Stuck in Lazy Leadership? Here’s the Antidote
Kc: Welcome to Heart Glow CEO®, where high-performing leaders learn to regulate stress, strengthen self-trust, and make clear decisions without sacrificing their health or values. I'm Kc Rossi, Integrative Leadership Coach. Expect practical nervous system tools, conscious leadership insights, and real conversations that bring achievement into alignment. Take a deep breath with me and let's dive in!
I wanted to kick off 2026 with a conversation for the leaders who are carrying a lot and still want to lead with integrity. Today, I'm joined by Corinne Gavlinkski, the founder and CEO of the Gav Group and creator of the Executive Table Read.
Corinne is a trusted thought partner to C-suite leaders who want results that actually matter to them, their teams, and their legacy. And here's what I appreciate about her work. She doesn't just talk leadership theory. She's been in the room in the pressure with leaders who are capable and impactful, and also fatigued.
In this conversation, you'll hear what helps leaders shift from overwhelm to control, from noise to precision, and into bold decisions fast. Settle in, take what serves you, and let this support the way that you lead in 2026. Enjoy.
Kc: Welcome to the show.
Corinne: Hello.
Kc: So good to be here today. It's so wonderful to have you here. I know we both share a love of legacy leadership, so I'm excited to dive in.
Corinne: Absolutely.
Kc: What is lazy leadership in your framework, and what is the cost for leaders and organizations when they land in that space?
Corinne: We're going right in. Okay. Here we go. So lazy leadership is a term that I talk with my clients about frequently. And what I mean by that is not that you are actually a lazy leader. It doesn't mean you're not working hard. It means in my mind that you have become distracted by the everyday demands and fire drills and, asks of you that take you away from doing intentional work. And it happens to all of us. I myself was a lazy leader multiple times in my career. It's not that someone never finds themselves in lazy leadership or that they're always a lazy leader. To me, I feel like in working with my clients, we flow into and out of this state, sometimes multiple times a day, sometimes at different phases in our careers. And the trick is, how do you recognize that you might be in that state, and how do you get yourself out of it? How do you propel yourself out of it? So it might feel like I've had a lot of success, but I'm afraid to say it. But I almost feel bored. Or it could sound like I am so exhausted I don't have another moment in the day to even do any thinking. Or it might sound like, you know, things seem fine. Like they're going along. Why rock the boat? Everything seems fine. In each of those cases. You may be suffering from lazy leadership, and you just don't realize it. And so I work with leaders to help them recognize that state of being and then catapult themselves into more intentional leadership.
Kc: Yeah, those all sound like really common pain points. I'm curious because they also feel different, as far as the leader, that is, you know, just running around putting fires out there. Absolutely busy. The one who comes home who can't even decide what should I make for dinner? Because their brain is so exhausted. You have the ones that are coasting where it's like, it's not that bad, you know? So I'm curious. They seem like very different aspects. They all fall under this lazy leadership umbrella. Is the solution the same?
Corinne: Yes. Actually, you're exactly right. I sort of name four quadrants in my work with leaders. We talk about the erosions, the disengagement zone, the chaos zone, exactly how you've just described them. And then, of course, the impact zone is the one that we strive towards. The anecdote for the individuals that I typically work with is twofold. One, it's to create time and space to have a conversation about where they really want to put their energy. And two, it's about giving them a tool to catapult them out of that state of being. And so the reflection exercise is conversational. It's reflective. It's getting underneath what's really important. So somewhat value is driven. And then the catapulting is a tool that I call the XDR. And I use that with leaders in their teams to not only give that leader an appreciation of how they're being perceived, but also to understand better the people that they have at their table and how those people can support the goals that that department has or that team has, and that leader can use the talents on the team more efficiently or more effectively.
Kc: That makes a lot of sense. I love the clarity of the path. And I think that especially being a visual leader, I can envision your four quadrants. I like that there's like a beginning, middle, and end. So that feels really clear. But I'm curious because leaders often drift away from that impact zone. I'm wondering what you see pulls them out of that zone, and how they can realistically actively stay there?
Corinne: The thing that pulls them out of that zone is the environment we're living in. Leaders are challenged by so many demands, and they're challenged to do far more with a lot less these days. And I hear this all day long, both from clients and prospective clients and colleagues, that they are being asked and feel pressure from their boss, their board, their Customers, and their employees. It's almost too much.
And so the thing that distracts them is these competing demands. Often what I find is leaders that are senior and rising have a lot of difficulty finding a confidential sounding board or thinking partner. And the higher you go in an organization, the less likely you are to find that person. And so what I provide to my clients is that quiet thinking space without any demands on their time and any hidden agenda. And I think that's really important to have that space. And not very many leaders think about that. They will say to me, Well, I can't work with you until XYZ happens or I can't possibly do it now. I'm too busy. And my response is, you're never not going to be busy. The demands are only going to increase. And so let's get intentional about where you really want to spend your energy and where your energy is being dwindled unnecessarily, perhaps. Or, without your knowledge even and so that's sort of what's distracting them.
So, how do they make sure they stay in the impact zone? I'll be completely honest with you. This is not a new answer. It's the ruthless attention to very small but deliberate actions. They're kind of unsexy some days. They are not the big thing. That's. You know, I think leaders expect me to tell them there's this monumental thing that they need to do. Know? It's the small attention to detail. And I'll give you an example. Yesterday, I was working with a client who has a small team of about 6 or 7 people, and he was talking to me about his potential successor. And I said to him, well, what dimensions of your job are critical for success? And he looked at me like, I've never thought about that. And I said, well, let's think about them. Let's think about your top strengths. We rattled those off. I said, what else is important in your role? He rattled off a few more things. I added a few things. We came up with six dimensions. I said, now you could evaluate each of your people against those dimensions, but have you had the conversation yet with your folks about who desires your position and why? And he said, no, I haven't really done that. I said, well, step one.
Kc: It's so basic but often overlooked. And I think to your point, where that beginning stage, where they're often drifting out or often not even dipping their toe in that impact zone, is the overwhelm. It is all of those demands. But also, and I'm curious if this is your experience as well. There's a lot of fear, especially as you rise. You talked about that safe space. This is how I interpreted what you were saying, that safe space often gets more narrow, more limited to me, in that there's also an increase of fear, because as you rise and I see this often where leaders have put so much time and energy and love and dedication to getting there, then they're there and it's kind of lonely. And there's a little bit of this fear aspect of one missing out, I think, on that connection and camaraderie that they had when they were parallel with their peers, and to whom can I trust now to talk about all these high-level things that are swirling around in my brain? So I love the fact that you distilled those dimensions with that leader. And do you often find that the core is simple, like the heart of it is like so basic, but often overlooked.?
Corinne: Absolutely. One of the most profound questions is so simple, but I ask most of my clients this, if not all, is who do you want to be as a leader if you left tomorrow or if you retired tomorrow?
If they're an older client, what would you want to be remembered for? And usually that brings up people short. And I'll be honest with you, I didn't think about this. It took me far too long in my career to realize that if I invested more in my team members, that I too would grow. And what a shame that I didn't realize that for more earlier in my career trajectory, so that I could have a greater impact. And so I blame myself because it never even occurred to me to seek external counsel, to have an executive coach. And yet what a great competitive advantage. So speaking into the fear that you just mentioned. Yes, executive leaders are fearful. There is not often a safe space. There is concern about where they can go to game something out. Talk something through because they don't know who has their back and who doesn't. Who does or doesn't have a hidden agenda. And that's the value of having someone who's your external thinking partner is that none of that exists. And you're free then to work through strategic decisions, accelerate those decisions because of the time that you're able to work through it aloud. And that's a game changer for leaders. If they can make decisions 2% faster with ambiguity not removed, that's a game-changer.
Kc: It is. It's so essential. It's a beautiful and powerful partnership, and I feel like every leader should have that. I think it should be like a non-negotiable line in the budget. Honestly, I truly do.
And where you were moving towards, I was starting to get very excited because it's one of my favorite topics, which is the legacy leadership. But also, you touched on identity the “who” behind your kind of leadership, who do you desire to be? What kind of legacy do you want to leave? And that really brings me to reading something in your bio where you took care of your parents, who had dementia for a decade, which is absolutely incredible. And I'm curious how that shaped your leadership.
Corinne: Yeah, profoundly is the short answer. The long answer is that I was so overwhelmed and exhausted. I don't even remember most of that decade. And what a tragedy my child was, in her formative years, early tweens. I I don't. There are whole pockets of time that I really don't remember. I was certainly not at my best at work. And I never once sought help. And what a shame. Like, what a lost opportunity. But I couldn't even think that far to do that.
I've had a couple of identity jolts in my career. I've had a very accomplished career, but it's messy. And, you know, I think too often we present this very polished image of ourselves. But the truth is, my career trajectory was, yes, accomplished, but also messy at times. I was laid off twice. The first time, it was devastating to my ego. I've had to pivot my career multiple times.
I've taken a huge bet on myself and am doing that. And when my mother and father passed within five years of each other, when my father passed, who was second? I had to leave work. I actually had no more gas in the tank, and I left for a year. I was at my peak earning potential at that point, and I stepped away from my career. Talk about fear. That was a pretty freaking scary thing to do.
And I had to. I didn't think I had a choice. But what that year gave me was time and space to really figure out who I was as a leader. I started to think way more deeply about what kind of leader am I going to be remembered as? Am I only growing myself, or am I growing my team members? Which I can tell you right now? I was pretty selfish. I was mostly growing myself. And so when I went back to the workforce and back to my corporate life. I poured into a team, and I really saw that as my goal was to help lift the team members up. However, they wanted to be lifted, and it was a completely different style of leadership. And I'm not saying I got it right all the time. I didn't, but I think I was a better, more impactful, more influential leader in my last corporate life than I was in my former years.
Kc: Yeah, that's so beautiful, where the wisdom just keeps paying it forward, and then the current people get to benefit from that. If a listener is going through reinvention right now or an identity jolt, what advice would you have now that a couple of years are in the rearview mirror?
Corinne: I'll answer your question, but I just want to set the context. I made some pivots that didn't on the face seem very logical. I moved from a financial services career to health care. I knew nothing about health care. I moved from health care to a career as an executive coach. I thought I knew nothing about executive coaching, but in reality, because I had been a leader for more than 20 years, I actually did know more about coaching than I gave myself credit for. But nonetheless, at the time, I thought I knew nothing, and I certainly knew nothing about entrepreneurship and starting a business.
So very different paths that on the face someone would say, whoa, what were you thinking, Corinne?
The advice I would give to leaders going through some reflection is take a bet on yourself. And I guess this may be a little controversial and provocative, but I'm not sure leaning into your passion is always the path. I think leaning into your innate talents is far more successful. So I took the skills and the capabilities that I used in financial services, and I leverage those and used those same skills in healthcare. Did I have to start all over again? Yeah, I sure did. I had to go backwards. I left as a vice president in financial services and went all the way down to the bottom as like, I don't even know what. They called me an associate in healthcare, and I had to work my way back up. That's a big risk, but I bet on myself. I bet on myself that I could do it again. I had a proven track record of progression. I knew I could do it again. So take a leap of faith on yourself. It will take hard work. You may have to take a step adjacent or downward, but often I find that's worth it because you're growing.
Kc: That's amazing. I love your courage and bravery. I I had a little constriction in my chest when you just talked about that demotion. And I'm wondering because it feels like they're in my mind. I feel like, oh my gosh, that's like an ego death to go from VP all the way to associate. I don't know if my system would allow that.
I'm curious for you. What kind of moxie did it take to go? Yeah, that may not look like you said on the face an intelligent move, but you did it anyway. And it seems like in your story, there's been a couple of times where you're like, I need to do this anyway. I need to walk away. Even at the high point of my earning. I need to take a pause. even helping your parents. I think a lot of times when people have high-performing roles, they outsource that. You know, it's like, I just can't do that. You know, there are a lot of stories that go on. So I'm curious about you. Did you have an ego death sense and did it anyway? And how did you do it anyway?
Corinne: Oh, it was brutal. Like I mentioned earlier, the first time I was laid off, I mean, I was crushed. Crushed! I never even occurred to me that I could be laid off. I was a high performer. What do you mean? I'm laid off? It was devastating. So my ego was actually more bruised over that than shifting and taking a huge downgrade in my title and compensation. Yes, it certainly was an ego death. Yes, I had to get comfortable with it, and I can't say that I was ever fully comfortable with it. I had to set it aside. I am a woman who is almost entirely driven by achievement. My whole identity is wrapped up in achievement, and I work with the clients that have very similar wiring. It makes us vulnerable to, oh, they would not use that word, but I will say that word. It makes us vulnerable to, ego slights. It makes us. Makes us vulnerable to our willingness to take time away. And yet, I think for me as a human and even as a leader, the times that I've grown the most is when I've made those pivots. Had those ego deaths and recovered.
Kc: I love that.
Corinne: I love nothing more confident. Build confidence building, then building back up and knowing you did it.
Kc: Yeah, 100%. And I know that our listeners are going to really resonate with that piece. Also, having our identity wrapped up in the achievement, I know that I can relate to that 100%. I know our listeners can relate to that 100%. So I really appreciate your honesty because this is what it's all about is the raw, real truth. You know, sometimes people can see a glossy website, the best-selling book, and Instagram that's drool worthy.
But the messy middle and this honest truth of reality I think people are craving to see. I know I am personally, and especially with the rise of AI. I would just love it to be like “Authenticity Intelligence,” you know, instead of the artificial intelligence. These conversations are so valuable because they're authentic. So I thank you for that. I'd love for you to tell us a little bit about your Executive Table Read.
Corinne: Yeah, sure. The executive table read was born out of a working session that I did with my coach. I had this premise that, like a director in Hollywood who gets his actors together around the table, and they do a read of the script, I thought to myself, well, why wouldn't a leader in corporate life do that? Why wouldn't a leader sit around the table with his or her, employees, her staff members, and do a table read, like understand those people more deeply. And so I created a three-step executive table read. And that three step process is around discovery, both for the leader and for each team member. It's a custom analysis of the talents and thinking styles on that team and how they gel together and where friction may occur. And then it's all about action. It's how do we get into action around the things that that team believes are the behaviors that are most essential for hitting their goals for that year. So in under 45 days, that leader will come away with a better appreciation of who she is and how she is perceived. Each team member will come away with an understanding of how they think, process information, and inherently behave when not under duress, and then the team will have a better understanding of how they work well together, where there may be friction points for them and how they'll we'll talk about how do they overcome those friction points. And then they will decide what are the behaviors that are most important, and we will measure them, and then we measure them again 90 days later. So it's a very powerful tool. It tells that leader where they are in the impact zone or not. It will show them a pathway forward for how to get into the impact zone. And often what comes following this event. Typically, it's usually an on site conversation. Where I deliver the analysis is that that leader will continue on with me for some period of time to reinforce her leadership and really execute on the things we discussed. So it's a powerful but short and targeted event. And the reason I designed it that way is because, like many leaders, I have sat through umpteen numbers of team development events, and I'm putting that in air quotes that were fun and energizing and never spoken about again, and I refuse to have that be something I deliver. I want something that is actionable, accountable, and follow it up on.
Kc: Yeah, I love that. I love the continuity of the plan, and it takes something that could just be a very temporary rah rah motivational workshop and brings it into transformational longevity, which I love. I'm totally on the same page. I'm curious when you are pitching this idea to. Two thoughts came up in my mind. One, for the leaders and the teams that are already trying to squeeze £10 into £1. And how do you get buy-in?
Corinne: To do the extra hour, you mean?
Kc: Yes.
Corinne: You know this is the perfect time of year to talk about this because so many organizations are planning for their first quarter or sales kickoff or it's some combination of sales marketing the go-to-market team. Right. It's account management. This is an opportune time to take advantage of the XDR. So another opportune time is if you're doing some strategic planning. The buy-in really occurs for most of my clients when they understand how rooted in action I am, because there are lots of companies that will offer you all kinds of speakers and fun team building exercises, but I'm much more about who do you have? What do they bring to your organization, and are you using them wisely? And I think that resonates with leaders. It's grounded in action. It's grounded in accountability, both for that leader and for the team. And that's a difficult proposition to say, oh no I don't want that.
Kc: Yeah. Absolutely, it becomes what feels like a top USP for you. And part of that, from my limited perspective, is your years of experience and all of the tumultuous, you know, pieces have brought you to a point where this is a very practical strategy based on years of wisdom. So what a gift. What a gift to your people. My second question is when I envision this, laser focus 45 days, and then the opportunity for more. How do you build trust for people to truly get there? Because what you're promising sounds amazing. Like I'm hearing team cohesiveness. I'm hearing like, who's on first? What are the skill sets? How do we align with vision and values? But in order to do that, we have to dissolve a little bit of the mask. We have to show up and step up. I'm curious, how do you address building trust so you can get somewhere?
Corinne: I do that by engaging with them for about 90 days in advance, sometimes a little less, but usually 90 days in advance of the event. So no. No leader goes into the Executive Table Read cold. They've already been working with me personally in a lot of cases. Part of that is us getting to know each other and us working together on their personal leadership. But a part of it is just planning what are the outcomes they want to achieve, what's most important, where are they struggling today, etc. so there's trust built in that process for the team. The way that I work with teams is one to tell them what my motivations are. Tell them a little bit about my backstory. Tell them what I hope to offer them and that there's no hidden agenda about it. When they ask for confidence, I give them confidence. When they are comfortable with sharing, we share. So it's a give and take. I think when people understand why you've been brought in and what you're hoping to achieve, it does ease things. That's not to say there aren't skeptics. There are, but usually, upon meeting me a couple of times in advance of being together personally, I'm able to build that rapport. And again, that just comes from me having walked in their shoes. Nothing more, nothing less.
Kc: I think what I'm hearing, too is that a top takeaway for folks is that transparency is such a key. Just coming in and being like, this is how it is. And here, here are the goals, here's the motivations, here's the honesty about no hidden agenda. And I think the other thing too, and I feel like it is a power skill for executive coaches, is meeting people where they are.
Corinne: Yeah, truly.
Kc: Leaning into that and not like forcing them. And I know for myself, in the beginning, I really wanted to bring in meditation and visualization to every single executive coach. And then I realized, after some time and some pushback, that some people really don't want to, and they don't feel safe. It takes them a lot of sessions before they would want to close their eyes or get grounded. Or do we do a breathing exercise before the session? And so that was a big learning lesson. And that was really like in real life, in action, meeting people where they are and letting go of any attachment to what it should be like. Or in our minds, it'd be so much more effective if we just let go of all of those. I guess you would say agendas. Just be present and be transparent. So I'm loving that style.
Lastly, Corinne, I'm curious for you. With all of your leadership experience, what would be your wish for the listener today if they were going to change one thing in their leadership, identity, or how they leave a legacy? What would be one thing you would hope they'd walk away for? That Could they make a change in their leadership?
Corinne: I would want them to think about. What would they want someone to say about them, and what are they doing today to meet that description? So if someone were to observe them for a month, would they observe that they are actually taking the actions that lead them to the descriptor that they hope for themselves? And it's such a simple thing to say, and it's not simple to do. We don't think about it. We're distracted. We're facing demands. We're fighting fires. But if you can take one moment as you're reflecting at the end of the year, you're planning for your new year, and what you want to achieve. Just ask yourself the simple question. If I were to leave, retire, God forbid, pass away, what would I want people to say that my legacy of leadership had been? How would you describe yourself? And are your actions meeting what you hope you are described as?
Kc: That's powerful.
Corinne: And then take one step towards that, one action towards that.
Kc: Yeah, I love it, I love it. I think a lot of our conversation points to alignment and intentionality, and your truth bomb of wisdom is no different. I appreciate that, and I appreciate you. You're doing really beautiful work in the world. How can people step into your space and learn more about you and your work?
Corinne: I would love people to step into my space. You can find me at gavgroup.com. You can find me on LinkedIn at Corinne Galvinski. And for your listeners, we have a diagnostic that I'd be happy to provide there. They can evaluate for themselves what zone of leadership they're in, and I'll offer a few nuggets of how they can get themselves back into the impact zone. So we'll provide that link in your in your story notes. And everyone will be able to download that if they so choose.
Kc: Oh, that's wonderful. Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure to connect with you.
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