
Shift from Fixing to Facilitating with Laurie Maddalena
From Productive Joy by Dr. Christie McMullen
May 19, 2026 · 26 min · Season 1 · Episode 285
About this episode
Dr. Christie McMullen interviews Laurie Maddalena about shifting leadership styles from fixing to facilitating for better productivity and life enjoyment.
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…
People in this episode
Host: Dr. Christie McMullen
Guest: Laurie Maddalena
Topics covered
- leadership
- productivity
- coaching
- intentional living
- time management
Keywords
- executive coaching
- leadership development
- productivity strategies
- time management
- facilitating performance
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: VP of HR, coaching business
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