🎯 Quiet Leadership

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Snif is a fast‑growing direct‑to‑consumer fragrance brand mixing luxury scents with Gen‑Z‑friendly marketing. The Chief of Staff acts as an extension of the CEO, driving strategic planning, goal setting and cross‑functional operations while fostering a remote‑first culture. The role manages road‑mapping, oversees progress on company milestones and ensures alignment across teams. Snif’s momentum is notable: after debuting at Ulta Beauty in 2024, the company’s “Rose Era” fragrance created with influencer Monet McMichael generated a 20 000‑person wait list and sold out quickly. With viral popularity and national retail expansion, this role offers the chance to steer operations at a trendy brand with big ambitions.

Reporting directly to the health‑plan president and CEO, this role organizes governance structures, leads strategic initiatives, researches new opportunities and risks, and serves as a liaison between executive leadership and stakeholders. Duties include supporting board committee activities, drafting communications, coordinating staffing structures and monitoring plan performance. Centene recently reported strong revenue growth and continues to deliver value for members while investing in community programs. The company has been recognized as one of America’s greatest workplaces and launched mobile‑clinic programs to bring healthcare to underserved communities. Joining Centene offers influence within a mission‑driven organization navigating large public health plans and community impact.

This senior leader spearheads enterprise service delivery across Hays’ managed‑service‑provider clients, balancing profit‑and‑loss ownership with strategic vision. Responsibilities include defining and evolving delivery frameworks, driving innovation, cross‑selling services, managing risk and compliance, mentoring a global team and ensuring operational excellence. The company supports remote and hybrid work and invests heavily in training and development. Hays is modernizing its offerings with a “Find & Engage” methodology that uses emerging technology and data science to proactively source and engage candidates. As the firm evolves into a tech‑driven talent partner, this role puts you at the forefront of change.

Ogilvy’s loyalty‑marketing agency seeks a VP to establish modern agency processes, oversee resource allocation and project planning, and integrate new systems and tools. You’ll collaborate with leadership to align operational strategy with creative services, drive capacity planning, manage talent development and mitigate risks while enabling new business. Ogilvy’s parent WPP recently acquired New Commercial Arts; its founder is becoming CEO of Ogilvy Group UK, bringing complementary capabilities and AI‑driven tools into the agency. This role offers the opportunity to implement operations in an agency being turbo‑charged by new talent and technology. You’ll help scale loyalty programs for major clients while fostering a culture of innovation.

Bonterra, a social‑good software company, needs an executive to lead its 150‑person global professional‑services team, delivering implementation and ongoing value‑add services to nonprofits and enterprises. The VP will drive innovation in service delivery, develop new offerings, optimize a flexible services model across regions, and build multi‑year strategic and financial plans while ensuring accountability for revenue and margins. Preferred candidates have extensive leadership experience in service delivery, a history of managing large SaaS P&Ls and familiarity with platforms like Salesforce and Certinia. Bonterra recently acquired fundraising platform OneCause, adding more than 6 000 nonprofits to its network and creating a unified events and donor‑engagement platform. With this move, Bonterra aims to boost U.S. charitable giving by making fundraising more effective, making this an exciting growth role.

🔹 Director, Program Management
Company: Apex Group
Location: Fully Remote (Charlotte, NC or Dallas, TX hubs)
Apply: Apply here

Apex Group, a global financial‑services provider, seeks a Director to oversee major initiatives across its operations and technology functions. Reporting to the Global Head of Program Management and Governance, you’ll align projects with strategic goals, develop detailed program plans, manage resources and budgets, mitigate risks, liaise with stakeholders, ensure quality, and foster continuous improvement across cross‑company teams. Qualifications include Six Sigma certification, PMP, experience in financial services and proficiency in project‑management tools; the role is fully remote with a competitive salary plus bonus. Apex Group has been expanding rapidly, acquiring tokenisation leader Tokeny to accelerate digital‑asset finance and completing the acquisition of MJ Hudson’s fund‑services units to broaden its cross‑jurisdictional capabilities. These moves underscore the firm’s ambition to build digital infrastructure and advanced fund‑management solutions—growth that the new program director will help operationalize.

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Bots Take the Wheel

The Problem: Important decisions get made in meetings, Slack threads, and hallway conversations—then everyone forgets what was decided and why.

The Fix: Automate decision capture so there's always a source of truth.

Real Use Cases:

TL;DR: Stop losing decisions in the void. Build systems that capture them in real-time—whether in Slack, meetings, or docs—and make them searchable later. Institutional memory is a competitive advantage, and it shouldn't depend on someone's perfect note-taking.

Visionary Voices

Quote: "There's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas." (Source: TED Talk: The Power of Introverts)

Susan Cain didn't set out to write a leadership book. She set out to answer a personal question: Why does the world reward extroversion when so many brilliant people are quiet?

The result was Quiet, a book that's reshaped how we think about leadership, influence, and who gets to have a voice.

Her core argument: We've built a culture that overvalues charisma and undervalues depth. The consequence? We promote the wrong people, make worse decisions, and burn out the introverts who could be our best leaders.

On Quiet Leadership:
Susan argues that introverts often make better leaders than extroverts—especially in complex, high-stakes environments. Why?

Research backs this up. Studies show that introverted leaders often outperform extroverted ones when managing proactive teams—because they create space for others' ideas instead of drowning them out.

On the "Extrovert Ideal":
Susan calls out the corporate world's bias toward extroversion: the open offices, the constant meetings, the assumption that leadership = charisma.

But here's the problem: The best thinking doesn't happen in brainstorm sessions. It happens in quiet, focused work.

She cites studies showing that group brainstorming actually reduces creativity compared to individuals working alone and then sharing. Why? Social pressure, groupthink, and the loudest voices dominating.

On Leading as an Introvert:
Susan's advice for quiet leaders:

What You Can Learn From Her:

Where to Learn More:

Why She Matters to Delivery Professionals:
Delivery leadership often rewards the wrong behaviors: being in every meeting, having all the answers, speaking first.

Susan's work gives permission to lead differently—through systems, documentation, strategic silence, and deep expertise. If you've ever felt like you don't fit the "typical leader" mold, her frameworks prove there's another way.

Final Word:
Susan Cain proves that leadership isn't about who talks the most—it's about who thinks the deepest. If you're the person who listens more than you speak, who prefers writing to presenting, who needs quiet to do your best work—you're not broken. You're exactly the kind of leader organizations need.

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Professional Development

Let's destroy a myth:

Leadership doesn't require charisma, extroversion, or commanding rooms.

Some of the most effective leaders are the quietest people in the organization.

They don't dominate conversations. They don't perform confidence. They don't need to be the center of attention.

Instead, they lead through depth, consistency, and systems.

Let's talk about how.

The research is clear:

A study by Adam Grant (Wharton) found that introverted leaders delivered better outcomes than extroverted ones—when managing proactive teams. Why? Because they listened more, created space for others' ideas, and didn't dominate the room.

Another study showed that introverts make up 40% of the population but only 2% of senior executives. That's not because they lack leadership ability. It's because organizations reward the wrong behaviors.

Here's what quiet leaders do differently:

They think before they speak
Extroverted leaders process by talking. Introverted leaders process internally—and when they speak, it's more considered.

They build systems, not cults of personality
Quiet leaders don't rely on charisma. They create frameworks, documentation, and processes that scale without them.

They empower, not dominate
Extroverted leaders often solve problems themselves. Quiet leaders create conditions for others to solve problems.

They prioritize depth over breadth
Quiet leaders go deep on fewer relationships, building trust through consistency rather than networking widely.

The result?
Quieter leadership often produces more sustainable, scalable organizations.

If you're not the loudest voice in the room, here's how to lead effectively:

Strategy 1: Lead Through Documentation

The Problem:
Charismatic leaders can repeat their vision in 100 meetings. Quiet leaders can't—and shouldn't have to.

The Solution:
Write it down. Once.

How to do it:

A. Document your thinking

B. Make your writing public (internally)

C. Use writing to replace meetings

Example:

Loud Leader: Explains the Q2 strategy in 15 different meetings to 15 different teams.

Quiet Leader: Writes a 2-page Q2 strategy doc. Posts it. Says: "I'm happy to discuss, but everything's in the doc. Leave comments."

The Result: The quiet leader's time scales. The loud leader's doesn't.

Strategy 2: Build Influence Through Consistency

The Problem:
Charismatic leaders can sway rooms with a single speech. Quiet leaders can't—and that's okay.

The Solution:
Build trust through steady, reliable action over time.

How to do it:

A. Be the person who always follows through

B. Show up consistently in small ways

C. Let your work speak

Example:

Over 6 months, you consistently:

You never dominated a meeting. But everyone knows: if you own it, it'll get done right.

The Result: Trust compounds. People seek you out—not because you're loud, but because you're reliable.

Strategy 3: Use Strategic Silence

The Problem:
Many people feel pressure to contribute to every conversation. If you're quiet, you feel like you're not adding value.

The Solution:
Silence is value—when used strategically.

How to do it:

A. Listen more, speak less (but speak meaningfully)

B. Use silence to create space for others

C. Observe first, then act

Example:

Loud Leader in Meeting: Talks 60% of the time. Drives the conversation. Makes snap decisions.

Quiet Leader in Meeting: Talks 10% of the time. Asks clarifying questions. Synthesizes at the end: "Here's what I heard: [summary]. Does that sound right?"

The Result: The quiet leader is seen as thoughtful, inclusive, and strategic. The loud leader might be seen as dominating.

Strategy 4: Leverage 1:1 Relationships

The Problem:
Charismatic leaders build influence in group settings. Quiet leaders often struggle there.

The Solution:
Build deep 1:1 relationships instead.

How to do it:

A. Invest in 1:1 time

B. Influence happens in private conversations

C. Be the person people come to

Example:

Before a contentious exec meeting about org restructure:

Loud Leader: Shows up and makes their case loudly in the meeting.

Quiet Leader: Talks to 5 key execs in 1:1s beforehand. Understands their concerns. Shapes the proposal to address them. By the time the meeting happens, consensus is already built.

The Result: The quiet leader has more influence because they did the relationship work upfront.

Strategy 5: Build Systems That Scale Your Thinking

The Problem:
You can't be in every room. You can't explain your thinking 100 times.

The Solution:
Build systems, frameworks, and processes that encode your thinking.

How to do it:

A. Create decision frameworks

B. Build templates and playbooks

C. Codify principles

Example:

Loud Leader: Makes decisions case-by-case based on gut feel. Team waits for them to weigh in.

Quiet Leader: Creates a prioritization framework (Impact / Effort matrix). Documents it. Trains the team. Now the team makes prioritization decisions without waiting.

The Result: The quiet leader's judgment scales. The team is empowered.

Quiet leaders aren't just "extroverts who need to speak up more." They have distinct strengths:

Deep Listening
Quiet leaders notice what others miss—body language, tone, unsaid concerns. This makes them better at reading rooms and understanding people.

Thoughtful Decision-Making
They don't make snap judgments. They sit with complexity, analyze deeply, and make better calls.

Empowering Others
Because they're not dominating, they create space for others to shine. This builds stronger, more capable teams.

Calm Under Pressure
When others panic, quiet leaders stay steady. That calm is contagious and stabilizing.

Long-Term Thinking
Quiet leaders aren't chasing visibility. They're building systems, relationships, and foundations that last.

The Challenge:
Quiet leaders often get overlooked for promotions because they're not "visible enough."

The Solution:
Make your work visible without performing extroversion.

Tactics:

A. Write monthly impact summaries

B. Speak in the forums where you're strongest

C. Let advocates speak for you

D. Claim credit clearly (but humbly)

The Truth:
Even quiet leaders have to speak up sometimes. Here's when it's non-negotiable:

A. When you have unique expertise

B. When no one else is saying what needs to be said

C. When silence would be interpreted as agreement

D. When someone needs defending

How to Speak Up:

Old Narrative: Quiet people need to be "more confident" or "work on executive presence."

New Narrative: Quiet leaders have distinct strengths that loud leaders lack. Organizations need both.

Reframes:

The Point:
Stop trying to be someone you're not. Lead in the way that plays to your strengths.

TL;DR: Quiet leadership isn't about overcoming introversion—it's about leveraging it. Lead through documentation, build influence through consistency, use strategic silence, invest in 1:1 relationships, and create systems that scale your thinking. Your strengths are listening deeply, thinking carefully, empowering others, and building lasting foundations. The loudest person in the room is rarely the most effective. Be the person who thinks the deepest, not the one who talks the loudest.

Wanna chat IRL? Connect with me on LinkedIn and we can set up some time.

The Delivery Career Decoder shows why you’re already qualified for more—and how to prove it.

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Until next time,

The Business of Delivery

Quiet moves. Bold Careers.