Developing Leaders People Want to Work For | Stacy Lademar

In this episode of A Minute with Maxwell: Mission in Motion, host Heather Maxwell sits down with leadership development expert Stacy Lademar to explore what it really takes to develop leaders that people actually want to work for—especially in the senior living sector, where leadership directly impacts resident experience, team stability, and turnover.Drawing on her journey from retail executive trainee on Fifth Avenue to manager of learning and development for major brands like Walmart and Royal Caribbean, and later into senior living during the pandemic, Stacy shares the hard lessons she learned about trying to “do it all,” the power of delegation, and why promoting your best individual contributor without support is often a setup for failure.Through practical stories from the floor—like assistant buyers in tears over untrained managers, or a star chef turned struggling culinary director—Stacy shows how lack of people-skills training quietly erodes culture, performance, and retention, and what organizations can do differently.Key themes they explore include:From top performer to first-time manager: Why so many organizations promote high achievers into leadership without giving them the tools to succeed—and how this leads to confusion, frustration, and avoidable turnover.High-potential and new manager programs: How identifying emerging leaders early, and offering targeted training in feedback, delegation, emotional intelligence, and expectation setting, can transform both performance and engagement.Feedback as a gift—not a threat: Using simple frameworks like What Went Well / Even Better If / Must Be Better and the FBI model (Situation, Behaviour, Impact) to make feedback specific, normal, and safe—for both positive reinforcement and constructive coaching.The critical role of one-on-ones and psychological safety: Why early and ongoing one-on-ones help new leaders build trust, become “safe spaces” for their teams, and surface struggles before they become performance issues.Delegation, clarity, and follow-through: Practical advice for leaders who are used to doing everything themselves—how to let others do things “their way,” ensure understanding, and follow up without micromanaging.Time management and the 80/20 rule: How journaling your time, then reviewing it with your supervisor, reveals where your energy really goes—and how to refocus on the 20% of activities that drive 80% of results.Trust as the foundation of leadership: Why trust—built through honesty, consistency, and admitting when you don’t know—is the core trait that separates leaders people endure from leaders people choose to follow.Stacy also lifts the curtain on how Walmart and Royal Caribbean structured their leadership development—through intentional promotion-from-within programs, extended manager training, and open-access leadership classes—and how organizations of any size can adapt these ideas using fractional learning and development support.This conversation offers a clear, actionable roadmap for organizations that want to stop “hoping managers figure it out” and start intentionally developing leaders who listen, clarify expectations, give meaningful feedback, and create workplaces where people—and residents—truly thrive.About Maxwell Management GroupThis podcast is brought to you by Maxwell Management Group, a national executive search and education firm specializing in the continuing care sector. For nearly two decades, they’ve partnered with organizations to build values-driven leadership, vibrant workplace cultures, and purpose-led employer brands.Learn more: maxwellmanagementgroup.comChapters:0:00 – Introduction to Stacy and Mission in Motion2:20 – Stacy’s Journey: From Retail to Leadership Development4:27 – The Pitfall of Promoting Top Performers6:43 – Building High-Potential and New Manager Programs8:42 – One-on-Ones and Creating Psychological Safety9:52 – Feedback as a Culture, Not a One-Off10:54 – Practical Feedback Models (WWW/EBI and FBI)12:47 – The Power of Positive Feedback and “Catching People Doing Right”18:06 – Traits of Leaders People Want to Work For19:19 – Clarity, Expectations, and Job Descriptions21:37 – Interviewing as a Critical Leadership Skill23:33 – Onboarding New Leaders and Reinforcing Expectations25:15 – Delegation: Letting Go of “My Way”28:09 – Time Management and the 80/20 Rule for Leaders29:51 – Trust as the Core of Effective Leadership32:06 – What Walmart Got Right in Developing Leaders33:11 – What Royal Caribbean Got Right in Developing Leaders35:04 – How Stacy Partners with Organizations Today35:53 – Closing Thoughts and How to Connect with Stacy & Maxwell Management Group