Leveraging Leadership

Emily Sander talks with Jay Poulton, founder of The Accent Coach, about how senior leaders can use their voice more effectively. They discuss practical tips like breath control, vocal variety, and recording yourself to close the “authority gap,” and share examples of issues such as vocal fry, upturning at the end of sentences, and monotone delivery that impact credibility. Jay Poulton explains specific exercises and the importance of practicing your delivery out loud to sound more confident and authentic.

Links Mentioned:
Jay Poulton’s Website

Connect with Jay Poulton on LinkedIn

Follow Jay the Accent Coach on Instagram

Follow the Accent Coach on Facebook

Follow the Accent Coach on Tiktok

Subscribe to the Accent Coach on YouTube

Get in touch with Emily:
Want to chat with Emily? Book a quick clarity call here.

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Who Am I?
If we haven’t met 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:
01:08 Origin Story in Accents

02:30 Voice as an Instrument

04:00 Closing the Authority Gap

10:46 Variety Resonance and Framing

25:13 Practice Out Loud

27:13 Authenticity Over Performance

29:40 Presence And Emotion

32:40 Find Your Resonant Range

38:12 Pause Articulate Improve

Emily Sander talks about setting up personal checkpoints to track growth and avoid getting stuck. She shares three practical questions she asks herself every other week: Where am I getting in my own way? What's a middle way? Who can help with that? She suggests different ways to do these check-ins, like journaling or using sticky notes.

Get in touch with Emily:
Want help creating meaningful checkpoints for your growth? Book a quick clarity call w/ Emily here.

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Who Am I?
If we haven’t met 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 Setting Up Important Checkpoints

01:18 Three Questions for Self-Reflection

02:31 Question One: Getting in Your Own Way

03:28 Question Two: Finding a Middle Way

05:22 Question Three: Who Can Help

08:19 Recap of the Three Questions

08:44 Finding Your Checkpoint Method

12:39 Closing Thoughts and Wrap Up

Emily Sander talks about setting up personal checkpoints to track growth and avoid getting stuck. She shares three practical questions she asks herself every other week: Where am I getting in my own way? What's a middle way? Who can help with that? She suggests different ways to do these check-ins, like journaling or using sticky notes.

Get in touch with Emily:
Want help creating meaningful checkpoints for your growth? Book a quick clarity call w/ Emily here.

Free Leadership Resources

LinkedIn

Website

Newsletter

Who Am I?
If we haven’t met 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 Setting Up Important Checkpoints

01:18 Three Questions for Self-Reflection

02:31 Question One: Getting in Your Own Way

03:28 Question Two: Finding a Middle Way

05:22 Question Three: Who Can Help

08:19 Recap of the Three Questions

08:44 Finding Your Checkpoint Method

12:39 Closing Thoughts and Wrap Up

Johan Matton, creator of the Pulse Mindfulness Ring, talks about his journey from filmmaking to building a wearable that helps people take mindful pauses throughout the day using quiet haptic vibrations instead of apps or data tracking. Emily Sander, a former Chief of Staff and early investor, shares how the ring helped her be more present, cut down autopilot habits, and manage stress. They discuss the science behind micro-pauses, the choice not to include biometrics, and upcoming features like synchronized vibrations for groups.

Link Mentioned:
Pulse Mindfulness Website

Get in touch with Emily:
Want to chat with Emily? Book a quick clarity call here.

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Who Am I?

If we haven’t met 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 Disclosure Pulse Investment

01:13 Meet Johan and Pulse

02:02 Johann Before Pulse

02:52 Origin Story of the Ring

06:10 Building the Team and Tech

08:32 Why No Biometrics

11:29 Science Behind Micro Pauses

15:18 How the Ring Modes Work

35:38 Roadmap and Closing

Emily Sander talks about the pressure to give perfect or "right" answers in interviews and meetings, shares examples like people panicking or rambling, and explains why aiming for a "good" answer is more realistic and helpful. She encourages listeners to drop the idea of perfection and focus on contributing value, even if their delivery isn’t flawless.

Get in touch with Emily:
You don't need the perfect answer. You need a clear one. Book a clarity call w/ Emily here.

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Who Am I?
If we haven’t met 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 Perfect Answer Trap

01:11 Define What Perfect Means

02:20 Perfection vs Excellence

03:46 There Is No Right Answer

05:20 Aim for a Good Answer

07:05 Turn Rambling Into Clarity

09:54 Speak Up With Confidence

12:50 Final Takeaways and Sponsor

Judith Germain explains her Maverick Leadership philosophy, focusing on trust, influence, and leading through uncertainty during reorganizations. She shares practical tips for Chiefs of Staff, like building trust before a crisis, giving people real agency in decisions, and using "intelligent disobedience" to challenge bad calls. The episode covers the difference between being trusted and being trustworthy, and how to spot genuine leadership versus performative behavior.

Links Mentioned:
Maverick Leadership Influence Diagnostic

Judith Germain's Website

Connect with Judith Germain on LinkedIn

Get in touch with Emily:
Want to chat with Emily? Book a quick clarity call here.

Free Leadership Resources

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Who Am I?
If we haven’t met 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:
00:28 Meet Judith Germain

01:01 What Is Maverick Leadership

04:08 Predictability Builds Trust

07:13 Trusted vs Trustworthy

08:58 How to Demonstrate Trust

13:12 Spotting Performative Leaders

19:11 Influence and Agency

34:31 Intelligent Disobedience and Wrap Up

Emily Sander shares feedback from a listener who disagreed with her advice to ask, "How can I make your life easier?" as a new Chief of Staff. The listener argued this question could reduce the role to admin work and distract from driving the team's main objectives. Emily Sander explains her view that the approach can help in some situations, especially early on, but agrees it's important for a Chief of Staff to adapt and stay focused on results.

Get in touch with Emily:
Want more practical Chief of Staff advice? Book a clarity call w/ Emily here.

Free Leadership Resources

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Who Am I?
If we haven’t met 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 Listener Pushback Setup

01:40 Fear of Admin Pigeonhole

03:31 When Empathy Makes Sense

04:53 Mixing Approaches as Chief of Staff

06:36 Drive Objectives Hard

09:23 Adapting by Team and Context

11:29 Feedback Invitation and Wrap

Rohit Bassi shares how his transition from consulting at McKinsey led him into a Chief of Staff role at a major PE-backed company, exposing him to real-world operations, M&A, and industry-changing deals. He explains his concept of "people quotient" (PQ) as a framework for evaluating leadership, organizational structure, and talent operations, and discusses how Chiefs of Staff can use PQ tools to make quick, impactful decisions about teams and company growth. The episode includes practical tips for applying PQ in both private equity due diligence and daily business operations.

Interested in private equity? Be sure to check out Emily's other podcast, Private Equity Experience.

Link Mentioned:
Rohit Bassi’s Website

Get in touch with Emily:
Want to chat with Emily? Book a quick clarity call here.

Free Leadership Resources

LinkedIn

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Who Am I?
If we haven’t met 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:
00:52 Rohit Chief of Staff Journey

02:38 Inside the CEO Seat

05:08 From Operator to Investor

08:07 PE Basics and Due Diligence

09:28 What Is People Quotient

11:41 PQ Pillars and No Scores

16:28 Why PE Misses People

25:17 Using PQ as Chief of Staff

28:23 Tools, Next Steps, Wrap Up

Emily Sander talks about how consultants who become Chief of Staff often excel at big-picture thinking and mapping companywide projects, but tend to get stuck over-analyzing instead of taking action. She shares real stories of consultants perfecting charts and data while delaying implementation, and suggests asking yourself if you need to "think more or do more" to avoid getting in your own way. The episode highlights both the strengths and blind spots consultants bring to the Chief of Staff role.

Get in touch with Emily:
Ready to move from overthinking to execution? Book a clarity call w/ Emily here.

Free Leadership Resources

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Who Am I?
If we haven’t met 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 Background Shapes Your Lens

01:14 Consultant Superpowers

02:14 Analysis Paralysis Trap

02:58 Start Imperfectly

04:37 Think More Or Do More

05:48 Stop Getting In Your Way

07:09 Pretty Charts Vs Progress

09:13 Stakeholders And Big Picture

11:46 Wrap Up And Sponsor

Emily Sander talks with Yorm Ackuaku about building visibility as a Chief of Staff, especially in marketing-led organizations like Vista and Weight Watchers. Yorm shares practical tactics, such as highlighting team achievements on Slack, running engaging all-hands meetings, and managing culture during layoffs. She also gives advice for Chiefs of Staff working with new principals and for those navigating global teams.

Get in touch with Emily:
Want to chat with Emily? Book a quick clarity call here: https://www.nextlevel.coach/clarity-call

Free Leadership Resources: https://nextlevel.coach/resources

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

Website: https://nextlevel.coach

Newsletter: https://emilysander.podia.com/newsletter-signup

Who Am I?
If we haven’t met 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:
00:47 Making the CoS Role Visible

02:34 First 30 Days Relationship Map

06:30 Culture Rituals and Recognition

10:09 Leading Through Layoffs

13:34 Partnering With Your Principal

16:17 Adapting to a New CMO Style

21:09 Global Career and Culture Lessons

35:36 Final Advice and Wrap Up