Episode 8: “Carve Your Own Niche” with Leo Santarelli

What if one the biggest mistakes leaders make… is trying to lead like someone else?

There’s no shortage of leadership advice. Seven habits. Ten rules. Five dysfunctions. Entire libraries of frameworks promising the formula for great leadership. But according to our guest Leo Santarelli, effective leadership requires going beyond books, training and theoretical frameworks. It requires building your own leadership niche, consciously, and in a way that is consistent with your values and who you are.

Drawing on 35 years of leading teams in global companies including Procter & Gamble, Merck & Co. and Biogen, working across multiple countries and cultures, and now mentoring the next generation, Leo has seen just about every leadership style imaginable.

Along the way, Leo realised there is no one universal template. He believes leadership develops much like a species in an ecosystem does. Every leader must discover the role where they naturally thrive. The trick is building that role consciously, one block at a time.

To build your own model, Leo suggests using all the opportunities that you will be given throughout your career and your life. Sometimes you will identify a leadership style that fits you well. Sometimes you will see a leader that you do not want to emulate, and yet, this leader may display one behaviour that would be essential for you in your tool kit. Receiving feedback and coaching can help you adopt a behaviour that at first may be counter-intuitive for you.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by competing leadership advice, this conversation offers a powerful reframe.

Stop trying to follow someone else’s blueprint.

Start building your own.