Redefining Success: Executive Coach Leanna Laskey McGrath on Balancing Career, Motherhood & Perfectionism | Anew Ep 57

In this episode of ANEW Body Insight, Dr. Supatra Tovar sits down with Executive Coach for Moms, Leanna Laskey McGrath, to discuss the challenges high-achieving women face in balancing career and motherhood. Leanna shares her journey from tech executive to full-time mom and how she transitioned into coaching ambitious women to find balance, joy, and fulfillment without burning out.

💡 What You'll Learn in This Episode:
 ✔️ The real reasons behind work-life imbalance and why it's NOT a personal failing
 ✔️ How society conditions women to work like they don't have kids and parent like they don't have a career
 ✔️ Why perfectionism holds women back—and practical strategies to overcome it
 ✔️ How self-advocacy at work can improve both career growth and personal well-being
 ✔️ The importance of boundaries and how to confidently set them at work and home

Leanna brings deep insights into leadership, career transitions, and mindset shifts that help executive moms navigate the pressure to "do it all." She also shares how the pandemic reshaped priorities for working parents and why more women are rethinking traditional career paths.

This conversation is a must-listen for professional women, whether you're a new mom navigating corporate life or a seasoned executive striving for work-life balance.

🎧 Listen now—link in bio!

🔹 More Resources:
 📘 Ready to break free from diet culture and reclaim your health? Enroll in Deprogram Diet Culture at ANEW Insight.

🔹 About the Guest:
 Leanna Laskey McGrath is a former tech executive turned executive coach for moms, specializing in helping ambitious women balance leadership and motherhood. She is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coach Federation and a Certified Professional Career Coach.

Here are the Leanna Laskey McGrath socials Channels : https://www.coachleanna.com/,  https://www.linkedin.com/in/leannalaskey,  https://www.instagram.com/execcoachleanna/,  https://podcast.coachleanna.com/,  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-executive-coach-for-moms-podcast/id1688815032 

Don't miss Part 2 of this conversation, where we dive deeper into self-care, mindset shifts, and practical strategies for sustainable success!

Thank you for joining us on this journey to wellness. Remember, the insights and advice shared on the ANEW Body Insight Podcast are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making any changes to your health routine. To learn more about the podcast and stay updated on new episodes, visit ANEW Body Insight Podcast at anew-insight.com. To watch this episode on YouTube, visit @my.anew.insight. Follow us on social media at @my.anew.insight on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads for more updates and insights. Thank you for tuning in! Stay connected with us for more empowering stories and expert guidance. Until next time, stay well and keep evolving with ANEW Body Insight!

Transcript

Dr. Supatra Tovar: 0:01

Liana Lasky McGrath is a former tech executive turned full time mom, recovering perfectionist and workaholic. Oh, I'm on my way there too. And certified executive coach who now dedicates her expertise to coaching ambitious, high achieving women, particularly executive moms. After spending two decades in leadership roles, Liana understands. Assess on their own terms. She supports her clients by empowering them to break free from societal pressures. Yes, please explore new possibilities and live more joyful, balanced lives they truly love. Leanna Halls, a BA in Psychology and Mathematics from West Virginia Wesleyan College and leadership and entrepreneurship. Right. It's whoa. Okay. I did all that. That's amazing. And I love that you are a recovering perfectionist. I want to hear about this shift from become, being this amazing tech executive to becoming a full time mom and now executive coach. What inspired this transition and how did it impact your personal and professional life?

Leanna Laskey McGrath: 0:04

And then we decided to sell the company. And then. We went through a merger and it was just, a lot of, it was a very high stress environment, very, challenging as we had this takeover and kind of, lost a lot of the team that we had built. And my husband and I had decided that we would start to try to have a baby once we sold the company. And then of course, all this other stuff happened. And, and my body was not, not ready for that. And so it ended up taking us. quite a long time and a journey through infertility. And so four years later I had my baby which is very exciting and it was after I just kept feeling like this isn't right. I don't feel like the things that I'm doing, the way I'm spending my time aligns with my values and my goals for myself. And also, because it took so long to have her, I just kept saying I don't want to miss out. I just want to, Soak this up and, spend this time. We had a nanny come in and she would take her out on, walks and picnics and all these fun things. And I would think I want to be doing that with her. And I, yeah, I decided to, to take a career pause and just focus full time on, on her. And I, I, she's five now and I'm so glad I did because I just kept thinking and saying, I can always get another job. I can always I can always start another company, like she has this one and only childhood and I just want to enjoy it. I just want to soak it up. You know what, before she's off to school, before she's off in her own things, I just don't want to miss out on that. So I can always do more of this if I want to, but you know, I, I felt very very privileged to have the, the option to do that and take some time away. And so it was. It was wonderful. And so that was how I made that decision. It just, it just really aligned with my values and my vision for my life.

Dr. Supatra Tovar: 0:08

And I think if you're, why doesn't align with your vision for your family and for yourself, you have to make that switch. That's, for me personally, it was so wonderful that I was a therapist at that time in the pandemic because I could immediately step in and help. That was really powerful for me.

Leanna Laskey McGrath: 0:09

because I was at a tech startup and we had a, we had a dog friendly office. So she's always come with me to work. And then actually, it's interesting, because by the company, I was out when I transitioned out for my career pause, I was remote, I was working, I was living in Dallas, Texas, and the company was headquartered in Montreal, Canada. And so, I had already, we were already set up for that. And, and I had, and, and so I think remote work for moms, I have lived it. I think it's so, so, so important. And, and I agree. I'm, I'm to really own it. In terms of coaching, I actually, in between companies, I had my coach certification back in 2017. And so I had started the, my, my first iteration of my business, which was coaching executives. And then I was actually recruited by one of them. And that was how I got back into industry. So I already had my certification. And I I took about a two year career pause and then I actually had a friend who was also an executive and she had had a baby. She decided to take about six months off and then she was going back to another executive role. And she asked me, since I'm in the coaching world, she said, can you recommend an executive coach, like someone who can help me with, the leadership aspects and, managing my team and everything like that, but also who is a mom of a young child who can kind of help me help me stay in check with my work life balance and, make sure that I'm prioritizing that was really then whenever I restarted my business and I was thinking of who do I really want to work with this time around as I'm re relaunching my business it, it just made sense that I would work with executive moms and it's been amazing and so rewarding. 100%. And I think that these are women who are high achieving, who are, who have climbed that corporate ladder, as, as, Previously, what would happen is women would have babies earlier, right? And, and the statistics show that it's moving later. And so I think what's happening is as we're having babies later, we're building our careers first, generally, right?

Dr. Supatra Tovar: 0:13

I wish there was. I always think we have to go to the DMV and take a test to be driving a car. Why would we not have to be a parent? But,

Leanna Laskey McGrath: 0:14

And so it, it, it really, I mean, I remember we were in the hospital and they were like, okay, you can go home. And my husband and I looked at each other like we can, like we're responsible for another life? What do we do? So, so I think that, these women are generally expecting that they're going to be amazing at that role as well. And unfortunately, we don't feel like we are. We probably are way better than we ever give ourselves credit for it. But it is feels like, whenever your baby's crying and you can't figure out why, and you can't figure out how to help them, you just feel like I'm such a failure, like, why can't I figure this out? And whenever, whenever something's going on with, with your little one, you just, you just want to fix it. And you're so good at your job at solving problems and you have built a career generally on solving problems. And then, you have this new situation and a new person in your life to take care of. Also, women who, have, have been mothers for years, but, but are still struggling through finding the right balance. You know, and, and really trying to figure out how to prioritize their family and set boundaries at work. It's so amazing how I work with so many executive women who can lead a team, who can stand up in front of hundreds of people and deliver an amazing presentation can hire and fire and command a room. But when it comes to advocating for herself, when it comes to setting boundaries. with her boss. Those their work as how they bring value to the world and trying to continuously chase that value by by working more.

Dr. Supatra Tovar: 0:17

They had to look perfect. They they couldn't necessarily speak up. There were a lot of. double standards when it came to women in leadership. and so, a woman, if she was assertive, she would be labeled as bossy, a man would be labeled as a leader. And so it has been, I think, a very difficult road for women to navigate through, and that I think is at the heart of perfectionism.

Leanna Laskey McGrath: 0:18

ridiculously high, unachievable standards that we are held to. And so I think one of the things is just recognizing that, that, that we are set up to fail if perfection is the goal, there's, there's no way that we can physically do that. I actually, I think learning about the societal, the societal impact, the societal expectations, there's a lot of research out there. is right. Like when, when I was early in my career, I always felt like too young, and can't, I can't speak up because I don't have enough experience and things like that. And, but then I remember asking myself at what point, when am I going to feel like I'm at the right age and the research shows that there is no right age. I think also, I don't think perfectionism is inherently good or bad, right? I mean, nothing is really, but I think it's about how is it showing up in our lives? And is it getting us the results that we want? And I think that often for me, the way my perfectionism shows up is it shows up in a form that creates procrastination where I don't want to move forward because I want to keep perfecting. it's bring some of those thoughts that we have about it and those expectations of ourselves to consciousness and really just deciding where Is this serving me? We don't need to get to perfection and we probably never will. And we don't have to in order for it to be good enough. I think another saying that a lot of times people say is done is better than perfect. know that works for a lot of people. when you look at so many things in the world, there are so many amazing things out in the world that are not perfect, but they're still really, really great. So I think, working on bringing some of those thoughts of consciousness and deciding what we want to think about it is so important. And I think that's one of the things like, how can I, what can I look at as an example that is so great that I think is amazing and, and find the things that aren't perfect about it just so that I can prove to myself that I don't have to be perfect to still be really, really amazing.

Dr. Supatra Tovar: 0:24

I think that it saps us of our creativity, it saps us of our energy, and it ends up being just a waste of time because you'll never really get there. So I think what you're really promoting is, is acceptance of ourselves as we are, and I think that that is such a valuable message. That's the message I try to bring in my book because diet culture and, and our pursuit of, of this thin ideal is really actually futile because so few people get there. So, We're a really close to the end of this half, but I want you to tell us about your podcast. I was on it. I loved it. You're an amazing host. The name of the podcast is the Executive Coach for Moms and it helps women find balance and joy. So just give us your idea of what balance means to you.

Leanna Laskey McGrath: 0:26

Well, I think it ties in here a little bit to what we're talking about with perfectionism because I think so often we expect that we are perfect in every area of our lives. So even if we're just looking at, work and life, just looking at, work and parenting, we, we hold ourselves to a very high standard in, in those areas. And so whenever we whenever we think of balance, I think it's how can we look at, if we look at a wellness wheel, for example where we have all these different areas of our life, I think a quote unquote, perfect balance is when we're standing right in the middle and, we can see all of it and we're just, we're just in equilibrium and I can count probably like on my fingers and toes, the number of days or minutes I've ever felt in perfect balance, right? It's not many. And, I think that balance to me is, how do we feel do when we look at our priorities? Really spend some time understanding what's most important to us that we can align how we spend our time with that, then to me, balance is like, how do I feel about how I, how I did it today? But what happens is that comes at a cost because, there's that, and it really isn't balanced because I'm not sleeping, I'm not taking care of myself. And so, yeah. So it's really if, if I'm, if I've. Spend some time understanding what's important to me. Did I spend my time in a way that aligns with it?

Dr. Supatra Tovar: 0:28

So we were going to, we're going to dive into that in the second half. So thank you so much for this first half and thank you all for joining us. Tune in next week for the second half of this wonderful interview with the amazing executive coach for moms, Leanna Lasky McGrath. Thanks Leanna.