Laurie Maddalena

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

10/29/2026

When it comes to communication, many leaders think getting information out is success.

But getting information out isn’t the same as communicating effectively.

During times of change and uncertainty, how leaders communicate is just as important as what they communicate. Employees need more than updates. They need clarity, context, and opportunities to ask questions and work through concerns.

This is where intentional leadership makes a difference.

In this video, I share a practical framework for communicating more effectively, especially when your team is navigating change and uncertainty.

10/28/2026

I have to remind myself of this sometimes—stay in my own lane and stop focusing on what others are doing.

We all have our own path, strengths, and gifts. The more we focus on our own growth instead of comparing ourselves to others, the more we can appreciate what makes us unique.

10/22/2026

🎉 One year ago, The Elevated Leader: Engage the Modern Workforce with Confidence, Clarity, and Courage was published!

Writing this book was an important milestone for me, both personally and professionally.

My goal was to help leaders move beyond outdated management practices and lead with greater confidence, clarity, and intention. Over the past year, one of the most rewarding parts of this journey has been hearing from leaders who have read the book and are putting these ideas into practice with their teams.

As I celebrate this milestone, I'm reflecting on four leadership principles that are more relevant than ever:

1. Be a facilitator, not a fixer. You don't need to have all the answers. Ask better questions, coach your team, and create opportunities for others to take ownership.
2. Make clarity a leadership priority. You can't always create certainty, especially during change. But you can create clarity around expectations, priorities, and what matters most.
3. Lead with intentional energy. How you manage your energy impacts how you show up, the decisions you make, and the people you lead.
4. Recognize your leadership saboteurs. Even experienced leaders fall into habits that limit their effectiveness. Becoming aware of these patterns is the first step toward changing them.

These principles are at the heart of what it means to be an Elevated Leader.

I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported the book, shared it with others, and taken the time to tell me how it's influenced their leadership.

One small favor as I celebrate this anniversary: If you've read The Elevated Leader and found it valuable, I'd be grateful if you'd share your thoughts in an Amazon review. Your feedback helps other leaders discover the book and means so much to me as an author and small business owner.

⭐ Leave a review: Amazon Review here: https://a.co/d/05dbwaKS
📖 Get your copy: The Elevated Leader Book here: https://a.co/d/05dbwaKS

Photo: Me in Times Square last year!

Learn more at lauriemaddalena.com/elevated-leader-book.

10/20/2026

One of the biggest differences between people who make progress and those who struggle isn't motivation. It's discipline.
It's easy to follow through when we're motivated, energized, and things are going well. The real challenge comes when we don't feel like doing what we know will move us forward.

As leaders, discipline shows up in the small choices we make every day.

• Making time to coach and develop our team instead of jumping in and solving every problem.
• Having the difficult conversation we've been putting off.
• Protecting time for strategic thinking instead of getting pulled into every urgent request.
• Following through on our commitments, even when competing priorities get in the way.
• Creating boundaries so we have the energy to lead effectively.

And none of us gets this right all the time. I certainly don't.

Even though I teach these principles, I still have days when I get pulled into the urgent instead of focusing on what's important. Or when I know I should step away from work, but find myself checking one more email or trying to get one more thing done.

I think that's an important reminder: Being intentional doesn't mean being perfect. It means recognizing when we've gotten off track and making the choice to get back to what matters.

In the moments when I get off track, I ask myself this question: What is the most important thing I should be working on right now?

The habits that make us effective leaders aren't always the easiest or most comfortable in the moment. But the small choices we make consistently are what create results over time.

10/16/2026

My first experience as a supervisor was a lot like what I see with many new leaders today: I was promoted, but I wasn’t actually taught how to lead.

I thought my job was to give directions, answer questions, and keep projects moving forward. I didn’t understand that great leadership was less about having the answers and more about developing the people around me.

That experience is one of the reasons I’m so passionate about practical leadership development today.

Inside The Elevated Leader Program, you’ll learn the skills many of us were never taught when we first became leaders—how to coach, delegate, give feedback, navigate difficult conversations, and instill accountability without becoming the person everyone depends on to solve every problem.

Over 12 weeks, you’ll build practical skills you can use immediately, along with greater awareness of your own leadership style.

Our next cohort begins January 28, 2027, and early bird registration is open.

If you want to spend less time fixing and more time leading, I’d love to have you join us.

Learn more and enroll here: https://www.lauriemaddalena.com/elevatedleader

10/14/2026

Before you start developing someone for management, make sure they understand what the role actually requires.

Leadership isn’t simply the next step for someone who is great at their job. The competencies required for success are different from an independent contributor role.

So when someone tells you they want to move into management, don’t jump immediately to, “How can I help you get there?”

Get curious first.

Ask what appeals to them about leadership. What do they think will be challenging? How comfortable are they giving feedback or addressing performance issues? Do they genuinely enjoy developing other people?

These conversations aren’t meant to discourage someone from becoming a leader. They help people understand what the expectations are—and decide whether the daily work of leadership is work they want to do.

We don’t need to promote more people into management simply because it’s the next logical career step.

We need to develop people who genuinely want to lead.

10/12/2026

I’m taking a brain science course, and I’m fascinated by how much our repeated thoughts and experiences matter.

One of the principles of neuroplasticity is that repeated patterns of neural activity can strengthen connections in the brain. In simple terms, what we repeatedly practice becomes easier for our brain to return to.

That made me think about the things we repeatedly tell ourselves:

“I’m not good at this.”
“I’m not confident enough to do that.”
“I don’t have enough time.”
“It’s easier to just do it myself.”

When we repeat the same story over and over, it starts to feel less like a thought and more like a fact.

I’m paying more attention to my own internal dialogue lately, and challenging some of the stories that may be limiting what I believe is possible.

What we say to ourselves matters. Over time, those thoughts shape what we believe.

10/09/2026

It’s harder to be a leader today than it’s ever been.

Leadership is no longer just about delivering results. You’re expected to coach, give feedback, navigate difficult conversations, create accountability, develop your people—and somehow find time to do your own work, too.

The challenge is that most leaders were never actually taught how to do those things.

That’s why I created The Elevated Leader Program.

Over 12 weeks, we’ll focus on the practical skills that make leadership feel more effective and sustainable: delegating without micromanaging, coaching instead of fixing, communicating with clarity, having tough conversations with confidence, and creating a team that takes more ownership.

Our next program begins January 28, 2027, and early bird registration is now open!

If you’re ready to lead with confidence, inspire with clarity, and live with more intention, I’d love to have you join us.

Learn more here: https://www.lauriemaddalena.com/elevatedleader

10/07/2026

One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is assuming that a great individual contributor will naturally become a great leader.

But technical expertise and people leadership require very different skills.

When someone expresses interest in management, our instinct is often to immediately start preparing them for the next step. A better starting point is curiosity.

Why do they want to lead? What do they believe the role actually requires? Are they excited about developing people—or simply following the career path they think they’re supposed to take?

Those conversations can help someone make a much more intentional decision about whether leadership is truly the right fit.

And that’s better for the employee, the team, and the organization.

In Part 2 (stay tuned next week!), I’m sharing some of the questions I recommend asking before moving someone toward a leadership role.

10/05/2026

I tell my kids this all the time when it comes to homework: You will rarely feel like doing it, so just get working. 😊

This applies to so many things in life.

We won’t always feel like having the difficult conversation, working out, preparing for the meeting, tackling the project, or doing the thing that feels uncomfortable in the moment.

Motivation is unreliable. Discipline is choosing to take action anyway.

The hardest part is usually getting started. I’ve found that once I do, the resistance usually starts to fade.

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Rockville, MD

Website

http://www.lauriemaddalena.com/

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