Leveraging Leadership

Emily Sander talks with Lindsay McCleary about her journey from project management to Chief of Staff roles in both the private sector at Binc and the public sector for the City of Charlotte. Lindsay McCleary shares how she created her own job description, built trust with leaders, and tackled challenges like internal communication and supporting a fast-growing city. She offers practical advice for Chiefs of Staff, like moving from note-taker to strategic leader and building strong relationships with principals.

Link Mentioned:
Connect with Lindsay McCleary on LinkedIn

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

Knowledge management is explained as making sure important information flows up, down, and across an organization, using direct examples like leadership decisions being shared with teams, or customer feedback reaching the right people. The episode covers how the Chief of Staff can spot communication breakdowns and keep everyone in the loop, including situations where leaders fail to pass on updates or overreact to minor issues. Tips are offered for testing if messages actually reach people and are understood as intended.

Get in touch with Emily:
Want help improving communication flow across your organization? Book a 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 Why Knowledge Management

01:45 Top Down Communication

02:37 Bottom Up Feedback Loops

03:54 Cross Org Information Flow

06:11 Leadership Message Breakdowns

08:09 Accuracy Checks Upward

09:39 Transparency Sharing Philosophy

13:48 Build Systems Stress Test Wrap

Savio P. Clemente, a two-time cancer survivor, shares how his experiences shaped his adaptive resilience leadership framework and gives practical advice for avoiding burnout and decision fatigue. The discussion covers high-pressure healthcare leadership, the importance of paying attention to your body, and why intentional silence and rest matter for Chief of Staff roles. Clemente also explains his "Aloha reboot" reset method and talks about his interviews with CEOs and CMOs on post-crisis leadership.

Links Mentioned:
Savio P. Clemente’s Website

[TEDx talk and book by Savio P. Clemente] (available via his website)

Savio P. Clemente’s Substack

Savio P. Clemente on social media:

Instagram
Tiktok
Twitter
LinkedIn

Get in touch with Emily:
Want to chat with Emily? Book a quick clarity call 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:
01:09 Reconnecting and Lessons on Failure

04:06 Cancer Survival and Body Awareness

07:00 Decision Fatigue Under Pressure

16:41 Post Crisis Recalibration and Aloha Reboot

18:28 Reframe and Aloha Method

23:21 Metacognition and Identity Traps

24:29 Intentional Silence Practice

33:36 Post Crisis Leadership Wrap

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 Staff streamlining VP workflows after an acquisition, and helping two clashing teams start working better together while waiting for a new role to be filled. The main advice: find useful tasks that must happen anyway to keep progress moving and give teams direction.

Get in touch with Emily:
Need help finding strategic priorities during uncertain times? Book a 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 Interim Period Question

00:39 Do What Matters Anyway

01:12 Example One Data Integration

02:55 Testing and Iterating Fast

03:21 Example Two Post Acquisition Chaos

04:43 Reorg Focus for VPs

06:43 Example Three Awkward Promotion Limbo

07:48 Fixing Two Teams Conflict

12:07 Wrap Up Keep Momentum

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 inclusion at the State Department, influencing global policy, and meeting leaders like Pope Francis. The episode covers how she built relationships across government, advocated for disability rights, and offers advice on leadership and hiring people with disabilities.

Link Mentioned:
Job Accommodation Network

Get in touch with Emily:
Want to chat with Emily? Book a quick clarity call 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:
00:58 Andrea Career Origins

02:54 State Department Explained

06:33 EEO Work at State

08:52 Serendipity to Chief of Staff

11:12 Vatican and G7 Diplomacy

14:57 Inside Vatican Meetings

21:46 Chief of Staff Playbook

34:22 Blinken Team Lessons

49:29 Advice and Disability Inclusion

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 using SEO quizzes, press release writing tasks, and real client scenarios to test candidates’ technical abilities. The advice is to create assessments that match the actual job and adjust them for the level of the role, especially if you’re a Chief of Staff leading the process.

Get in touch with Emily:
Want help designing skill-based hiring assessments? Book a 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 Why Skill Assessments Matter

01:04 Hiring as Chief of Staff

01:31 Two Assessment Principles

02:45 Digital Marketing Hiring Story

04:12 Quizzes Plus Real Scenarios

07:02 Comms Tests and AI Concerns

08:41 Engineering Whiteboard Pressure

10:40 Assessing Senior Leaders

14:00 Be Selective and Trust Process

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 becoming a Senior Vice President and co-founding a fintech company. She gives practical advice on gaining experience, handling imposter syndrome, and how Chief of Staff skills prepared her to run a business.

Get in touch with Emily:
Want to chat with Emily? Book a quick clarity call 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:
00:28 Meet Keosha Lucas

02:05 Doing CoS Work Without Title

06:05 Growing Pains and Processes

08:57 Discovering the CoS Title

16:04 Confidence and Imposter Syndrome

19:12 Career Arc to SVP and Founder

25:46 CoS as Destination and Advice

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 that asking questions doesn’t make you look stupid and highlights the Chief of Staff’s role in creating a shared language across teams, especially during mergers or integrations. Tips include using tools like Google or ChatGPT, paying attention to context, and not overcomplicating things with unnecessary jargon.

Get in touch with Emily:
Confused by business jargon? Book a 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 The Acronym Anxiety

01:34 Step Back and Normalize Jargon

04:05 Learn by Context and Quick Lookups

06:45 Ask Anyway You're Not Dumb

09:45 Why Clarifying Helps Everyone

12:12 Chief of Staff Shared Language

17:38 Communicate Clearly Avoid Buzzwords

21:47 Key Takeaways and Wrap Up

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 feedback, how emotional intelligence works in day-to-day situations, and how small changes - like starting meetings on time - can improve team culture. Maren Perry also explains Arden Coaching’s assessment tools and approaches for building better leaders at all stages of their careers.

Links Mentioned:
Arden Coaching website

Free assessment (organizational quiz)

Get in touch with Emily:
Want to chat with Emily? Book a quick clarity call 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:
00:59 Why Arden Coaching

04:20 Develop Leaders Earlier

08:24 Feedback and EQ Skills

17:41 Align With The Leader

20:52 Small Shifts Big Impact

22:04 Common Team Breakdowns

32:59 Assessment Services And Wrap

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 performance reviews. Real examples include removing unnecessary steps from daily processes, automating Salesforce reports, and even simple gestures like ordering a camera cover for a colleague’s laptop. The episode also covers building trust through these actions and handling resistance from team members.

​​Get in touch with Emily:
Need help improving cross-team collaboration? Book a 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 Listener Question Setup

01:31 Small Wins Build Trust

02:00 Workflow Fixes and Shortcuts

03:44 A Tiny Gesture Example

05:54 KPI Dashboards and Automation

08:58 Handling Peer Resistance

10:27 Time and Political Capital

16:58 Wrap Up and Next Steps