Today Dr. Christie welcomes executive coach and leadership development consultant Laurie Maddalena to discuss how leaders can be more productive and intentional with their time to enjoy life outside work. Lori shares her path from untrained first-time manager to VP of HR, then launching her coaching business 18 years ago after earning a coaching certification and experiencing company value misalignment. 

Key leadership coaching themes include defining success, clarifying 3–5 key results vs. a long job description, and focusing on what only the leader can do—especially coaching and developing team members. Laurie explains the value of executive coaching as an outside lens and protected thinking time. Practical productivity strategies include planning the next day before leaving work, “productivity sprints,” reducing interruptions, improving meeting clarity and alignment, and shifting from fixing and micromanaging to facilitating performance through curiosity and questions.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Welcome and Meet Lori

00:51 Busy vs Productive Leaders

02:19 Lori Leadership Origin Story

04:20 From VP to Coaching Business

05:42 Should You Go Solo

07:51 Intention and Modern Leadership

09:47 Key Results and Unique Genius

11:34 Why Executive Coaching Works

13:18 Define Productive Joy

14:29 Leadership Saboteurs and Focus

15:35 Crisis Mode and Meeting Overload

17:28 Recalibration and Productivity Sprints

19:34 Protect Focus Time and Energy

20:45 Find Lori and Final Takeaways

21:42 Rapid Fire Fun Questions

23:38 Final Wisdom Facilitate Performance

24:37 Closing Challenge Turn Fun Into Action