Dr. Laura welcomes author, speaker, breathwork coach, and community advocate Josh Connolly to Where Work Meets Life™ for a conversation about the parallels between toxic family systems and toxic workplaces. Josh draws on his own experience growing up with an alcoholic father and later overcoming addiction himself to share how healing started for him. It was truth, a safe community, and reconnecting with self that combined for his renewal. Together, he and Dr. Laura explore how toxic parents and toxic bosses can leave similar emotional wounds that include self-doubt, anxiety, people pleasing, and loss of identity. They discuss boundaries and the importance of reclaiming personal power after unhealthy work or family relationships.

Dr. Laura welcomes psychologist, speaker, and bestselling author Dr. Jody Carrington for a powerful conversation on what it means to stay human in an increasingly AI-driven world. Dr. Laura and Jody explore the increasing disconnection people feel in spite of constant digital access. Jody reframes what we label as a mental health crisis as, instead, a deep loneliness epidemic. She shares insights on how technology, social media, and the relentless push for productivity have chipped away at meaningful relationships and emotional regulation. She highlights the essential role of connection in helping individuals and organizations thrive. Dr. Laura and Dr. Carrington also address the urgent need to prioritize emotional regulation skills as a core strategy for leadership, rather than being a secondary consideration.

Dr. Laura offers a reassuring perspective in this solo episode, exploring how to stay grounded when the world and work feel uncertain and overwhelming. Drawing on her experience as a psychologist, she explains how fear can push us into fight, flight, or freeze responses, which ultimately drain energy and disrupt relationships. Dr. Laura brings the focus back to the present moment, encouraging us to reconnect with what’s in our control today instead of getting swept up in global uncertainty and negative news cycles.

Dr. Laura welcomes executive coach, author, and former Microsoft leader Sabina Nawaz for a discussion on what it really takes to become a manager people want to follow. Drawing from her own experience of shifting from a caring leader to one she no longer recognized under pressure, Sabina shares a deeply human perspective on how pressure, more than power, quietly shapes behavior at work. Dr. Laura and Sabina explore how even the most well-intentioned managers can fall into common traps that limit their teams, including the tendency to take on too much or unknowingly diminish others’ contributions. They invite reflection on how leadership shows up in everyday moments and how small, intentional shifts can transform both personal effectiveness and team culture.

Dr. Laura welcomes Hall of Fame speaker, author, and workplace culture expert Michael Kerr for a conversation on how leaders shape environments where people and organizations thrive. Drawing on decades of global experience, Michael believes that, rather than depleting us, work should energize us, and that leaders play a defining role in creating cultures grounded in purpose and connection. He shares that leadership is less about managing tasks and more about influencing people in meaningful ways. According to Michael, the leadership goal should be to become a culture leader who recognizes the profound effects of work on our health, relationships, and sense of identity.

In this solo episode of Where Work Meets Life, Dr. Laura explores leadership through a bell curve, illustrating the range of leaders found in today’s organizations. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience as an organizational psychologist, Dr. Laura explains how leaders often rise not through careful selection, but through promotions based on technical skill or ambition. She outlines the spectrum from toxic bosses to truly great leaders and reflects on how leadership quality shapes culture, employee engagement, and organizational health. She asks us to consider where our own leaders fall on the continuum and what it would take to move leadership from merely adequate to genuinely inspiring.

In this episode of Where Work Meets Life™, Dr. Laura welcomes back Dr. Michelle Johnston for a thoughtful conversation about the seismic shifts leaders must make to create meaningful connections and stronger results. Inspired by her new book, The Seismic Shift in You, coauthored with Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, Dr. Johnston shares how the future of leadership depends less on achievement and more on humanity. Together, they explore the powerful shift from focusing on the what to prioritizing the who, reminding us that meaningful relationships are what sustain engagement and fulfillment. Dr. Laura and Michelle offer a hopeful path forward in a time marked by burnout and disconnection.

In this episode, Dr. Laura welcomes author, strategist, and keynote speaker Kim Bolourtchi to talk about unlocking potential by questioning the rules that shape our choices. Kim shares her journey from a high-powered legal career to embracing her full identity, including a lifelong passion for competitive Latin dance that she once hid out of fear of judgment. Kim and Dr. Laura explore how many professionals learn to succeed by following prescribed paths, only to discover a persistent sense that something is missing. Beliefs formed early in life about professionalism and permission can lead us to limit our creativity and personal growth.

In this episode, Dr. Laura breaks down why toxic bosses are so widespread and costly, and addresses the first step to stopping them: naming what’s happening. Drawing from her research and her new book, I Wish I’d Quit Sooner, she explains eight “toxic boss personas”. These include the dishonest manipulator, the gaslighter, and the control freak. Having a shared language matters when describing harmful behaviors and their impact: accurate communication helps employees, HR, and leadership alike.

In this episode of Where Work Meets Life, Dr. Laura talks with Paul McCarthy (author of The Fired Leader; leadership speaker and global thought leader/consultant reinventing the future of leadership) and Dr. Markus Zehentner (European legal professional and author of Breaking Free from Toxic Leadership) about why toxic bosses often remain protected inside organizations while principled, high-integrity leaders get pushed out. Together, they examine how toxic leadership becomes “baked into” workplace culture through politics, retaliation against honesty, and performative “wellbeing” initiatives that look good on paper but don’t change day-to-day leadership behavior. Both Paul McCarthy and Markus Zehentner share their personal experiences with toxic bosses and how those inspired their books.