The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions: 603: Leading Through Chaos: 7 Superpowers for Uncertain Times with Angel Pérez

603: Leading Through Chaos: 7 Superpowers for Uncertain Times with Angel Pérez

Apr 1, 2025

Welcome back to the podcast! Ethan is joined today by Angel Pérez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). Angel has just written a new book on leadership called The Hottest Seat on Campus. It’s written for leaders on college campuses, but the advice he gives is applicable to leaders everywhere, whether you are a college counselor leading in your office, a parent leading in your home, or even a student leading in your school or community.

In their conversation, Angel and Ethan discuss:

How does Angel define leadership?
Why is detachment so important (and how do we do it)?
What’s the number one thing Angel believes will lead leaders to success in the future?
What is deep work and why do we love it so much?
Lots more.

The advice is practical, given the challenges facing higher education, we believe it’s timely… and we hope you find it useful.

If you haven’t met Angel Pérez, he is CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). In this role, he represents more than 25,000 admission and counseling professionals worldwide committed to postsecondary access and success. Named by a Forbes article in 2019 as the most influential voice in college admissions, he strives to build an educational ecosystem that better represents today’s society. Prior to joining NACAC in July of 2020, Dr. Pérez served in secondary and higher education leadership positions across America, most recently, as Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success at Trinity College in Connecticut. He is an advocate for counselors everywhere, an important ally in the work of increasing access to higher education, and I’m so glad to call him my friend.

Play-by-Play

2:03 – Welcome and check-in
3:56 – Angel shares what his book is about, why he wrote it, and who it’s for
5:50 – Why is it important to talk about leadership right now?
9:04 – Superpower #1: The Power of Solitude
15:23 – Superpower #2: The Art of Detachment
24:00 – Superpower #3: Inspiration through Inclusivity
36:45 – Superpower #4: Mastering Self-Management
42:31 – Superpower #5: The Power of Showing Up
50:24 – Superpower #6: The Power of Focus
54:55 – Superpower #7: Shift Your Mindset
1:04:26 – Getting comfortable saying “I don’t know”
1:12:57 – Which superpowers do Angel and Ethan want to work on over the next year?
1:20:07 – Closing thoughts and sharing goals

Resources