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Growing with Purpose Podcast: "Dodgeball, Friendship, and Shonda Rhimes" with Leslie DeMent and Sabrina White

Written by Small Giants Community | June 14, 2021
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On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman talks with Sabrina White, Head of People & Customer Experience at Text-Em-All, and Leslie DeMent, Managing Director at Tailwind. Sabrina and Leslie are graduates of the Small Giants Leadership Academy who found lifelong friendship in one another and with the other leaders in their class.

 
On this episode, Paul sits down with Sabrina and Leslie to dive into what makes their friendship so special. Sabrina and Leslie were in the same class of the Small Giants Leadership Academy, but they didn't really get to know one another until six months into the program, when they spent time together at the Small Giants Summit, which is included in the Leadership Academy experience. The two hit it off right away, and went on to form a friendship that has only grown since they graduated from the Academy.
 
Today, Sabrina and Leslie rely on one another as friends and as leadership mentors. As Sabrina prepared to become a new mom – and also the first person in her organization to ever become pregnant — Leslie drew on her experience as a working parent to help Sabrina plan for maternity leave and map out a blueprint for her team. And the support is mutual: Leslie loves to remind Sabrina that they're going to be "friends forever" and that she relies on Sabrina as a trusted sounding board for her leadership and personal challenges.
 
In this episode, listen along as Paul, Sabrina, and Leslie have a fun, inspiring conversation about the friendships that emerge from the Small Giants Leadership Academy and the Small Giants Community at large. You'll hear Leslie and Sabrina's reflections on the importance of peer relationships in leadership, and learn why all three of them believe that accountability is a cornerstone of Small Giants leadership.

Tune in to Paul, Sabrina, and Leslie's conversation here or listen below.

 

Show Notes: 

[5:53] Make a Lot of Small Mistakes Early
[12:49] Family Dynamics as a Model for Teamwork
[23:18] "We're Going to Be Friends Forever"
[28:24] Balancing Parenthood and Leadership
[37:48] Try It on Like a T-Shirt

Leadership Book that inspired Each Leader: 
Leslie: "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brené Brown
Sabrina: "The Coaching Habit" by Michael Stanier, "Radical Candor" by Kim Scott