Meet Leili Sadaghiani

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leili Sadaghiani a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Leili , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience comes from a mix of personal experience and professional purpose. Growing up, I had to learn quickly that life doesn’t always follow the script you expect—but that didn’t mean I couldn’t write my own story. Moving through challenges, from academic setbacks to moments of being underestimated in professional spaces, I learned to anchor myself in adaptability and self-belief.

In my career as a change management consultant and an executive coach, resilience became not just personal but professional. Change often brings resistance, uncertainty, and even fear, and I had to model the steadiness I wanted others to feel. Every time I faced difficult projects, undervalued contributions, or unexpected obstacles, I reframed them as opportunities to grow stronger, to learn new approaches, and to teach others that perseverance isn’t about ignoring pain—it’s about using it as a stepping stone. And more importantly, it’s about putting it in actions, where strategies become behavior. This is my motto in InVivo Leadership Strategies and what I strive to practice in my daily life.

believe deeply in the idea that our interactions and challenges have meaning beyond the moment—they shape not only who we are now but who we’re becoming. That perspective helps me see setbacks less as failures and more as lessons.
Ultimately, my resilience has been shaped by the fusion of lived hardship, the responsibility of leadership, and the conviction that growth is always possible—even, and especially, in adversity.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I wear a few hats that all connect back to a single passion: helping leaders and organizations thrive through change. I am the founder of InVivo Leadership Strategies, a consultancy and coaching brand that supports executives, mid-level managers, and organizations as they navigate transformation. My work blends transformational change, leadership coaching, and executive training into practical strategies that not only deliver results but also develop people along the way.

What excites me most is seeing that moment when leaders who felt overwhelmed by change suddenly feel confident and equipped to lead through it. This is because InVivo highly emphasizes strategies becoming behavior rather than a theoretical and idealistic idea. I believe leadership is deeply human—it’s not just about processes or metrics, it’s about empathy, adaptability, and authenticity. In my coaching and consulting, I combine academic research with lived experience to give leaders tools they can use immediately while also encouraging them to grow personally.

In addition to consulting, I teach Strategic Leadership & Business Strategic Management. Currently, I am teaching Leadership Strategies: Theory & Practice at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Teaching keeps me grounded and inspired—I get to work with the next generation of leaders and watch them connect theory to their own emerging leadership journeys.

Right now, I’m especially excited about the expansion of my podcast projects. My series “I Don’t Mean to Be a Jerk, But…” explores leadership development through real, sometimes uncomfortable conversations about topics like hubris, bad leadership, and authenticity. I’m also working on a companion series that dissects “bad leadership” by analyzing over 1,000 leaders from history and modern times—why they were effective in their era, what made them destructive, and what we can learn from both sides.

Finally, InVivo Leadership Strategies is relaunching its service offerings with high-touch leadership transformation programs, new executive coaching packages, and change adoption frameworks designed for organizations navigating digital transformation. My vision is to not only support companies through change but also to help leaders at every level see themselves as capable, resilient, and transformational.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three qualities that have been most impactful in my journey are adaptability, empathy, and strategic thinking.

Adaptability: My work in change management has taught me that no plan survives perfectly intact—things shift, people react differently, and unexpected challenges always surface. The ability to pivot without losing sight of the bigger vision has been essential. Advice: You can build adaptability by intentionally stepping into new environments, saying yes to stretch opportunities, and reflecting afterward on what worked and what didn’t.

Empathy: Leadership isn’t about authority—it’s about connection. Whether I’m coaching executives, leading a class, or guiding an organization through transformation, empathy is what builds trust and drives engagement. Advice: Strengthen empathy by listening deeply, asking questions before offering answers, and practicing seeing situations from others’ perspectives.

Strategic Behavior Rather than just Strategic Thinking: It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day, but the leaders who stand out are those who can connect today’s actions to tomorrow’s outcomes. My background in organizational leadership and consulting has shown me how critical it is to balance execution with long-term vision. Advice: Hone this skill by regularly pulling back from the details to map how your work ties into larger goals—whether organizational, professional, or personal. And Put. It. In. Practice. I cannot stress this piece enough!

For those early in their journey: don’t wait until you “have it all figured out” to practice these qualities. Start small, apply them daily, and you’ll be surprised how quickly they compound into resilience, influence, and impact.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

One of the most impactful resources for me wasn’t a traditional book—it was Mel Robbins’ Audible coaching series, Take Control of Your Life. What made it powerful is that it wasn’t just theory—it was live coaching with real people, which allowed me to see myself in their stories. Hearing people wrestle with fear, self-doubt, and procrastination—and then watching them work through it—felt like coaching for me, too.

A few nuggets that really stayed with me:
Fear doesn’t go away—you act in spite of it. Waiting to feel ready keeps you stuck. Progress begins when you recognize fear and move forward anyway.

Behavior outweighs motivation. Motivation is fleeting, but taking even one small action creates momentum. This completely reframed how I approach both personal growth and leading others through change within my practice.

You don’t need perfection to start. That idea gave me the freedom to step into projects, teaching roles, and business opportunities without overthinking every detail.

What I loved most is that Robbins blends empathy with directness. She makes it clear that transformation isn’t about waiting for the right conditions—it’s about building courage through action. That lesson has shaped how I consult, coach, and even how I show up in my own leadership journey. I am done talking theory, I want practicality to the approach!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.invivoleadershipstrategies.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/invivoleadershipstrategies/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leilisadaghiani/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/2h1mMmpqd9TDOJfapD9cxd

Image Credits

https://www.instagram.com/ryangallagherphotography/