How Susan Inouye is Transforming Leadership Through Human Connection
Welcome to the Leadership Vision Podcast, our show helping you build a positive team culture. Our consulting firm has been doing this work for the past 25 years, ensuring that leaders are mentally engaged and emotionally healthy.
Leadership is changing. In today’s world, people aren’t just looking for direction—they’re looking to be seen, known, and valued. And our guest today, Susan Inouye, has spent over two decades helping leaders do just that.
Susan is an award-winning executive coach and the author of Leadership’s Perfect Storm: What Millennials Are Teaching Us About Possibilities, Passion, and Purpose. She’s also the creator of Sawubona Leadership, a framework rooted in the Zulu greeting “I see you”—an invitation to acknowledge the humanity of the people we work with fully.
In this powerful conversation with co-hosts Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring, Susan shares her unique journey from filmmaking to executive coaching and how her work with at-risk youth helped her uncover the essential truth at the heart of transformational leadership.
What Is Sawubona Leadership?
Sawubona Leadership is based on three principles:
- Connect and Receive – Presence precedes performance. When leaders slow down to connect, they begin to unlock trust and psychological safety.
- See the Gifts – Everyone has innate strengths. Susan teaches leaders to identify what someone was born to bring, even when it’s hidden behind frustration or misbehavior.
- Create a Culture of Belonging – When people feel seen and valued, they give more, stay longer, and elevate the whole team.
“The gift lies next to the wound.”
— Susan Inouye
From Frustration to Flourishing: Two Leadership Stories
Susan shares real-life examples of leaders who transformed their teams—not by enforcing control, but by learning to see.
In one story, a manager was ready to fire a team member named Jack for not hitting sales quotas. But after some coaching, she realized Jack had the highest retention rate and was deeply trusted by clients. Rather than fire him, she empowered him to create a training manual based on his strengths. He stayed, trained others, and became a catalyst for cultural growth across the company.
Another leader, Beth, was on the edge of burnout. Her gift of planning had become overused, turning into control. Through somatic coaching—starting with letting go of objects in her home and culminating in a trapeze class—Beth learned to trust others and created space for her team to thrive.
Why This Matters Now
In the current leadership landscape, where burnout is rising and engagement is falling, Susan’s message hits a nerve. She reminds us that:
- Leaders don’t need more tools—they need more presence.
- People don’t need fixing—they need seeing.
- Culture change isn’t a program—it’s a practice.
“When leaders observe and name the gifts in others, they create connection, not compliance.”
— Susan Inouye
Listen, Reflect, Share
This episode is an invitation to look beneath the surface and see your team—and yourself—differently.
Listen to the full episode on The Leadership Vision Podcast.
Share it with a leader who’s ready to lead with heart.
Reflect on this question: What’s one gift you haven’t fully named in someone you work with?
About The Leadership Vision Podcast
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in the discovery, practice, and implementation of a strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. We believe that knowing your Strengths is only the beginning. Our highest potential exists in the ongoing exploration of our talents.
Please contact us if you have ANY questions about anything you heard in this episode or if you’d like to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.
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