The Real Leslie Riley (unofficial biography)
Hi there, I'm Leslie Riley. Coach. Speaker. Author. Life Enthusiast!
Some things you should know about me up front:
I consider myself lucky and know believing that has helped me lead a pretty charmed life. Not that it's always been easy... I have a gift for choosing the road less traveled and usually find my share of stumbling blocks. But the truth is I learn more from the tough times than the easy ones anyway, so I'm not going to spend my life "Standing Outside The Fire!" My gift and passion is to find lessons in everything from picking up pennies to the songs on my iPod. I believe life is a series of miracles... each one full of amazing lessons if we just open our eyes to see them! This is how I've ended up doing work I love, finding friends that feel like family, and experiencing things I could have never imagined (like flying helicopters & going to the Grammy's!). The work I do through Lead Like a Girl is more than just work... it's a calling. My life in the army led me down a path that pressured me to be the kind of leader I thought I was "supposed to be." It wasn't until I was getting out and my evaluations didn't matter any more that I tried my own authentic leadership style and learned something shocking... it worked! What a shame I waited seven years to find that out. And so now my mission in life is to help people find & honor their own authentic leadership styles. To help them see they have unique gifts to offer the world that will be lost forever if they don't bring them to life's proverbial table. These conversations never cease to amaze me! And I never get tired of asking or hearing people answer the question, "How will YOU be a leader today?" I have no idea what's next in life... but I have no doubt my best days are ahead of me! |
For The Press (official biography)
Leslie Riley’s done just a little bit of everything. Her non-linear path has given her opportunities to travel the world, study human dynamics, and live life to the fullest every minute. She calls herself a “1%-er” because if there’s some kind of challenge most people don’t want to tackle… she’ll give it a try. From running a marathon to traveling alone in far off lands, Leslie doesn’t know the meaning of the words, “I can’t.”
She decided early on to take the road less traveled, which led her to The U.S. Military Academy at West Point after high school. Leslie spent four years there pursuing a degree in Portuguese (including a summer program in Brazil, which hooked her irrevocably on international travel) before being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army. She spent seven years as an Aviation officer flying CH-47D Chinook helicopters, including tours in Kosovo and South Korea.
After leaving the Army, Leslie worked as a professional organizer, TV news producer, facilitator, trainer, and coach before starting Full Circle Inspiration. Her expertise in group dynamics and communication have allowed her to work with some amazing clients. Her passion is bringing innovation to teams in order to help them use their own brilliance to create clearer processes and improve communication to enhance success. Her partial client list includes:
Disney • Fidelity • Raytheon • Procter & Gamble • Chrysler • U.S. Food & Drug Administration • The United Way • U.S. Customs & Boarder Protection • American Chemical Society (ACS) • American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) • American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists (ASHP) • American College of Medical Coding Specialists (ACMCS) • Globo.com
In her spare time she runs triathlons, takes trapeze lessons, reads, writes, travels as much as possible, and works with women in leadership through her Lead Like a Girl events and online communities. She’s also an avid penny picker-upper (or any found money, really!) and started The Penny Project as a way to pool found money & small donations for a bigger cause. With hundreds of people out there finding pennies with her, she’s been able to collect over $4,500 to donate to local organizations.
Her cat, Shirley, appreciates when she finally takes a break to feed her a few treats & curl up for a nap on the couch!
She decided early on to take the road less traveled, which led her to The U.S. Military Academy at West Point after high school. Leslie spent four years there pursuing a degree in Portuguese (including a summer program in Brazil, which hooked her irrevocably on international travel) before being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army. She spent seven years as an Aviation officer flying CH-47D Chinook helicopters, including tours in Kosovo and South Korea.
After leaving the Army, Leslie worked as a professional organizer, TV news producer, facilitator, trainer, and coach before starting Full Circle Inspiration. Her expertise in group dynamics and communication have allowed her to work with some amazing clients. Her passion is bringing innovation to teams in order to help them use their own brilliance to create clearer processes and improve communication to enhance success. Her partial client list includes:
Disney • Fidelity • Raytheon • Procter & Gamble • Chrysler • U.S. Food & Drug Administration • The United Way • U.S. Customs & Boarder Protection • American Chemical Society (ACS) • American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) • American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists (ASHP) • American College of Medical Coding Specialists (ACMCS) • Globo.com
In her spare time she runs triathlons, takes trapeze lessons, reads, writes, travels as much as possible, and works with women in leadership through her Lead Like a Girl events and online communities. She’s also an avid penny picker-upper (or any found money, really!) and started The Penny Project as a way to pool found money & small donations for a bigger cause. With hundreds of people out there finding pennies with her, she’s been able to collect over $4,500 to donate to local organizations.
Her cat, Shirley, appreciates when she finally takes a break to feed her a few treats & curl up for a nap on the couch!
Life's About The Journey...A Life Changing Realization!
You've heard it a million times (and so had Leslie), "Life's about the journey, not the destination." Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. Are we there yet? It wasn't until she encountered Escadaria Selaron that she understood exactly what people meant when they said that.
While teaching some classes in Brazil, Leslie decided to take the recommendations of her students and spend the weekend between the classes exploring the neighborhood of Santa Theresa, which she heard housed one of the most amazing staircases in the world, Escadaria Selaron. When her taxi dropped her off at the staircase, she understood why people were so taken by this place...it was a living work of art!
The artist receives hundreds of tiles every year from past visitors who were moved by the story of the staircase (it had once been the center of a drug-infested neighborhood until the artist started transforming it and completely revitalized the area). He is constantly updating, changing, & recreating the look of the stairs, which he says he will continue doing until the day he dies.
While teaching some classes in Brazil, Leslie decided to take the recommendations of her students and spend the weekend between the classes exploring the neighborhood of Santa Theresa, which she heard housed one of the most amazing staircases in the world, Escadaria Selaron. When her taxi dropped her off at the staircase, she understood why people were so taken by this place...it was a living work of art!
The artist receives hundreds of tiles every year from past visitors who were moved by the story of the staircase (it had once been the center of a drug-infested neighborhood until the artist started transforming it and completely revitalized the area). He is constantly updating, changing, & recreating the look of the stairs, which he says he will continue doing until the day he dies.
Climbing the stairs is an amazing experience, each step full of color, life & gifts from past visitors. It took Leslie hours to climb the stairs, stopping about 400 times to take pictures of tiles from San Francisco, Seattle, Maine, Australia, Austria, South Africa, England...as well as tiles that said things like "Gemma & Scott tied the knot 12/17/10" or "Joe ♥ Maude 2009." Each one a proud expression of the visitors who had sent it.
As she neared the top, Leslie started getting anxious about finishing the climb, thinking, "I bet the view from up there is AWESOME!" So she hurried up the last few steps to reach the top. The DESTINATION. When she turned around to snap the picture she was sure was going to be incredible & amazing, what she saw shocked her. While the face of each stair had been bright & colorful, a celebration of the people who had sent the tiles, the top of each stair was just gray stone. Flat. Boring. A little sad.
All of a sudden that old phrase became crystal clear. Leslie realized that it's each step we take that brings the color to our lives, not the places we end up. She started enjoying all the little things that make up her days (her morning cup of coffee, snuggling with her kitty cat, talking to her hilarious sister on the phone), knowing THOSE were the important things in life. Or at least the most colorful parts.
She invites you to consider your own journey & ask yourself, "What are the little things that bring the color to MY journey?"
As she neared the top, Leslie started getting anxious about finishing the climb, thinking, "I bet the view from up there is AWESOME!" So she hurried up the last few steps to reach the top. The DESTINATION. When she turned around to snap the picture she was sure was going to be incredible & amazing, what she saw shocked her. While the face of each stair had been bright & colorful, a celebration of the people who had sent the tiles, the top of each stair was just gray stone. Flat. Boring. A little sad.
All of a sudden that old phrase became crystal clear. Leslie realized that it's each step we take that brings the color to our lives, not the places we end up. She started enjoying all the little things that make up her days (her morning cup of coffee, snuggling with her kitty cat, talking to her hilarious sister on the phone), knowing THOSE were the important things in life. Or at least the most colorful parts.
She invites you to consider your own journey & ask yourself, "What are the little things that bring the color to MY journey?"
