Solo Episodes

What do you do when something goes wrong at the worst possible moment? In this episode, I'm sharing a story from earlier this week — a flat tire, pouring rain, and a coaching mastermind I didn’t want to be late to — and the one sentence that kept me from completely spiraling. That sentence: "This is my curriculum for today." It sounds simple, but the shift it creates is profound. When we hit an unexpected obstacle, most of us default to resistance — why me, why now, this always happens — and wit...

What if the reason you feel overwhelmed isn’t just about your circumstances, but also how you’re thinking about them? In this episode, Leanna Laskey McGrath explores the shift from feeling stuck and out of control to becoming truly empowered in your life and leadership. Drawing from her own experience as a corporate executive and new mom, she shares how easy it is to fall into a pattern of overwhelm, even when you’ve created the life you thought you wanted. Through a powerful comparison of two w...

If you’ve ever ended a full, productive day and still thought “it’s not enough” or “I should’ve done more,” this episode is for you. In this solo episode, Executive Coach Leanna Laskey McGrath unpacks one of the most common (and invisible) patterns she sees in high-achieving women: the constant feeling of falling short, even when you’re doing everything right. The root issue? Most high achievers have never actually defined what “enough” means, so their brain keeps moving the goalposts to keep th...

Welcome to the very first episode of Leadership and Motherhood ! After 2.5 years and 153 episodes, The Executive Coach for Moms Podcast has evolved into something bigger. In this episode, Leanna Laskey McGrath, Executive Coach for Moms, shares why she made the intentional decision to end her previous show. It was not because she stopped loving podcasting, but because she felt called to create something more aligned, more expansive, and more impactful. Leadership and Motherhood is not just a podc...

You are listening to the final episode of The Executive Coach for Moms Podcast as we know it. It’s the end of an era! A huge thank you to everyone who has made this podcast such a huge success and this journey so much fun. Listen to hear a little bit about what’s next, and in the meantime, here are three things you can do right now: Follow the show to receive future updates. Rate and review the show on Apple and Spotify , or wherever you get your Podcasts, to help others gain access. Go back and...

This episode is a grounding conversation for high-achieving women who want to stay ambitious without becoming emotionally hijacked by everything happening in the world. Leanna explores how to remain informed without burning out your nervous system, why timing and intentionality matter when consuming news, and how external chaos can quietly pull you off track from goals that deeply matter to you. She introduces the mindset shift of who before how , inviting you to stop asking how to reach your go...

When life gets busy, even the most successful executive moms can find themselves quietly drifting away from their goals, not because they don’t care, but because the strategies they’ve been taught are missing some important mindset components. In this episode, executive coach Leanna breaks down why motivation fades when life gets full, what’s actually happening beneath the surface, and what truly helps you stay connected to your goals without relying on perfection or burnout. If you want sustain...

In this behind-the-scenes New Year episode, executive coach Leanna McGrath shares the goal setting process she uses every year—and how it’s helped her build a life and career in alignment with her values and vision. Designed for executive moms, working mothers, and high-achieving women, this episode explores why reflection matters, how consistency beats intensity, and what actually keeps ambitious women following through on their goals. If you’re ready for a more sustainable approach to the New ...

Merry Christmas! In this heartfelt episode, Leanna opens up about a deeply personal season of rest, recovery, and reflection. She talks candidly about undergoing surgery after six years of unanswered pain and what it taught her about advocating for herself in a healthcare system that often minimizes women’s pain. Beyond the medical journey, this episode explores something many high-achieving women will recognize: the realization that she felt she needed a “valid” reason to stop producing and let...

As the holiday season ramps up and time and energy feel especially scarce, this episode dives into one of the biggest hidden drains for high-achieving moms: negative thought spirals. Building on last week’s conversation about mom guilt, Leanna breaks down how these spirals form, why executive brains are particularly prone to them, and how quickly a single moment of disappointment, overwhelm, or uncertainty can turn into shame, self-doubt, and paralysis. She shares practical, compassionate tools ...

In this episode, Leanna dives into one of the most persistent and painful emotions ambitious moms face this time of year: holiday mom guilt. Whether you’re listening while wrapping gifts or squeezing this in between meetings, you’ll learn why guilt tends to spike during the holidays and the three core places it comes from: unrealistic expectations, comparison overload, and the pressure to show up “perfectly” in both quantity and quality with your kids. Leanna offers practical tools to bring you ...

In this concise and heartfelt Thanksgiving episode, Leanna invites you to pause amid the cooking, coordinating, and family dynamics to check in with yourself and honor what you need today. She shares three grounding reminders to help you stay regulated during a high-pressure holiday: giving yourself permission to take a breather, releasing the expectation of perfection, and remembering that you’re fully capable of handling whatever comes your way. Tune in for a few minutes of encouragement and p...

In this episode, Leanna dives deep into one of her favorite guiding principles, “Don’t believe everything you think.” If you find yourself overthinking or talking yourself out of opportunities, this episode is for you. Leanna shares practical mindset tools to help you stop second-guessing yourself and challenge the limiting beliefs that hold you back. Learn how to recognize when your “survival brain” is keeping you stuck, reframe unhelpful thoughts, and build confidence through intentional thoug...

In this episode, Leanna explores the powerful mindset shift of embracing life’s various seasons and giving yourself permission to let go of unrealistic expectations. She invites listeners to examine what belongs in their current season and what can be temporarily or permanently set down. Leanna explores how redefining success, relinquishing old expectations, and aligning your energy with your current values can actually make you more effective and fulfilled as a leader and as a mother. If you’ve...

In this episode, Leanna shares one of the simplest yet most transformative practices she recommends to every client: journaling. If your mind feels constantly full and your days seem to blur together, this episode will help you reclaim a sense of calm, clarity, and intention. Leanna walks through the top five journaling prompts she personally uses and teaches and explains how each one can help you feel more grounded, confident, and present in both your work and home life. Whether you’ve never jo...

In this sixth episode of the Taking Care of Yourself series, Leanna gets personal about the resistance so many working and executive moms feel when it comes to making positive changes in their lives. Even when we know what we need to do to feel better, our brains often keep us stuck in old patterns, convincing us it’s too hard, won’t make a difference, or that we’ll fail if we can’t do it perfectly. Leanna explores why that happens, how to recognize the thought errors that hold us back, and what...

In the fourth episode of the Taking Care of Yourself series, Leanna continues with a focus on how executive moms can confidently advocate for their own needs, both at work and at home. High-achieving leaders often excel at championing others, yet find it difficult to speak up for themselves. Leanna explores the mindset shifts and strategies that make it possible to identify, communicate, and honor personal needs without guilt. She highlights why meeting those needs is not selfish but essential f...

High-achieving working mothers are so attuned to recognizing everyone else’s needs at work, at home, and everywhere in between, that we often overlook our own. In this episode of the Taking Care of Yourself series, Leanna explores why tuning into your own needs matters, how ignoring them eventually leads to burnout or resentment, and why recognizing them is the very first step toward balance. She introduces Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a practical framework, shares everyday examples of how unm...

In this episode, Leanna kicks off the fall series with the theme Taking Care of Yourself, a deeper, more practical alternative to what’s often labeled as “self-care.” She explores why so many high-achieving women and busy moms put their own needs last by unpacking five key barriers that keep working mothers from prioritizing their well-being. Leanna reframes each barrier with empowering shifts, reminding working mothers that caring for themselves isn’t selfish; it’s essential for longevity, resi...

We’re closing out the 2025 Summer Series by weaving together the most powerful lessons from the six remarkable women who shared their journeys of leadership, resilience, and motherhood. Their stories highlight that success has many definitions, that motherhood can sharpen rather than limit leadership, and that true strength comes from adaptability, reflection, and alignment with values. Together, their insights remind executive mothers that intentional choices and resilience not only shape caree...

It’s July already! How did that happen? In this mid-summer episode, Leanna’s taking a break from the summer interview series to check in and reflect on what this season has looked and felt like so far. She shares how she intentionally restructured her summer to allow more time with her daughter (while still studying for a major coaching exam, taking an online course, training for a triathlon, and taking an improv class for fun!), and why presence has become a central theme lately. You’ll hear ab...

As the school year winds down, Leanna invites executive moms to take a breath before diving into the busy summer season. With a blend of mindset work and practical tools, she shares a powerful framework for creating a summer that feels intentional and aligned, without the heavy mom guilt or overwhelm. Drawing on lessons from both corporate life and motherhood, Leanna introduces the "Flawless Execution" model to help listeners move from vision to action with clarity. She encourages moms to visual...

Today, we’re celebrating 100 episodes!! Leanna reflects on her two year journey of The Executive Coach for Moms Podcast . She shares five powerful lessons she’s learned from podcasting about living the life of your dreams, from letting go of perfectionism and embracing a beginner mindset to reconnecting with purpose and asking for support. She opens up about the fears and doubts that delayed her launch, the importance of taking imperfect action, and how staying focused on service has helped her ...

In the third and final installment of the Confidence Series, Leanna explores a confidence killer that often flies under the radar: the compulsion to shape-shift in response to others' expectations. Adapting oneself to meet the needs and preferences of others, aka being a chameleon, is a skill many high-achieving women have mastered. It can be a superpower. But when done unconsciously, it chips away at our confidence, erodes our self-trust, and feeds imposter syndrome. In this episode, Leanna sha...