Lead & Follow

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Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/the-leadership-skills-engineers-need-before-they-have-the-title-erica-dawson/

Engineers are trained to solve difficult problems, but technical expertise alone does not determine whether a team succeeds. Erica Dawson explores why engineers need the ability to influence, challenge ideas, and contribute from any position — not only when they hold formal leadership roles. Through her work developing engineering leadership education at Cornell University, she has helped students understand that effective teams depend on active participation from everyone.

Erica Dawson is Professor of Practice and Nancy and Bob Selander Executive Director of the Engineering Leadership Programs at Cornell University. She previously served as a professor at the Yale School of Management, founded the US-Israel Center for Innovation and Economic Sustainability at UC San Diego, and has taught ethical leadership internationally through the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why engineering leaders need influence skills beyond technical expertise
• How to build the ability to challenge and support decisions from any role
• Why disengaged team members create hidden costs for organizations
• How engineering programs can prepare students for real-world teamwork
• What “influencing without authority” looks like in technical environments

Episode References

Ira Chaleff, The Courageous Follower
https://irachaleffauthor.com/books-the-courageous-follower/

Cornell Engineering Leadership Programs
https://leadership.engineering.cornell.edu/

S1 E5: Amy Lombardo
https://leadfollow.buzzsprout.com/1735834/8586603-a-model-of-equitable-leading-and-following-in-the-coaching-relationship-amy-lombardo

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Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. 

Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/

Order the book: Lead & Follow
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/

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Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/the-strategic-choice-most-leaders-overlook-when-to-step-up-and-when-to-support-david-leitner/

When people think about strategy, they often focus on the person making the decision. Dr. David Leitner explores a different question: what happens when people intentionally choose how to support, challenge, and advance a shared purpose? Drawing from his work with companies, military organizations, and communities, David examines how strategic support shapes outcomes at every level.

Dr. David Leitner has spent the last 15 years as a followership, leadership, and strategy educator. He teaches these topics through workshops, seminars, and lectures for multinational companies, the Israeli Defense Forces, military preparation academies, youth groups, and other organizations. As an IDF disabled veteran and longtime advocate for accessibility and inclusion, David brings a perspective shaped by both strategic thinking and lived experience.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why supporting a decision can be an active choice rather than passive agreement
• How leaders can recognize contribution from people outside formal authority
• Why teams lose valuable input when everyone wants to be the person in charge
• How strategic support applies beyond organizations to communities and relationships

Episode References 

Robert Kelley, "In Praise of Followers," HBR 1998 

Barbara Kellerman, "What Every Leader Needs to Know about Followers," HBR 2007

S1 E20 - Listening as a Core Followership Skill - Eran Magen

Connect with Dr. David Leitner
Website: https://www.drdleitner.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidleitner/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.a.leitner

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Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. 

Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/

Order the book: Lead & Follow
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/

Support the Show!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support

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Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/beyond-the-visionary-leader-the-people-who-make-organizations-succeed-nixon-jallo/

A great vision is only the beginning. Nixon Jallo explores what happens after the vision is created — when people throughout an organization choose to contribute their skills, judgment, and commitment to bring that vision to life. Drawing from his work in ministry, business consulting, and organizational leadership, Nixon examines why the people who execute ideas are essential to lasting success.

Nixon Jallo is Husband, Father, Chief Executive of FOLDEVIN Consults Ltd., Bishop of Supernatural Love Ministries, Rector of Agape Bible College, Writer and Researcher based in Jalingo, Taraba State, Northeast Nigeria. He holds a Master’s degree in Theology and is completing another in Organizational Leadership. He is the author of several books on followership, including Principles of Followership, Understanding Followership, and Leadership Fusion.

You’ll learn:

• How organizations can recognize the skills of the people who carry ideas forward
• What humility and responsibility look like in a team role
• How leadership and participation change at different levels of an organization
• Why successful communities depend on people who actively contribute

Principles of Followership, by Nixon Jallo

https://www.amazon.com/PRINCIPLES-FOLLOWERSHIP-NIXON-JALLO/dp/B08SRFBW4B/
 

Nixon Jallo on LinkedIn
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/nixon-jallo-a60a4b27/

Support the show

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Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. 

Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/

Order the book: Lead & Follow
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/

Support the Show!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support

Send Fan Mail by Text!

Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/quick-tips-inner-orientation/

Your lead and follow coaching tip for today is Choose an inner orientation. 

This technique is also called choosing a mindset or an intention. I’m calling it an inner orientation because I want you to use it as a deliberate and methodical way to orient to people and situations you are in.

Most of the time, our inner state is reactive, and we’re not really choosing it. You like some people and dislike others. You feel comfortable or uncomfortable, inspired or bored, and you attribute those inner states to external circumstances. That’s a normal process AND at the same time, we have the ability as humans to choose a specific way of orienting from the inside.

For example, if you’re thinking about how you want to orient in an upcoming meeting, you might choose a quality like receptivity, openness, curiosity, or any other quality that will help you participate in a positive and productive way. Different situations may call for different orientations, especially if you are switching back and forth between leadership and followership functions throughout your day, as many of us do.

When you choose your inner orientation, make sure you take a moment to feel it in your body, and to notice what it feels like, so you can track yourself, and remind yourself to return to being receptive or curious or open when you find yourself becoming distracted. 

Practice sitting, standing, and walking in a way that you can feel this quality in your body and recognize it.

This tip may sound super simple, but I assure you, it is one of the most powerful techniques I teach. When you embody positive inner states on a regular basis, you’ll feel more comfortable in your own skin, communication will become clearer, and relationships with the people around you will begin to improve.

Try this out, experiment, and let me know how it goes!

Support the show

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Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. 

Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/

Order the book: Lead & Follow
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/

Support the Show!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support

Send Fan Mail by Text!

Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/from-hr-policy-to-employee-partnership-rethinking-how-organizations-develop-people-julie-newman/

How can an HR professional help an organization create a culture where employees see themselves as contributors to decisions, not just recipients of direction? Julie Newman shares what she learned while coordinating the implementation of leadership and followership training for a nonprofit client — and why HR professionals need to model the same balance they ask of others: providing guidance while remaining open to employee perspectives, feedback, and expertise.

Julie Newman is a Certified Human Resources Leader in Ontario, Canada, with 15 years of experience across organizational culture, performance management, recruitment, employee relations, and health and safety. Before transitioning into HR consulting, Julie spent more than 11 years in senior leadership roles within the nonprofit sector, bringing a practical understanding of how people systems shape organizational culture.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How nonprofit organizations can design leadership development programs that include employees at every level
• Why HR professionals must balance being strategic advisors with being responsive partners
• How employee voice and participation influence organizational culture
• What changes when organizations redefine leadership as something employees practice, not just something managers hold

Connect with Julie Newman

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-newman-chrl/

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.willowhallhr.com 

Support the show

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Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. 

Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/

Order the book: Lead & Follow
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/

Support the Show!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support

Send Fan Mail by Text!

Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/quick-tips-deepen-your-breath/

Your lead and follow coaching tip for today is Deepen your breath. 

Many of us are in the habit of shallow breathing, sometimes called chest breathing, where the collarbones and sometimes shoulders move up and down with each inhale and exhale. Because of tension in the muscles, or sometimes just because of the general speed of working life, our bodies can get used to a shallow, fast rhythm of breathing, using only a small amount of our lung capacity and giving us only a small amount of oxygen. Shallow breathing can also increase heart rate and blood pressure, making you feel anxious, or it can prevent CO2 from exiting the body, making you feel sleepy.  

There are lots of great breathing techniques out there to try, but my suggestion today is a very simple one. It’s to focus on the location of your inhale and exhale. More specifically, I’d like you to think about the location of the sensations of inhaling and exhaling. This is not a clinical anatomical question, and there’s no right answer. Rather it’s an imaginative exercise.

First notice where you are most aware of the feeling of your inhale and exhale. It might be your chest or belly, but it may be somewhere else, your nose for example. If the location is high, in your face or upper chest, try to gently shift the location down a few inches, imagining that the air was entering the filling your body lower down. Keep going down a few inches at a time until you reach your lower belly. Don’t overthink this exercise, just imagine air filling your body. 

If you’re already feeling your breath in your belly, you might imagine it expanding upward instead, filling also your middle abdomen and chest. Don’t force anything, just imagine opening more space for the air to flow in and out.

Not only does deep, full breathing reduce all kinds of anxiety and stress, research shows that it improves concentration and mental clarity as well. It will likely make you appear more relaxed and approachable to other people as well. 

Try this breath location exercise a few times throughout the day, maybe before and after meetings, or anytime you want to feel more calm, more centered, or more focused.  

Try this out, experiment, and let me know how it goes!

Support the show

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Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. 

Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/

Order the book: Lead & Follow
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/

Support the Show!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support

Send Fan Mail by Text!

Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/why-leadership-training-must-go-beyond-executives-to-reach-the-front-lines-samantha-hurwitz/

Many organizations invest heavily in developing executives while overlooking the people closest to the daily work. Samantha Hurwitz challenges that top-down approach by showing why leadership capability must be developed across an entire organization — and how giving front-line employees the skills to influence decisions changes the way teams operate.

Samantha Hurwitz is co-author of Leadership is Half the Story and co-founder of FliP University, a training and development company based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Together with her partner Marc Hurwitz, she developed practical programs that help organizations teach leadership skills across roles and levels, and they are also co-founders of the Global Followership Conference, where Samantha and Sharna first connected in 2019.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why leadership development programs often fail when they focus only on senior leaders
• How organizations can develop leadership skills among frontline employees
• Why shared responsibility improves inclusion and employee ownership
• What changes when companies move from a leader-centered model to a partner-centered culture
• How to measure the impact of organization-wide leadership development
  
  

Episode Resources

Flip University
http://flip.university

Leadership is Half the Story, Marc Hurwitz and Samantha Hurwitz
https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Half-Story-Followership-Collaboration/dp/1487522460

Samantha Hurwitz on LinkedIn
http://ww.linkedin.com/in/samanthakerrhurwitz/

Global Followership Conference
http://ww.followershipconference.com

Referenced Articles

Meindl, J. R., Ehrlich, S. B., Dukerich, J. M. (1985). The romance of leadership. Administrative Science Quarterly, 30(1), 78-102. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392813

Hurwitz, M., & Hurwitz, S. (2009). The romance of the follower: Part 1. Industrial and Commercial Training, 41(2), 80-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197850910939117

Hurwitz, M., & Hurwitz, S. (2009). The romance of the follower: Part 2. Industrial and Commercial Training, 41(4), 199-206. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197850910962788

Hurwitz, M., & Hurwitz, S. (2009). The romance of the follower: Part 3. Industrial and Commercial Training, 41(6), 326-333. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197850910983929

Support the show

*
Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. 

Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/

Order the book: Lead & Follow
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/

Support the Show!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support

Send Fan Mail by Text!

Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/why-job-titles-dont-determine-who-leads-in-crisis-situations-chris-fuzie/

In a crisis, a title on an organizational chart does not guarantee the right person has the answer. Drawing from 28 years in law enforcement, Dr. Chris Fuzie explains why teams succeed when people understand when to step forward, when to support others, and how responsibility works when authority is shared.

Dr. Chris Fuzie is the owner of CMF Leadership Consulting and creator of the Effective Followership training program. A retired Lieutenant/Commander from the Modesto Police Department, he led specialized teams including Homicide Investigations, Hostage Negotiations, and Street-Level Drug Enforcement. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, a former National Instructor for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and currently serves as Business/HR Manager for the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office in California.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “there’s no rank in the chopper” is a powerful lesson for organizational decision-making
• How leaders can delegate authority without losing accountability
• Why employees at every level are often making leadership decisions without formal titles
• How behavior-based training can improve performance across roles
• What crisis-response teams reveal about shared responsibility

Connect with Chris Fuzie

https://www.cmfleadership.com/effectivefollowership

Support the show

*
Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. 

Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/

Order the book: Lead & Follow
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/

Support the Show!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support

Send Fan Mail by Text!

Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/successful-medical-teams-how-doctors-nurses-and-clinicians-shift-roles-erin-barry/

In healthcare, the person with the most authority is not always the person with the information the team needs most. Erin Barry explores why strong clinical teams depend on professionals who can shift roles, give and receive feedback, and recognize when the situation calls for them to step forward or support someone else. Erin’s research reveals a practical reality of patient care: healthcare is a team sport, and better outcomes depend on how well people coordinate their expertise, attention, and actions.

Erin Barry is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Uniformed Services University and a health professions education researcher focused on leadership, teamwork, and role flexibility in healthcare settings. She develops curriculum, assessments, and research focused on preparing healthcare professionals to work effectively in teams. She is also co-author of Innovative Leadership for Healthcare and co-founder of the International Leadership Association’s Healthcare Leadership Community.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why healthcare teams need professionals who can change roles depending on what the situation requires
• How peer feedback improves communication among clinicians
• How reflection helps healthcare professionals understand their own teamwork patterns
• What educators can do to prepare clinicians for collaborative decision-making

Connect with Erin Barry
https://www.usuhs.edu/node/11086

Episode References

Ed O’Malley and Julia Fabris McBride, Kansas Leadership Center, When Everyone Leads: How The Toughest Challenges Get Seen And Solved

Previous episode: Leadership, Followership and Emotional Intelligence (IWU Part 3) - Yolonda Tonette Sanders 

Support the show

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Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. 

Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/

Order the book: Lead & Follow
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/

Support the Show!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support

Send Fan Mail by Text!

Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/quick-tips-tune-in/

Your lead and follow coaching tip for today is Tune in. 

You’ve probably heard many times that active listening is an important skill for just about anything, including leadership and followership. Tuning in does include listening with your ears, but it’s much more than that. It’s more like listening with your whole body, directing your attention with all of your senses open toward one person or one group of people. Think of the phrase reading the room. To do that well we need to do more than listen to what people say. We need to tune in on a nonverbal level, or become attuned to the person or people we’re interacting with. Think of adjusting an old analog radio dial or radio antenna to clear the static and hear the signal more clearly. 

That’s what we want to do when we tune in. We’re clearing the static from our own perception so that we can receive clear signals from the people in front of us, at least as clear as possible, so that we can respond to them appropriately.

So start noticing subtle things like emotional tone, speech volume, energy level, facial expression and body posture. Does the person seem upbeat? Tired? Concerned? Enthusiastic? Distracted? It could be a lot of things, and to be clear, you will never know exactly what another person is feeling or experiencing, unless they tell you. 

We misread each other all the time, because we think that like professional actors, we’re transparent, that what we express in our facial expression what we’re feeling on the inside. But most people are actually NOT transparent. Tuning in is not mind-reading.

Still, observing the other person’s nonverbal signals does a couple of very useful things. One: like a mindfulness practice, it brings you into the present moment, making it less likely that you’ll get distracted by your own thoughts. And two: it makes the other person feel a little bit more seen by you, as a human being, and that one of the most reliable ways to create connection, even with a stranger, and set the stage for a more honest, more productive conversation. 

Try this out, experiment, and let me know how it goes!

Support the show

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Sharna Fabiano is the author of Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork and host of the Lead & Follow Podcast. She helps founders, solopreneurs, and new leaders build strong collaborative relationships and successful teams. 

Get a discounted coach session with Sharna with promo code PODCAST
https://www.sharnafabiano.com/coaching/

Order the book: Lead & Follow
https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Follow-Dance-Inspired-Teamwork/dp/1646632796/

Support the Show!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735834/support