Cisco SVP Jeff Schultz on Staying True to Your Superpower

When I think about the kind of leaders I want to learn from and share with you, it’s the ones who’ve done it all, and know exactly who they are.

Jeff Schultz is one of those people.

He’s currently SVP of Portfolio Marketing in the Cisco Product Organization. But what makes Jeff’s story worth paying attention to isn’t just the title, it’s the journey. He’s led at every stage: from growth-phase startups to global companies. He’s worn nearly every functional hat: engineering, customer success, marketing, product. And through it all, he’s stayed centered in his superpower: clarity through storytelling.

In our conversation, Jeff dropped wisdom that’s still ringing true for me. Here are the pieces I think every founder, CEO, and executive leader should hear.

---

Stay in Your Superpower

Let’s start with what Jeff calls a superpower. It’s not about being the best in the world at something. It’s about what gives you energy. What lights you up.

For Jeff, that’s storytelling. But not the super polished kind. It’s the kind that starts with listening. That’s the muscle he leans on when stepping into a new role or company: sit with the experts, ask good questions, and listen for the connective tissue. Then help the company tell a clearer, more powerful story about what it’s building.

“Before you can tell a story, you have to listen.”

That idea really landed. Especially for those of us used to leading with answers. Listening — really listening — is a strategy.

---

Let Go to Lead

We talked about control. How hard it is to give up. Especially when you can fix something yourself. Especially when you care.

But Jeff said this:

“You can be deeply influential without being in control.”

The shift for him came when he realized that owning everything diluted not only his energy, but his impact. He credits his longtime boss, Jeetu Patel, for reinforcing this again and again: just because something’s broken doesn’t mean it’s yours to fix. Stay in your lane — your genius — and build around it.

As your org grows, that gets harder but more essential. Letting go requires trust. Trust in your team. Trust in your peers. And trust that your energy is better spent where it moves the needle most.

---

Move Across Functions, Not Away from Yourself

One thing I admire about Jeff is how fluidly he’s moved across functions — engineering, support, marketing, product — without losing the thread.

The secret? He didn’t reinvent himself each time. He stayed close to what energized him: translating complex ideas into clear stories.

He told me:

“Every move I made was because someone needed a bridge between the customer and the product, or the tech and the story. And I love being that bridge.”

That clarity is what made the transitions not only possible, but impactful.

For any leader considering a functional leap, his advice is simple: make an impact where you are first. Then leap. Don’t jump because you’re bored or restless. Jump because your strengths are needed somewhere else.

---

Chasing Titles vs. Building Platforms

Jeff reflected on whether he stayed at small companies too long, chasing the big title instead of the bigger platform.

“If you want the platform that comes with a larger company, don’t wait too long to make that leap.”

That felt especially relevant for startup leaders thinking about their next chapter. There’s nothing wrong with staying in the early-stage world. But if you want experience at scale, it’s better to get that muscle earlier, before you’re seen as “too startupy” to cross over.

It’s not about hierarchy. It’s about optionality. And the doors that open when your experience spans more than one system.

---

If You Want to Lead from Strength, Plan for Letting Go

This is the piece I’ll carry forward the most.

To truly live in your superpower, you have to let go of the rest. That means building strong teams. Creating clarity. Delegating with trust. And resisting the urge to shape your role into something it was never meant to be.

“You don’t have to own everything to be essential.”

That’s not just permission. It’s a strategy.

---

There’s No One Path — But There Are Better Questions

At the end of our conversation, Jeff said something beautifully simple:

“Some people have a plan. Others follow the wind. Both can work. What matters is being honest about where you get your energy and having the courage to shape your career around it.”

If you’re navigating a transition between stages, roles, or whole chapters, let that be the question you return to:

Where do I get my energy? And am I building a career that honors it?

That’s where your influence and impact begin.

— Amanda

---

Interested in exploring my executive coaching practice?

I work with Founders & C-Suite executives on three key levels:

• Strategic: I help you gain clarity, decisiveness, and new pathways of thinking to address the strategic challenges of the business.

• Leadership: I enable you to evolve and scale your leadership capabilities in line with what the business needs.

• Inner Work: I guide you through the inner work that allows you to truly thrive as a human being.

I offer a complimentary discovery session to assess fit. I’d love to hear from you.

---

In case you missed it

---