Lead Where It Matters Most: Homegrown Leadership Starts at Home
Guest: Joe LaRussa, Mayor, Entrepreneur and Founder of Homegrown Leadership Host: Julie Riga
Overview
What if the leadership skills driving your professional success could also transform your home life?
In this episode, host Julie Riga sits down with Joe LaRussa, small city mayor, entrepreneur, and founder of Homegrown Leadership, to explore one of the most overlooked arenas of personal development: leading at home. After 25 years in automotive manufacturing, Joe saw that high performers bring their best to work while their households run on pressure and chaos. This is a practical guide for overwhelmed spouses and parents ready to stop surviving and start leading with intentionality, systems, and community as their foundation.
Lead Where It Matters Most: Homegrown Leadership Starts at Home
About This Episode
Joe founded Homegrown Leadership to help high performers bring the same systems and mindset from work into their households, creating more time, less stress, and a home they are proud of. Joe and Julie break down three essential ingredients for stronger household leadership: intentionality, systems, and community. Listeners walk away with practical tools like shared calendars and communication rhythms, and a fresh perspective on building a home that runs with clarity instead of pressure.
Guest Background
Joe LaRussa is the founder of Homegrown Leadership and a sitting small city mayor. Shaped by 25 years in manufacturing, Joe recognized that strategies enabling professional excellence were largely absent in the households of high-performing individuals.
Fun Fact: If Joe had to pick one favorite food, it would be a slow-roasted leg of lamb, prepared with herbs, spices, and olive oil.
The Three Ingredients for Homegrown Leadership
Intentionality is the first ingredient. At work, leaders plan for years. At home, many struggle to decide what is for dinner. The average household leader has about two golden hours per day to lead at home. Elevating out of reactionary mode requires a conscious decision to lead with strategy. Be a laser beam, not a light bulb.
Systems and Tools create the structure that sets families free. A shared family calendar is the foundational tool. A whiteboard wall and weekly Sunday planning meetings help the whole household align and prioritize. Fun must be planned, not left to leftover time. The 13 Summers mindset reminds parents how finite their seasons with their children truly are, making intentional planning feel urgent and meaningful.
Community is the most forgotten ingredient. Most people cannot name the neighbors behind six doors surrounding their home. True community means having people to call when life gets hard. Isolation is a leadership gap. When households are healthy, neighborhoods are healthy, and when neighborhoods are healthy, communities thrive.
Memorable Quotes
"It is home where your leadership matters the most."
"Your life will never be less complicated than it is today. So do not wait."
"It is not on the shared calendar? It does not exist."
"When households are healthy, neighborhoods are healthy."
Key Takeaways
- Decide to lead before the moment arrives. Intentionality is the foundation.
- Shared systems reduce chaos and build confidence for every member of the household.
- Community is not optional. Isolation is a leadership problem with a leadership solution.
- Your golden hours are your greatest daily asset. Use them with purpose.
- Do not wait. In six months, you will either be glad you started or wish you had.
Connect with Joe LaRussa
Website: www.homegrownleadership.net
Free assessments and starter tools are available on the website.
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