Shachella James

Curiosity is your career currency — and this is the episode that proves it. Shachella James, VP of Enterprise Systems at CenterPoint Energy, closes out the Strategic Curiosity series with Ralph E. Owens II and Terry Baylor by delivering her top three leadership principles, making the case for strategic friction, and explaining why one bold question per meeting is all it takes to shift your trajectory. Part 5 of 5.

Most leaders are taught to have answers. The best ones have learned to ask better questions. In this episode, Shachella James — VP of Enterprise Systems at CenterPoint Energy, 12-time marathon runner, and national-level bodybuilding competitor — joins Ralph E. Owens II and Terry Baylor to break down how curiosity, used intentionally, becomes one of the most powerful tools in a leader's arsenal. She unpacks the biggest misconception about asking questions at work — that curiosity signals ignorance — and flips it entirely. Her frameworks for tailored, timely, and two-clicks-down questions will change how you show up in every room you walk into.

The professionals who get promoted aren’t the ones with all the answers — they’re the ones asking the questions that shift the room. Shachella James, senior technology executive, joins Ralph E. Owens II and Terry Baylor to break down how strategic curiosity gets you noticed by senior leaders, including the gift of exclusion and the art of gathering. Part 3 of 5.

Performing well but not advancing? The SPICE framework may be the missing piece. Shachella James, VP of Enterprise Systems at CenterPoint Energy, joins Ralph E. Owens II and Terry Baylor to break down the career acceleration model built on Sponsorship, Performance, Image, Curiosity, and Exposure — and why curiosity is the one element that makes all the others work. Part 2 of 5.

You don't have to have all the answers to lead at the highest level — but you do have to ask better questions. In this episode, Shachella James, VP of Enterprise Systems at CenterPoint Energy, joins Ralph E. Owens II and Terry Baylor to introduce three curiosity-driven leadership principles that separate promotable leaders from everyone else. Part 1 of 5.