Laurie Maddalena

Laurie Maddalena Helping managers thrive with modern leadership practices rooted in emotional intelligence.

Led by Laurie Maddalena, keynote speaker, former VP, certified coach, and author of the best-selling book, The Elevated Leader. Our mission is to teach modern leadership skills so leaders can be more effective, efficient, and influencial. Our goal is to help leaders create awesome cultures where employees love to come to work. We offer executive and leadership coaching, executive and management de

velopment programs, leadership assessments, Myers-Briggs workshops, Emotional Intelligence assessment and workshops, retreats, and keynote speeches.

06/17/2026

One of the things I shared with on the Productive Joy podcast is that I feel most like myself when I'm well-rested and doing work that puts me in my element—working with leaders, speaking, and facilitating workshops.

We often look for ways to be more productive, focused, and effective.
We don't talk enough about recovery.

Sleep is one of the most underrated tools for leadership and life. When I'm well-rested, I think more clearly, have more patience, make better decisions, and show up with more energy.

This is just one of the topics Christie and I discussed. You can listen to our full conversation on the Productive Joy podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/command-positivity-not-control-more-from-laurie-maddalena/id1728681570?i=1000769032519

As an ambitious professional who is also a mom of three, there are days when I think if I just had 10 more hours each we...
06/15/2026

As an ambitious professional who is also a mom of three, there are days when I think if I just had 10 more hours each week, I could accomplish my business goals a lot faster. It can be hard to navigate a professional career while also balancing the responsibilities as a parent.

Years ago I learned from one of my mentors, Sullivan, to measure progress backwards, not forwards. Meaning, when you look back and realize how far you have come, you see the momentum that is often invisible when you're focused only on what's next. When you look forward, the gap seems so big, that it can feel deflating.

Maybe you need this reminder like I do:

The small steps are still progress.

Keep moving forward, and don't forget to enjoy the life you're working so hard to build.

I’ve noticed that when I have a hard time shutting my brain off at night or being fully present with my family, it’s oft...
06/15/2026

I’ve noticed that when I have a hard time shutting my brain off at night or being fully present with my family, it’s often because I left work in a reactive state.

I didn’t take time to wrap things up, think through priorities, or create enough clarity for the next day.
So, my mind keeps working.

I remember an email I forgot to send while I’m making dinner. Then at bedtime, when things finally get quiet, my mind starts working through all the things I didn’t wrap up before ending the day.

What I’ve learned is that taking a few minutes to plan before ending the workday makes a significant difference.

Not just because it helps me get more done, but because it helps get things out of my head and onto paper. It creates clarity around my most important priorities for the next day instead of carrying them around mentally.

That small practice helps reduce stress, quiet the mental clutter, and allows me to feel more settled before I go home.

06/10/2026

Many leaders are busy all day, yet still feel like they're falling behind.

I loved talking about this with on the Productive Joy podcast, because it’s a conversation that applies to both leadership and life.

Many leaders spend years chasing goals, checking boxes, and staying busy, only to realize they never stopped to ask: What does success actually look like for me?

One question I often encourage leaders to ask is: What are they key result areas of my position?

Define 3–5 key results that matter most.

Not 25 tasks. A few meaningful outcomes that create focus and direction.

Success becomes a lot easier to recognize when you’ve taken the time to define it for yourself. The clearer you are about the results that matter most, the easier it becomes to focus your time, energy, and attention where they create the greatest impact.

We also talked about creating personal and professional joy, and having a holistic, fulfilled life.

One pattern I see holding leaders back is waiting until they're 100% certain before taking action.You know you need to h...
06/08/2026

One pattern I see holding leaders back is waiting until they're 100% certain before taking action.

You know you need to have the difficult conversation, but you keep rehearsing it in your head.

You know a project isn't moving in the right direction, but you delay addressing it because you're still trying to figure out the perfect approach.

You know you need to create the presentation, but you spend more time preparing to start than actually starting.
Most leadership decisions don't come with complete certainty.

At some point, gathering more information stops being productive and starts becoming a delay tactic.

The goal isn't to have all the answers. It's to make thoughtful decisions with the information available and adjust as you learn more.

A simple question to ask: What would be more valuable right now: additional information or decisive action?

The ability to move forward without complete certainty is one of the most important leadership skills you can develop.

It’s not often that I have an aha moment about my own life while being a guest on a podcast, but that’s exactly what hap...
06/05/2026

It’s not often that I have an aha moment about my own life while being a guest on a podcast, but that’s exactly what happened during my conversation with Wendy.

She said something that completely reframed my mindset around being an ambitious entrepreneur while also wanting to be a great mom, and the internal narrative so many women carry about trying to do both well.

If you’ve ever wrestled with the tension of ambition, motherhood, identity, or feeling like you’re constantly trying to balance it all, I think this conversation will resonate with you.

Thank you, .harrop for a fantastic conversation!

06/03/2026

I recently shared in a leadership session that I think the open-door policy is one of the most outdated leadership practices we still normalize, and it definitely sparked some reactions.

I think the original intention was positive. Leaders wanted to create support, connection, and approachability.

Somewhere along the way, we started confusing being approachable with being constantly available.

Many workplace practices fall into this category. We continue them because they’ve always existed, not because we’ve stopped to ask whether they’re actually serving people well.

Leadership has evolved.

Approachable doesn’t mean accessible every second.
Productive doesn’t mean constantly reacting.

I share more in this video.

There’s something about getting to the midpoint of life (hopefully) that makes you think differently about success and w...
06/01/2026

There’s something about getting to the midpoint of life (hopefully) that makes you think differently about success and what really matters.

The older I get, the more I value time, presence, peace, and having enough margin in life to actually enjoy it.

Time really is the ultimate luxury.

When I was promoted into leadership, one of my biggest struggles was shifting from being the person with all the answers...
05/28/2026

When I was promoted into leadership, one of my biggest struggles was shifting from being the person with all the answers to becoming the leader who developed others. Like many leaders, the behaviors that contributed to my early success became the very things that limited my effectiveness over time.

In this feature with She Rises Studios, I share the story behind my own transition from fixer to facilitator, why that shift was challenging, and how changing my mindset changed the way I lead.

Modern leadership requires more than technical expertise. It requires the ability to coach, communicate, develop others, and create ownership across a team. The good news is these skills can be learned.

Grateful to She Rises Studios for the opportunity to share this conversation. Read the article here: https://www.sherisesstudios.com/post/from-fixer-to-facilitator-the-leadership-shift-that-elevates-performance

05/27/2026

Back-channeling is often framed as an individual problem.

Someone stays quiet in the meeting, then expresses frustration afterwards. Complains to coworkers instead of addressing concerns directly.

But in many organizations, back-channeling is also a signal.

A signal that:

-People may not feel safe disagreeing
-That healthy conflict isn’t normalized
-That truth-telling feels risky

Strong cultures aren’t built by avoiding disagreement. They’re built when leaders model direct conversations, invite different perspectives, and create environments where people feel comfortable challenging ideas.

Because when people feel safe speaking up in the right channels, there’s less need to process concerns in the wrong ones.

I share practical ways leaders can create more honest, healthy team cultures in this video.

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