The JOY CEO

Lori Pine
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The Joy CEO is the podcast for high-achieving professionals who are done chasing titles and tired of playing by outdated leadership rules. Hosted by former corporate VP turned Executive Coach Lori Pine, this show is your invitation to redefine success—and lead with more clarity, confidence, and joy. Each week, you’ll hear bold, honest conversations with executives, trailblazers, and changemakers who are rising on their own terms. You’ll learn what it really takes to thrive at the top—from emotional intelligence and self-reflection to presence, purpose, and powerful leadership. If you're ready to grow your impact and your well-being, hit subscribe. Because joy isn’t just personal—it’s a leadership superpower. And your rise starts here.

  1. 3d ago

    Your Team Doesn’t Need You to Do More: They Need You to Lead Differently

    What do you do when your team is overwhelmed, overworked, and coming apart at the seams? You take work off their plate for them, right? I mean, that might instinctively seem like an obvious answer. Or you might push everyone to work harder, optimize their time, and somehow get more done. But what if there’s a third option? In this episode, I’m talking about what happens when there is simply too much work moving through too few people — and why the answer isn’t always to work harder. Instead, we need to ask a different question: Who is best suited to do this work, and where does the work actually belong? I share a story from my time as a VP running a billion-dollar sales team, when I learned that my greatest value wasn’t in doing the tactical work my team was already doing. My value was in the strategic thinking, identifying opportunities, and moving the business forward. I also share my “90% approach” — getting the work to 90%, then bringing in the people closest to the work to add what I couldn’t see. Because great leadership isn’t about doing everything yourself. It’s about knowing where you add the most value, trusting your team’s expertise, and creating enough space for everyone to do their best work. 3 Key Takeaways 1. Overload can be a routing problem. When too much work is passing through too few people, the answer may not be to work harder. Look at who is best suited to do the work and where the work actually belongs. 2. Know your zone of genius. As a leader, your job isn’t to go back and do the work you were once promoted for doing. Get clear on where you bring the greatest value, where you are energized, and where your strengths can move the business forward. 3. Get to 90%, then invite your team in. You don't need to finish everything alone. Get clear on the direction, then ask your team: What am I missing? What would you add? What would you delete? This creates ownership, uses their expertise, and builds trust. 🔎 Mentioned in the Episode:The 90% Approach – Lori’s practice of getting strategic work to 90% before bringing in her team to add their expertise, perspective, and knowledge. Zone of Genius – Understanding where you, as a leader, add the most value and where your strengths, energy, and perspective are best used. Ritz-Carlton – Lori references the well-known example of Ritz-Carlton empowering employees to resolve guest issues on the spot, illustrating what can happen when leaders trust their people to make decisions. Positive Intent – The leadership practice of trusting that people are showing up each day intending to do the right thing and give their best. ✨ Reflection Prompts:What work are you currently doing that someone else may actually be better suited to own? Where is your zone of genius, and are you spending enough of your time there? What could you bring to 90% and then hand to your team by asking, “What am I missing? What would you add? What would you delete?” What is one decision your team could make without you? 🧠 Who This Episode Is For:CEOs, executives, and leaders managing overloaded teams Leaders who find themselves absorbing work instead of leading strategically Managers who want to create more ownership and decision-making within their teams High-achieving women who want to lead with more trust, clarity, and joy 📩 Want to Go Deeper?Follow Lori on LinkedIn to continue the conversation. Book a Leadership Strategy Call with Lori at loripyne.com. 🎧 Subscribe to The Joy CEO Podcast ⭐️ Leave a five-star review to help other heart-centered leaders find the show. 📲 Share this episode with a leader who may be carrying work that doesn’t belong to them.

  2. Sep 23

    Where is Your Team Guessing?

    What if your team isn’t overwhelmed because they have too much work? What if they’re overwhelmed by the guessing? Welcome to The Leadership Reset, a four-part series about what you carry, what you choose, what you pursue, and how you stay engaged. In Part 1, I'm starting with the issue I see most in the leaders I coach: ambiguity. I once inherited a team that looked like it had a workload problem. Deadlines were slipping, work was overlapping, people were waiting on each other, and the finger pointing had started. The obvious fix was to ask for more resources. Instead, I stepped away from my desk. What happened next is the heart of this episode. We also dig into new research featured in Harvard Business Review on the three kinds of role stress, and why workload may not be the one weighing on your team the most. You can't simply hire smart people, tell them to figure it out, and then judge the outcome. Clarity is your job. When your team knows what is expected, they finally have room to do their best work. That is where JOY at work starts. JOY is the strategy. 3 Key Takeaways1. Your team may not have a workload problem. When people look stressed, our instinct can be to move work around, add resources, or suggest time off. But role ambiguity and competing priorities can be just as damaging as having too much work. 2. Clear direction is a leadership responsibility. You can’t tell smart, capable people to simply “figure it out” and then judge them when they make a decision without the information they needed. Leaders need to own the direction, expectations, priorities, and decision-making. 3. You have to slow down to speed up. The thinking work may not be visible, but it is essential. When you protect time to get clear, map responsibilities, define priorities, and decide what matters, your team can execute faster and with greater confidence. 🔎 Mentioned in the Episode:"Research: Work Stress Isn't Always About Workload" by Gargi Sawhney and Mallory McCord, Harvard Business Review, September 2026: https://hbr.org/2026/09/research-work-stress-isnt-always-about-workloadRole overload, role conflict, and role ambiguity: the three types of role stressKobe Bryant's line, "You have to work hard in the dark to shine in the light.”The Five-Mile Walk – Lori’s personal example of stepping away from the noise, moving her body, and using that space to map out her team’s roles and responsibilities. ✨ Reflection Prompts:Where is my team guessing right now?When did I last make time for the thinking work my leadership role requires?What is one thing I’ve been keeping big because committing feels risky?Who owns what, who decides, and what does good actually look like?What priorities do I need to make crystal clear for my team? 🧠 Who This Episode Is For:CEOs, executives, and leaders managing teamsManagers whose teams seem overwhelmed, stuck, or unclearLeaders dealing with missed deadlines, duplicated work, or unclear ownershipLeaders who want their teams to move from guessing and waiting to confident executionHigh-achieving leaders who need to make more space for strategic thinkingAnyone who wants to create more clarity, confidence, and joy at work 📩 Want to Go Deeper?Follow Lori on LinkedIn to continue the conversation. Book a Leadership Strategy Call with Lori: loripine.comExplore Lori’s coaching, community, and retreats at loripine.com 🎧 Subscribe to The Joy CEO Podcast ⭐️ Leave a review to help other heart-centered leaders find the show 📲 Share this episode with a leader who needs a little more clarity—and a little less guessing.

  3. Sep 16

    When Your Team Goes Quiet: What Are You Assuming?

    What if the people around you aren't disengaged, careless, or pulling away? Specifically, what if the people who work for you are actually doing their absolute best? In this episode, I'm talking about the power of positive intent and how simply changing the story we tell ourselves about other people can completely change the way we lead. I share a conversation with a CEO client who noticed that when budgets and timelines got tight, his anxiety would kick in and he would become more reactive and start micromanaging. The problem was that he was interpreting short replies and lack of response from his team as apathy, when in reality, they were heads down doing the very work he was so worried about. Positive intent isn't about being naive or ignoring problems. It's about starting from the belief that the people you hired, your team, your partner, your friends, and the people you love are likely trying to do their very best. 3 Key Takeaways1. Your assumptions shape how you lead. When pressure rises, it’s easy to interpret silence, short replies, or delays as a lack of investment. But the story you create in your head may not be the truth. 2. Positive intent can interrupt the cycle of reactivity and micromanagement. When you trust that your people are trying to do good work, you create space for them to work from motivation rather than fear of your reaction. 3. Pause before creating a story about someone else. The next time someone goes quiet or their response feels short, ask: What would I assume if I believed this person had positive intent and was doing their absolute best right now? 🔎 Mentioned in the Episode:Positive Intent – The leadership practice of assuming that the people around you are showing up with good intentions and doing their best.The CEO Client Story – A client noticed that pressure around budgets and timelines caused him to become reactive and micromanage his team.Motivation vs. Fear – The difference between having a team that works from motivation and one that works out of fear of their leader’s reaction.The Story We Create – How short replies, silence, or unanswered messages can lead us to make assumptions that may not reflect what is actually happening. ✨ Reflection Prompts:Where have you assumed someone stopped caring when they might simply be overwhelmed or focused on solving a problem?What story are you creating about someone based on their silence or a short response?What would you assume about this person if you believed they had positive intent and were doing their absolute best right now? 🧠 Who This Episode Is For:CEOs, executives, and leaders managing teamsManagers who find themselves becoming reactive or micromanaging under pressureLeaders who want to build teams motivated by trust rather than fearAnyone looking to communicate and lead with more awareness, curiosity, and joy 📩 Want to Go Deeper?Follow Lori on LinkedIn to continue the conversation Book a Leadership Strategy Call with Lori: loripine.com 🎧 Subscribe to The Joy CEO Podcast ⭐️ Leave a review to help other heart-centered leaders find the show 📲 Share this episode with someone who’s navigating pressure and wants to do it with more grace

  4. Sep 9

    Are You a Judgmental Leader? The Hidden Cost of First Impressions

    In this episode, I’m calling myself out. We all do this: judge people before we actually know them. You walk into a meeting, meet someone new, and within seconds you’ve decided whether they’re capable, trustworthy, professional, or someone you want on your team. We like to call it intuition, but sometimes it’s simply our brain taking a shortcut with almost no information to go on. I bring in Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, including the Warren Harding error and our strange habit of linking physical appearances (height) with leadership ability. I also tell you about the day someone joined my team and my first reaction was, “Ew, who picked him?” The important part wasn’t my first thought—it was what came next: “What am I missing?” This episode is an invitation to catch your judgments, question them, and give people enough space for your second thought to know more than your first one did. 🔑 3 Key Takeaways:Your First Thought Is Not a Fact We size people up in seconds, long before we have enough information to actually know them.That snap reaction gets shaped by our own history, our insecurities, and whatever mood we walked in with.The leadership skill isn't eliminating judgment. It's catching it and choosing what you do next. Replace Judgment With Curiosity My first reaction to a new team member and how I actually experienced him later were two completely different stories.Instead of letting that first impression become the final word, I asked, "What am I missing?"Curiosity buys people the time to show you who they really are. The Box You Put Someone In Costs Everyone When a leader judges fast, that opinion carries weight. It shapes how the rest of the team sees that person too.Someone who feels boxed in stops bringing their ideas, their energy, and their full self to the room.Before you make it permanent, ask yourself: “How would I want to be treated in this situation?” 🔎 Mentioned in the Episode:Malcolm Gladwell's Blink — his research on snap judgments and the unconscious assumptions running the show underneath our decisions.The Warren Harding Error — judging someone's capability by how they look instead of what they can actually do.The CEO Height Example — how something as simple as height quietly shapes who we assume is fit to lead.The "Mr. Chipper" Story — my own real time lesson that my first reaction to someone wasn't the truth.September Reset — my personal invitation to clear the slate after summer and take stock of the judgments you're carrying into the last months of 2026. ✨ Reflection Prompts:Who have you judged in about five seconds flat?Did a first impression quietly become a permanent verdict?What might you be missing?Where could curiosity replace judgment this week?Is someone on your team holding back because they feel you've already boxed them in?How would you want to be treated if you were the one who made a rough first impression?Who might deserve a second look? 🧠 Who This Episode Is For:Leaders ready to get honest about their blind spotsManagers walking into a new team, or welcoming someone new to theirsHigh achieving women who want more curiosity and less snap judgment in how they leadAnyone who has made, or been on the receiving end of, a bad first impressionLeaders who want their team to feel safe enough to show up as themselves 📩 Want to Go Deeper?Follow Lori on LinkedIn or Instagram to continue the conversation. Explore Lori’s coaching, retreats, and community at loripine.comConsider joining Lori’s upcoming Hudson Valley retreat, October 14–16, for women ready to think differently about leadership and bring more joy into how they lead. 🎧 Subscribe to The Joy CEO Podcast ⭐️ Leave a five-star review to help other heart-centered leaders find the show 📲 Share this episode with someone who needs a reminder to pause, take inventory, and trust what’s unfolding

  5. Sep 2

    Women Mean Business: How Heather Bell Turned "Mean Women" Into A Movement

    In this inspiring conversation, Lori sits down with Heather Bell, CEO of the Orange County Chamber, to talk about resilience, leadership, entrepreneurship, and what it really takes to build something that lasts. Heather shares the winding path that brought her to leadership—from being a single mom who went back to school at 30, to building a career at Heineken, taking a leap into entrepreneurship, leading at the YMCA, and eventually stepping into the CEO role at the Chamber during the chaos of 2020. Four years later, the Chamber was named New York State’s Chamber of the Year. But this episode isn’t just about professional success. It’s about knowing when to take a risk, surrounding yourself with the right people, building a team instead of trying to do everything yourself, and leading with compassion without compromising accountability. If you’re building a business, leading a team, or wondering what your next chapter could look like, this conversation is full of reminders that resilience, connection, and knowing your “why” can change everything. 🔑 Key Takeaways:You Don’t Build a Career or Business Alone Heather’s journey is a powerful reminder of the importance of mentors, connections, and knowing when to ask for help. From leaders who saw potential in her to hiring the right people as an entrepreneur, she learned that success isn’t about doing everything yourself—it’s about surrounding yourself with people who can help you grow. Resilient Leadership Means Knowing When to Adapt When Heather stepped into the CEO role, the Chamber was struggling financially and lacked a clear vision. She created a 90-day plan, rebuilt the team, focused on delivering real value, and stayed committed through the challenges. Four years later, the Chamber was named New York State’s Chamber of the Year. Joy Comes From Knowing Your Why—and Lifting Others Up For Heather, joyful leadership means loving what you do, knowing who you’re doing it for, and seeing the impact of your work. She finds particular joy in watching her team grow and succeed, believing that great leaders don’t need to be the center of everything—they create space for others to shine. 🔎 Mentioned in the Episode:Orange County Chamber – Heather’s work building membership, partnerships, programs, and community impact.Heineken USA – Where Heather began developing her corporate relations, government affairs, and community relations experience.YMCA – Heather’s leadership experience, including Executive Prep Institute and growing programs by 80%.Chamber Grow – Heather’s entrepreneurial success program, designed to help business owners understand the value of investing in support and professional expertise.Launchpad Program – A business academy for graduating seniors interested in entrepreneurship, culminating in a Shark Tank-style pitch competition with a $5,000 prize.Women Mean Business – A Chamber initiative focused on Mentoring, Empowerment, Authenticity, and Networking.New York State Chamber of the Year – The prestigious recognition the Orange County Chamber received after Heather’s leadership helped transform the organization. ✨ Reflection Prompts:Where are you trying to do everything yourself instead of asking for help?Who are the mentors who helped you become the leader you are today?Are you leading people—or simply managing tasks?Where could you create more space for your team to step up?What is your “why,” and is your current work actually answering it? 🧠 Who This Episode Is For:Entrepreneurs who are trying to grow without burning themselves outCEOs and leaders building stronger, more empowered teamsWomen navigating a career pivot or second actBusiness owners learning when to delegate and invest in supportLeaders who want to build with compassion, resilience, and purposeAnyone wondering what their next chapter could look like 📩 Want to Go Deeper?Follow Lori on LinkedIn to continue the conversation Book a Leadership Strategy Call with Lori: loripine.com 🎧 Subscribe to The Joy CEO Podcast ⭐️ Leave a review to help other heart-centered leaders find the show 📲 Share this episode with someone who’s navigating pressure and wants to do it with more grace

  6. Aug 26

    What If Your Biggest Changes Are Already Happening?

    In this episode, I’m checking in halfway through the Fire Horse year and reflecting on the intentions I set back in February: to speak more and move my body more. Six months later, I can see those intentions have unfolded in ways I never expected—from speaking at Google and being invited back to Harvard, to growing The Connect, hosting my first retreat, and becoming stronger both physically and emotionally. I also share what I’ve been seeing with my clients—women stepping into dream opportunities, leaving rooms that no longer fit, taking time to rest, and building something new. This episode is really an invitation to pause and take inventory: What has changed in your life since February that you never could have predicted? Sometimes the next right step is all we need to take before life starts surprising us. 🔑 Key Takeaways:Your Intentions May Be Bigger Than You Think Lori reflects on how her two simple intentions, speaking more and moving her body more, ended up representing something much deeper.Speaking became about sharing her truth and years of hard earned wisdom, while movement became about moving energy and becoming stronger emotionally and physically.Audience follow-up → Go back to the intentions you set earlier this year. What might they actually be asking of you now? You Don't Need Ten Priorities Lori revisits the idea that a high energy year requires focus, not an endless list of goals.Her approach was to choose two priorities and stay intentional about taking the next step.Audience follow-up → If you could only focus on two things for the rest of the year, what would they be? Sometimes You Need to Rest Before You Sprint One of Lori's clients took an entire year away from work and is now choosing between two dream senior level opportunities.Another accelerated her corporate exit and moved into consulting while building a business of her own.Audience follow-up → Where might rest, space, or a pause actually be preparing you for your next move? The Room You're In Shapes What You Believe Is Possible (revised header) Lori shares the story of a client who left a larger company for a smaller organization where her creativity, diversity, and thinking are truly valued.Another client finally declared that it was time to leave, and that decision expanded what she believed was possible.Audience follow-up → Are you in a room that recognizes and values what you bring? Pay Attention to What Has Changed Six months can create an enormous amount of movement when you consistently take the next right step.Lori encourages you to look beyond the goals you remember and notice the unexpected ways your intentions may already be showing up.Audience follow-up → What has changed in your life since February that you couldn't have predicted? 🔎 Mentioned in the Episode:The Fire Horse Year – Lori’s reflection on the rare energy and intensity associated with this lunar year.Speaking More & Moving More – Lori’s two personal intentions for the year and how they evolved beyond their original meaning.The Connect – Lori’s community for women, which has grown largely through referrals.The Connect Retreat – Lori’s Hudson Valley retreat and the powerful response from the women who attended.The Next Right Step – Lori’s reminder that intentional action doesn't require knowing exactly where everything will lead. ✨ Reflection Prompts:What intentions did you set at the beginning of the year?What has happened since then that you never could have predicted?Where are you stronger than you were six months ago?Do you need to sprint right now—or do you need to rest?Are you currently in a room that values what you bring?What would happen if you trusted your next right step? 🧠 Who This Episode Is For:Ambitious women reflecting on their goals and directionLeaders navigating a season of change or transitionWomen who feel like they’ve lost sight of their original intentionsHigh-achievers who need permission to slow down and reassessAnyone looking for more joy, movement, and possibility in the second half of the year 📩 Want to Go Deeper?Follow Lori on LinkedIn or Instagram to continue the conversation. Explore Lori’s coaching, retreats, and community at loripine.comConsider joining Lori’s upcoming Hudson Valley retreat, October 14–16, for women ready to think differently about leadership and bring more joy into how they lead. 🎧 Subscribe to The Joy CEO Podcast ⭐️ Leave a five-star review to help other heart-centered leaders find the show 📲 Share this episode with someone who needs a reminder to pause, take inventory, and trust what’s unfolding

  7. Aug 19

    Ambition, Anxiety, and Motherhood: Strengthening Relational Intelligence with Kate Kripke

    In this honest and candid conversation, Lori sits down with Kate Kripke, a clinical expert who has spent more than 20 years working with mothers, to explore the relationship between ambition, anxiety, and motherhood. Together, they unpack what happens when achievement becomes tied to self-worth, and how beliefs we learned early in life can quietly fuel the pressure to get everything right. Kate shares her path from clinical work with teenagers and mothers to founding the Postpartum Wellness Center, now the Parent and Family Wellness Center. She explains why anxiety is a normal response to uncertainty, how children can "borrow" our nervous systems through co-regulation, and why postpartum anxiety often goes unrecognized. The biggest shift in this conversation is moving from strategic intelligence to relational intelligence. Motherhood isn't something to solve. It's a relationship to build, and that asks something different of the part of you that's used to fixing things. If you're a high-achieving woman, a mother, or someone who has spent years managing uncertainty by becoming more capable, this conversation is an invitation: you don't have to fix every feeling. You can learn to stay with it. 🔑 Key TakeawaysWhen Ambition Becomes Tied to Worth Ambition itself isn't the problem. The challenge begins when achievement becomes the source of identity, value, or safety.Learned beliefs can teach us that doing more, achieving more, or being "good enough" will protect us from discomfort.Audience follow-up → What do you believe achievement says about you, and who would you be without it? Anxiety Is a Response to Uncertainty Kate explains anxiety as a fear-based response to unpredictability.Rather than something broken to eliminate, anxiety can be understood as trying to communicate something.Audience follow-up → Where are you trying to create certainty because uncertainty feels uncomfortable? Our Kids Borrow Our Nervous System Children learn emotional safety through relationship and co-regulation.When we're overwhelmed, our children can pick up on it, not because we're doing something wrong, but because connection is how humans are wired.Audience follow-up → When your child is struggling, can you regulate yourself before you try to regulate them? Motherhood Isn't a Problem to Fix High-achieving women are often exceptionally skilled at strategic thinking and problem-solving.Motherhood asks for a different kind of intelligence: relational intelligence.Audience follow-up → Notice when your instinct is to fix, explain, or solve. What would it look like to stay connected instead? Postpartum Anxiety Can Be Hard to Recognize It doesn't always look like what we expect: constant worry, hypervigilance, difficulty relaxing, or a need to control what happens next.Lori shares part of her own postpartum experience in this conversation.Audience follow-up → Instead of "Am I doing motherhood right," try "How am I actually feeling?" Relational Intelligence Means Staying With Discomfort Building emotional fluency means noticing feelings without immediately judging or changing them.The goal isn't eliminating difficult emotions. It's staying connected to yourself and others while you feel them.Audience follow-up → Next time discomfort shows up, pause before solving. What is this feeling asking you to notice? A Longer Exhale Can Signal Safety Kate shares a simple breath practice: make your exhale longer than your inhale.This can help signal safety to the nervous system before you react.Audience follow-up → Try it. Notice what changes in your body. 🔎 Mentioned in the EpisodeKate Kripke — clinical expert with more than 20 years working with mothers and families. (unverified, see flag above)Parent and Family Wellness Center — formerly the Postpartum Wellness Center, founded by Kate.Co-Regulation — how children develop emotional safety through connection with caregivers.Relational Intelligence — staying present and emotionally engaged rather than relying only on strategic problem-solving.Longer Exhale Breathing — a simple practice to help signal safety to the nervous system. ✨ Reflection PromptsWhere has ambition become connected to your sense of worth?What are you trying to control because uncertainty feels uncomfortable?When do you default to fixing instead of connecting?What emotions do you find hardest to sit with?How might your relationships change if you were more comfortable with not having all the answers? 🧠 Who This Episode Is ForHigh-achieving women navigating ambition and motherhoodMothers experiencing anxiety, overwhelm, or pressure to get everything rightWomen who struggle with uncertainty and the need to control outcomesLeaders and parents interested in emotional and relational intelligenceAnyone wanting to understand anxiety through a more compassionate, nervous-system-aware lens 📩 Want to Go Deeper?Follow Lori on LinkedIn to continue the conversation Book a Leadership Strategy Call with Lori: loripine.com Find Kate Kripke on her website http://katekripke.com/ or her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/katekripke/ 🎧 Subscribe to The Joy CEO Podcast ⭐️ Leave a review to help other heart-centered leaders find the show 📲 Share this episode with someone who’s navigating pressure and wants to do it with more grace

  8. Aug 12

    Are You Overleading or Underleading? How to Find Your Right-Sized Leadership

    What happens when you give your team complete freedom to do their work—and they still aren't moving forward? In this solo episode of The Joy CEO Podcast, I explore a leadership mistake I made myself: assuming that being a good leader meant staying out of my team's way. I was leading a team whose work I had never personally done, so I thought the best thing I could do was give them autonomy and stay hands-off. What I eventually discovered was that I wasn't protecting them from the things that were making their jobs harder—broken processes, redundant requests, unnecessary internal noise, and unclear ownership. Once I walked through their workflow from beginning to end, I could see where my leadership was missing. My job wasn't to do their work. It was to create the conditions for them to do their work well. That shift ultimately freed up roughly 10 hours a week for my team. In this episode, I introduce the idea of right-sized leadership and revisit my Hula Hoop Principle: knowing what belongs inside your leadership responsibility, what belongs with your team, and where you've accidentally stepped too far in—or too far out. If you've ever wondered why your team isn't stepping up, this episode may give you a different question to ask. 🔑 Key Takeaways:Your Team May Not Need More Accountability—They May Need Better LeadershipWhen a team isn't stepping up, our first instinct can be to assume they need more direction, more accountability, or more oversight. But sometimes the problem isn't the team. Lori shares how being too hands-off meant she wasn't seeing the obstacles that were slowing her team down. Leadership isn't about constantly checking on people. It's about understanding enough of their world to remove the barriers that keep them from succeeding. Micromanagement Isn't the Only Leadership ProblemWe often talk about micromanagement as if the opposite—leaving people completely alone—is automatically good leadership. It isn't. Overleading and underleading can create the same result: confusion, frustration, and a team that doesn't know what belongs to whom. The goal isn't to be more involved or less involved. It's to be involved in the right places. Walk the Workflow Before You Assume You Understand ItLori realized that she couldn't effectively protect her team from problems she couldn't see. So she walked through their entire end-to-end workflow. That revealed broken processes, duplicated requests, unnecessary internal noise, and places where her team was spending time on things that weren't actually adding value. Sometimes leadership starts with curiosity rather than answers. Your Job Isn't to Do Their Work—It's to Protect Their Ability to Do ItAs leaders, we don't need to become experts in every task our teams perform. But we do need to understand enough to identify what gets in their way. Lori's role wasn't to step into her team's work. It was to remove distractions, clarify ownership, protect their time, and make sure the right work was happening at the right level. That distinction helped free up around 10 hours a week for her team. Use the Hula Hoop to Clarify OwnershipLori returns to one of her favorite leadership metaphors: the Hula Hoop Principle. Think about your leadership responsibilities as one hula hoop and your team's responsibilities as another. Your job isn't to jump into their hula hoop every time something gets difficult. And their job isn't to carry everything that belongs inside yours. Healthy leadership requires knowing where your responsibility begins and ends. Find Your Right-Sized LeadershipThe best leadership isn't about choosing between being hands-on and hands-off. It's about being right-sized. Sometimes your team needs you to step in. Sometimes they need you to step back. Sometimes they need you to ask a question instead of giving an answer. The leadership skill is knowing which one is required in the moment. Pause Long Enough to Let Them LeadOne of the hardest things for capable leaders is resisting the urge to solve the problem themselves. Lori encourages leaders to pause, get curious, and ask questions before jumping in with the answer. Sometimes the most powerful leadership move isn't giving someone the solution. It's giving them the space to find it. 🔎 Mentioned in the Episode:Lori's experience leading a team doing work she had never personally done.The danger of confusing hands-off leadership with effective delegation.Broken processes and redundant requests that created unnecessary workload.How Lori's team gained back roughly 10 hours a week.The Hula Hoop Principle and defining leadership responsibility.The difference between overleading and underleading.The concept of right-sized leadership.Using curiosity and questions instead of immediately providing solutions.Lori's Hudson Valley retreat and the importance of creating space for leadership reflection. ✨ Reflection Prompts:Where might your team be struggling because you're too far away from the work?Where are you stepping into your team's hula hoop instead of letting them own it?What processes, requests, or distractions are making your team's work harder than it needs to be?Are you overleading, underleading, or leading at the right size?What would change if you asked a question before giving an answer?What could you remove or protect so your team can spend more time doing the work that matters?Where does your team need more autonomy—and where do they actually need more leadership? 🧠 Who This Episode Is For:Executives and senior leaders managing high-performing teams.Founders and business owners who want their teams to take more ownership.Leaders who worry they are micromanaging.Leaders who have swung so far toward autonomy that they have become too hands-off.Managers struggling with delegation and accountability.High-achieving women who are used to solving problems themselves.Anyone who wants to become a more intentional, effective, and right-sized leader. 📩 Want to Go Deeper?Follow Lori on LinkedIn to continue the conversation Book a Leadership Strategy Call with Lori: loripine.com 🎧 Subscribe to The Joy CEO Podcast ⭐️ Leave a review to help other heart-centered leaders find the show 📲 Share this episode with someone who’s navigating pressure and wants to do it with more grace

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The Joy CEO is the podcast for high-achieving professionals who are done chasing titles and tired of playing by outdated leadership rules. Hosted by former corporate VP turned Executive Coach Lori Pine, this show is your invitation to redefine success—and lead with more clarity, confidence, and joy. Each week, you’ll hear bold, honest conversations with executives, trailblazers, and changemakers who are rising on their own terms. You’ll learn what it really takes to thrive at the top—from emotional intelligence and self-reflection to presence, purpose, and powerful leadership. If you're ready to grow your impact and your well-being, hit subscribe. Because joy isn’t just personal—it’s a leadership superpower. And your rise starts here.

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  • Creator
    Lori Pine
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    72
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Lori Pine, The JOY CEO
  • Show Website
    The JOY CEO