We’re looking forward to introducing you to Nancy Lyons. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Nancy, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
I’m being called to help people stop feeling small and stuck. I want to move folks from powerless to ready, loud, and in charge. I teach simple mindsets and tools that anyone can use at work and home. I want bigger stages and tougher rooms where ideas meet real life. I bring sharp insight, clear steps, and humor you can use today. I push leaders to share power and invite more voices. I ask teams to act like owners, not passengers, today. My aim is less quiet consent and more brave action. I was scared to ask for more reach before, but not now. Now I will take it and put it to good use. Hand me the mic; I plan to light fires under people.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Nancy Lyons: speaker, author, entrepreneur, and steadfast believer in human decency and potential. I partner with teams and leaders to cultivate cultures of radical honesty, trust, and courage. My work centers on developing genuine capabilities, not chasing corporate jargon, through speaking engagements, strategic training, and practical frameworks that drive results.
Drawing from deep experience across technology, organizational culture, and community building, I bridge disciplines to create uncommon perspectives. My approach has been described as disarming and refreshingly direct. I eliminate the superfluous to deliver actionable insights and catalytic motivation that empower immediate, meaningful change.
Currently, I’m designing intuitive tools that responsibly harness AI’s capabilities. My philosophy is human-centric by design: technology must serve our values, not supplant them. I’m committed to expanding access, asking uncomfortable questions, and facilitating systems transformation that endures.
If you’re seeking inspiration that’s both intellectually rigorous and deeply human, delivered with conviction and wit, let’s talk.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
My mother taught me more about work than any boss ever did. She was a physician when most women were wives and mothers. She showed up, told the truth, and did what had to be done. She treated every task with pride, even when no one watched. She was a workaholic, and I saw both the power and the cost. She never said rest was part of work; she paid for that choice. Near the end, she wished she had rested more and missed less. That regret shaped me more than any trophy or title. I still push hard, but I try to plan and protect rest. When I lead today, I hear her voice and mind that lesson.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering revealed the true nature of control: what lies within our grasp and what never did. It exposed my limitations, and demanded I lead regardless. It dismantled my ego, creating space for genuine compassion.
Through adversity, I learned to seek support without self-consciousness or shame. And patience evolved to avdisciplined practice. I developed the capacity to establish boundaries with clarity and protect what matters most. My attention sharpened to recognize the subtle voices I had previously overlooked.
I discovered that incremental progress, pursued with consistency, possesses transformative power. Humility is not a weakness but a source of resilience and perspective. I came to understand that authentic presence eclipses manufactured perfection in every context.
Achievement brings satisfaction, but struggle forged my ability to serve others more meaningfully.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
Smart people are tripping over two big ideas at once and they’re feeding each other.
First, they keep pitching AI as a human replacement instead of a human amplifier. They’re obsessed with subtraction: “What can we cut?” when the better question is “What can we elevate?” Intelligence without judgment, context, or real work isn’t innovation. It’s abdication.
Second, they’re selling “transformation” like it’s a painless software update. No downtime, no awkwardness, no learning curve. Real change asks you to sit in uncertainty, retire what worked yesterday, and feel clumsy while you build new muscles. It takes work to build stength. And the work hurts.
Put those two mistakes together and you get leaders who think AI will deliver change without any of the discomfort. They want the tech to do the emotional labor for them. But it won’t.
AI can accelerate learning, widen options, and take the grunt out of the grind. But the messy, human parts like struggling, questioning, failing, trying again? Those are non-negotiable. The discomfort IS the transformation. Anyone promising you progress without it is selling snake oil.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What will you regret not doing?
I’ll regret not guarding my attention like it pays the mortgage, letting it leak into meetings that don’t matter, feeds that distract me, and “urgent” fires that weren’t even warm. I’ll regret waiting to rest until my body can’t function, pretending resilience is the same as running on fumes. And I’ll regret not scheduling opportunities for awe like I schedule every other aspect of my life. Like time to be astonished by art, nature, and people, because that’s what really inspires my voice and my work. If I don’t protect my focus, rest before I drop, and choose wonder on purpose, I’ll drift into being efficient instead of alive.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nancylyons.com
- Instagram: @nylons
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancylyons/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nancy.lyons/
- Youtube: https://www.facebook.com/nancy.lyons/
- Other: TikTok: @nansplainer
Image Credits
Sarah Whiting (headshot)
Bethany Birnie
Joe Szurszewski
