Empathy, authenticity, and soft skills: Next-generation leadership with Chuck Saia and Leigh Shamblin

What skills do the leaders of tomorrow need? How do we teach those skills in the classroom?  How has the pandemic changed leadership styles?  And what does any of this have to do with an armadillo, a Mandarin duck, an eagle, and a dolphin? Leigh Shamblin, director of leadership and a professor of practice and Chuck Saia, senior partner at Deloitte share their insights on leadership and everything in between.

Leigh Shamblin serves as the director of leadership and a professor of practice at the Poole College of Management. Chuck Saia is a senior partner at Deloitte. In his 30 year career, Chuck has held various leadership positions, including being the former Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte risk and financial advisory board. Chuck is a CPA and holds an MBA from Quinnipiac University. Earlier in 2021, Chuck authored his first book, “You got this kid: Words of advice for young leaders,” with all of the proceeds, benefiting Lupus research and environmental sustainability.

Transcript

Chuck Saia: Your team is so vital to how you both think and do, and on any given day, you might do more thinking than doing, but the most important thing is to leverage a team that allows you to both think and do, even if it’s viewed as an extension of you, the most enjoyable thing for me personally, as a leader is to think through strategy, set that strategy.

And then inspire my teams to go and execute that strategy. 

Leigh Shamblin: Something that I hear often from individual contributors is I’m not a leader. And I would challenge you to think differently. You absolutely are a leader you’re already 100% responsible for leading yourself. So figure out how to get good at that.

Even if you don’t have other people to lead. But never think that just because you don’t have positional power, you’re not a leader

Jenny Hammond: to the Poole Podcast, the official podcast of the Poole College of Management at NC State University.

Full Episode Transcript

The Poole Podcast is hosted by Jenny Hammond, and is a production of Earfluence.

Amplify Your Expertise
About the Author
At Earfluence, we are proud to produce this podcast. We believe in sharing amazing stories, providing knowledge to the world, and celebrating diverse voices. Through podcasting, our clients are amplifying their expertise, expanding their networks, building a content engine, and growing their influence. If you're interested in podcasting, we'd love to hear from you! Schedule your free 15 minute podcast consult today.