The People Playbook with Coach Cora Podcast

In this episode of The People Playbook, host Coach Cora Lonning sits down with Tia Adaba (RN, BSN), Vice President of Operations for At-Home Services with ML Healthcare. Drawing from her 17+ years of nursing leadership and her book, Me First, Tia breaks down the critical balance between driving operational results and sustaining employee wellness in deeply human industries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Strong hiring isn’t about offering more—it’s about offering what actually aligns with the people you want to lead and keep. In this episode of The People Playbook with Coach Cora, Coach Cora is joined by Blanca Abbud, Vice President of Sales at Engage PEO, to explore how leaders can use benefits strategically rather than reactively when attracting talent.Drawing from her work with organizations across industries, Blanca shares what candidates are really responding to in today’s market and where leaders often miss the mark with benefits design and communication. The conversation unpacks how life stage, flexibility, wellbeing, and clarity around total compensation influence candidate decisions, and why copy-and-paste benefits often attract the wrong fit. If you’re a small business owner, executive, or people leader trying to attract the right talent without entering a costly perk arms race, this episode offers timely insight into how benefits can work for your business instead of against it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retention isn’t driven by rewards alone — it’s driven by clarity around what success actually looks like. On this episode of The People Playbook with Coach Cora, Coach Cora sits down with Gerry Bower, President of TLC Total Lawn Care, to explore why onboarding and retention succeed only when expectations, hiring, and rewards are intentionally aligned. Drawing from decades of experience in a labor-intensive, seasonal industry, Gerry shares what leaders often miss when teams struggle to stay engaged and committed. The conversation unpacks how unclear KRAs, inconsistent rewards, and misaligned hiring practices quietly erode trust; and how defining real contributions creates focus, fairness, and accountability across the organization. If you’re a small business owner, executive, or people leader navigating retention challenges and wondering why good employees keep leaving, this episode will help you rethink how clarity (not perks) keeps teams together right now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hiring isn’t about convincing candidates to say yes — it’s about demonstrating that your leadership is worth committing to.  On this episode of The People Playbook with Coach Cora, Coach Cora is joined by Katy Barger, Senior Technical Recruiter at Beacon Hill Recruiting, to explore what candidates are really saying.   Katy shares how top talent is evaluating roles through the lens of flexibility, salary transparency, and values alignment, and why outdated job descriptions and rushed decisions quietly undermine hiring success.    If you’re a small business owner, executive, or people leader who wants to attract capable talent — and keep them — this episode will help you rethink how your hiring process speaks before you ever make an offer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don’t build your business around the people — build the people around the business. In this episode, Coach Cora goes solo to unpack why understanding and defining the work itself should come before hiring. She breaks down how analyzing the work up front creates clearer roles, stronger performance, and smoother growth, and offers concrete questions leaders can use to shape work that aligns with business outcomes. If you’re hiring, scaling, or leading a team, this episode will help you rethink how you approach roles, expectations, and people strategy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clear, consistent communication is one of the strongest predictors of engagement and retention. In this episode, Coach Cora explores how everyday feedback and communication habits shape trust, performance, and motivation—and why leaders who avoid or mishandle feedback often lose good people without realizing why. toastmasters.orgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every leader’s philosophy is shaped by experience. In this first episode, Coach Cora shares the moments that shaped her passion for learning and development and why she’s committed to giving business owners and leaders a practical playbook for building strong teams and productive workplaces. Her insights on focus are easily transferable!  coachcora.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.