosing 'and' over 'or'. Emily and Jon also emphasize defining missions in personal and professional life and the importance of embracing both positive and negative experiences. Listen in to hear Jon's take on the necessary shift from being a people pleaser to mission-driven, from niceness to kindness with truth, and from avoiding to sharing power. They end with how to amplify your impact, asking the question, "What would it look like if you went ALL IN?"

Links Mentioned:

• Jon Kidwell's Book: Redefine Your Servant Leadership
• Jon Kidwell's Website

Free Resources:

• Strategic Planning Checklist
• Chief of Staff Skills Assessment Checklist
• A Day in the Life of a Chief of Staff
• Chief of Staff Toolkit

Get in touch with Emily:

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Follow on YouTube
• Learn more about coaching
• Sign up for the newsletter
• Clarity Call with Emily

Who Am I?

If we haven’t yet before - Hi👋 I’m Emily, Chief of Staff turned Executive Leadership Coach. After a thrilling ride up the corporate ladder, I’m focusing on what I love - working with people to realize their professional and personal goals. Through my videos here on this channel, books, podcast guest spots, and newsletter, I share new ideas and practical and tactical tools to help you be more productive and build the career and life you want.

Time Stamps:

00:45 Introducing John Kidwell: A Journey into Servant Leadership

00:59 Unpacking the Essence of Servant Leadership with John Kidwell

05:46 Defining Mission-Driven Leadership

14:42 The Power of Productive Tension in Leadership

20:42 Exploring the Essence of Servant Leadership

22:16 The Power of Constructive Feedback

23:06 Navigating Leadership Challenges with Transparency

26:51 Embracing Generosity and Humanity in Leadership

31:16 Empowering Others Through Responsible Leadership

35:02 Going All In: The Ultimate Leadership Commitment

39:05 Closing Thoughts and Resources