that can immediately be put into play. Erica believes that, “The
dries up? What paths will they explore? Erica emphasizes
first step any leader has to go through is learning how to
that overcoming roadblocks by taking risks and making
lead themselves.” How are they and others hardwired? How
changes is what sets people who really want to grow apart
do they communicate appropriately and build healthy relation-
from the pack.
ships? The emotional development of a leader is a vital consideration as it factors into how to let go, trust more, and get work
done through other people.
There are several points about leadership that Erica asserts to her
clients: (1) leadership can be learned, (2) leadership is emotional; people have issues with power, ego, and prestige, making
Stemming from her most recent book, Ms. Peitler plans to launch
dynamics complicated, and (3) leadership in service of others is
Leadership Rigor boot camps, designed to be 1 to 3-day full-im-
fundamentally being a highly emotionally intelligent leader. It’s
mersion workshops for both individuals and teams. Erica also
not about me; it’s about them.
explains that “…leadership skills and capabilities ultimately
can manifest as interchangeable Lego® pieces. Once you’re
comfortable with the approaches in Leadership Rigor, you
open yourself up to applying these skills into everyday
practices, everywhere.”
Ms. Peitler agrees that great leadership is in high demand in
today’s world. Unfortunately, in many businesses, a leader can at
best attract talent but may not be able to retain it for long if they
don’t have a culture in place in which talent can thrive. She insists
that leaders face huge consequences if they do not invest
While Erica has enjoyed immense success for her earlier pursuits,
in their people to accelerate skill development [among
she isn’t shy about acknowledging weak points along her journey.
leaders and their teams]. Otherwise, there will be pervasive
For one, despite heading global teams and Divisions at the General
performance and productivity gaps, people won’t grow, and the
Management level with $100-400 million in revenue, she found
company will ultimately stagnate.
it a challenge to be a young leader. Her technical business skills
exceeded her emotional intelligence skills early on, resulting