Lisa Duerre

I attribute my success to curiosity, meaningful relationships, and a willingness to keep learning and recalibrating.

I have always been drawn to the human layer underneath execution: what is not being said, where tension is building, and what helps people do their best work. Being a “people person” inside complex technology organizations became one of my greatest strengths. I learned to tell the truth with care, ask better questions, and help people see possibilities and strengths they may not yet recognize in themselves.

My success has also required learning to regulate my nervous system and listen to what my body, energy, and experiences were telling me. Severe burnout, chronic illness, motherhood, and living with lipedema have taught me that sustainable high performance comes from clarity, self-awareness, support, and the courage to make different choices.

I also know I did not get here alone. My husband and business partner, Randy, my family, mentors, colleagues, clients, and the RLD Group collective have challenged, encouraged, and believed in me. Our best work has always been co-created.

Ultimately, I attribute my success to staying grounded in what matters most: helping people know and use their strengths, creating conversations where truth and humanity are welcome, and building systems where both people and performance can thrive.

I used to believe I had to be the person with all the answers. Then life happened, again and again.

Burnout, chronic illness, motherhood, living with lipedema, building a business, and navigating seasons I could not control taught me that success is not about knowing everything or carrying everything alone. It is about knowing myself, playing to my strengths, asking for help, and having the courage to keep learning.

Curiosity is one of my greatest strengths. It helps me notice what others may miss, connect ideas, and ask questions that open new possibilities. Storytelling helps me turn those insights into something people can see themselves in and use.

Over time, I stopped trying to be the sage on the stage and became more comfortable being the guide on the side. My role is to create the conditions for people to recognize their strengths, access their own wisdom, and find the clarity to take their next step.

I also believe in a true exchange of energy. I love giving, supporting, and opening doors for others. I have had to learn that receiving support, care, wisdom, and opportunity is equally important. Asking for help has made me more connected and effective, not less capable.

My husband and business partner, Randy, my family, mentors, colleagues, clients, and the RLD Group collective have all shaped my journey. I attribute my success to curiosity, courage, self-awareness, meaningful relationships, and a willingness to let life keep teaching me.

Know your strengths and learn how to talk about the value they create.

Early in my career, I thought doing excellent work would be enough. It wasn’t. Your work does not speak for itself. Learn to communicate your impact clearly, build relationships before you need them, and make it easy for others to understand what you contribute. That is not bragging. It is helping people see where your strengths can make a difference.

Stay curious about technology, especially AI, and invest just as intentionally in the human capabilities shaping the future of work: judgment, self-awareness, empathy, creativity, courage, and meaningful conversation. You do not have to know everything before you raise your hand, enter the room, or share an idea.

Learn to co-create. Some of the most meaningful opportunities in my career began with a conversation, including my collaboration with the Conversations Worth Having® community. Ask generative questions, listen for the wisdom in the room, and be willing to build something better than any one person could have created alone. Conversations Worth Having can change the direction of a relationship, a career, a team, or an entire organization.

Pay attention to what happens inside you under pressure. Nervous-system regulation is a leadership capability. Your ability to pause, think clearly, and choose your response will protect your health, strengthen your judgment, and influence everyone around you.

Find mentors, sponsors, peers, and truth-tellers. Ask for help sooner than you think you should, and allow yourself to receive it. You were never meant to build a meaningful career alone.

Most importantly, do not squeeze yourself into someone else’s picture of what a successful woman should look or sound like. Bring your strengths, your story, and your humanity with you. They are part of your value.

The biggest challenge and opportunity in my field are closely connected: AI is accelerating work faster than many leadership systems can adapt.

AI scales what is already true inside an organization. When priorities, decision rights, communication, governance, and accountability are clear, AI can accelerate learning, innovation, and measurable value. When leadership systems are fragmented, it can accelerate confusion, rework, risk, and distrust.

That is why AI Leadership Alignment matters. Leaders need to connect what is happening at the individual, team, and organizational levels. Through RLD Group’s I | WE | US leadership lens, we help leaders examine how they are showing up and using AI (I), how teams are learning and working together (WE), and whether organizational guardrails, decision rights, and operating practices are keeping pace (US). The opportunity is to design leadership systems that are human-led and AI-accelerated.

We also need to prepare the next generation for a future of work that is still taking shape. Young people need opportunities to understand their strengths, values, and ways of contributing. They need practical experience using AI with curiosity and discernment while developing the human capabilities technology cannot replicate: judgment, empathy, creativity, courage, self-awareness, and the ability to have Conversations Worth Having®.

I see tremendous opportunity in bringing generations together to co-create what comes next. Experienced leaders bring context, pattern recognition, and hard-earned wisdom. Younger generations bring fresh questions, new expectations, and fewer assumptions about how work has to be done.

The organizations that thrive will create space for both. They will use AI to expand human capacity while building the trust, alignment, and meaningful conversations needed to turn technological possibility into progress.

Curiosity, courage, care, connection, and integrity are the values that guide me.

Curiosity helps me stay open, ask better questions, and look beneath the surface of what appears to be happening. It reminds me that I do not need to enter every conversation with an answer. I can listen, learn, and co-create.

Courage helps me tell the truth with care, make difficult choices, and keep moving when the path is unclear. Integrity means aligning what I say, what I value, and how I actually live and lead, especially when doing so is inconvenient.

Care and connection keep the human beings inside every system visible. I care deeply about meaningful results, and I care about how those results are achieved. People should not have to sacrifice their health, families, dignity, or sense of self to be considered successful.

I also value reciprocity. I believe in a true exchange of energy, where we give generously and remain open to receiving support, wisdom, opportunity, and care from others.

These values shape how I lead RLD Group, coach executives, advocate for people living with lipedema and hidden disabilities, support young people preparing for the future of work, and show up for my family. They remind me to pause, notice, choose, and stay grounded in what matters most.