The Elevated Leader – Episode 248

This week on Your Best Day Yet, Chief Victory Officer Eric Guy is joined by Laurie Maddalena: executive coach, leadership consultant, and author of The Elevated Leader. Together, they explore how leadership has evolved from command and control to connection and coaching. Laurie shares her journey from an untrained first-time supervisor to an expert helping thousands of leaders thrive with confidence, balance, and intention. From fixing to facilitating, Laurie reveals why the best leaders today don’t just manage, they cultivate cultures where people love to come to work.

Takeaways:

Intentional Leadership: Laurie reminds us that great leadership doesn’t happen by accident, it’s a daily decision. Too often, leaders start their days reacting to what’s urgent instead of focusing on what’s important. The modern leader pauses long enough to plan, to reflect, and to prioritize what truly moves the needle for their people and their culture. Intentional leadership means carving out time for coaching, development, and connection, the very things that create engagement and fulfillment. Laurie calls this understanding your key result areas as a leader: the handful of things that, if you did them consistently, would elevate your team’s performance and your own impact.

From Fixing to Facilitating: One of the most powerful shifts Laurie describes is moving from “fixing” to “facilitating.” For generations, leaders were rewarded for solving problems quickly, for jumping into the trenches and getting things done. But today, that same instinct can hold a team back. When leaders fix everything, they create dependency instead of ownership. Facilitating, on the other hand, means asking great questions: “What do you think?” “What options have you considered?” This builds confidence, creativity, and problem-solving muscles in others. As Laurie puts it, leadership today isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about helping others find theirs.

Engagement Through Empowerment: Laurie points out a sobering truth: only about 31% of employees are engaged at work. That means most people are going through the motions: uninspired, disconnected, and unfulfilled. The key to reversing this trend isn’t more perks or pay raises; it’s better leadership. People want to feel seen, valued, and developed. They want leaders who care about them as humans, not just headcount. Engagement rises when leaders connect personally, provide consistent feedback, and create space for people to grow. Empowerment builds energy, and energy builds results.

Lead the Whole Person: Modern leadership means leading humans, not roles. Laurie shares that people no longer separate who they are at work from who they are at home. They want to bring their full selves to their jobs: their creativity, their personality, and their values. The best leaders recognize that, meeting each person where they are. That might mean offering encouragement to one team member and direct feedback to another. It’s not “one-size-fits-all” anymore. It’s adaptive leadership, leading with emotional intelligence and curiosity.

Parenting and Leadership Parallels: Laurie and Eric both connect the dots between leadership and parenting. In both roles, it’s tempting to step in, fix problems, and protect people from struggle. But real growth happens when we allow others to experience challenges and guide them through it. Whether at home or in the workplace, facilitating instead of fixing builds resilience and confidence. As Laurie admits, even for her, it’s easier said than done, but that’s where intention and practice make the difference.

Caretaking the Culture: Laurie believes that leadership today is as much about caretaking culture as it is about managing performance. It’s ensuring that your actions align with your organization’s stated values. Respect, trust, and accountability can’t just be words on the wall; they have to show up in daily behavior, from showing up to meetings on time to keeping promises. When leaders model integrity, they give permission for everyone else to do the same. Culture doesn’t live in posters, it lives in people.

The Best Day Yet: For Laurie, the best day isn’t about perfection; it’s about alignment. It’s a day where her personal and professional worlds connect, where she helps leaders find purpose at work and still ends the day with her family by the fire. It’s a reminder that success and joy aren’t separate goals. They’re built moment by moment, with awareness, balance, and gratitude. The best days, like the best leadership, are created on purpose.

Links:

Check out Laurie Maddalena: https://www.lauriemaddalena.com/ 

Get Her New Book Out Now: https://www.lauriemaddalena.com/elevated-leader-book 

Make this your BEST DAY YET! Learn more at resources.CenterForVictory.com.

Shop Hunter Fans: https://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=2K1zifKZ7lw&offerid=817845.5&type=3&subid=0

Team Sports America: https://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=2K1zifKZ7lw&offerid=1717112.2&type=3&subid=0

Great Sales over at Men’s Warehouse: https://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=2K1zifKZ7lw&offerid=1139723.414204248022220&type=2&murl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.menswearhouse.com%2fp%2fegara-skinny-fit-dress-pants-tmw-20mb&LSNSUBSITE=LSNSUBSITE