Lead With Conversations

What Lead With Conversations does

Lead With Conversations is a private, Phoenix-based executive leadership training and consulting firm founded in 2017 by Dr. J'Lein Liese. The firm helps leaders and organizations navigate difficult workplace conversations, manage emotionally charged situations, and build higher-performing cultures, serving Fortune 100 enterprises across manufacturing, chemicals, retail, consumer goods, telecommunications, healthcare, and biopharmaceuticals, as well as U.S. federal agencies including the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the U.S. Department of State, and the Utah Department of Corrections. Service delivery is relationship-led, targeting C-suite executives and senior government leaders, with on-site and virtual training delivered by a global certified-consultant network.

The company's core product is the proprietary Lead with Conversations® methodology, marketed as grounded in the brain's natural step-by-step problem-solving process for keeping difficult discussions on track. The complementary Leader's Playing Field™ tool supplies a structured device for navigating high-stakes conversations, and both names are registered trademarks. The portfolio also includes a published book ("Lead with Conversations"), one-on-one executive coaching, organizational development consulting, team workshops, and supplementary psychological assessments (EQi, TetraMap, Predictive Index, Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode, DISC, True Colors). The published methodology and book form the firm's content backbone, while consulting and coaching deliver the bulk of revenue.

Lead With Conversations generates revenue primarily through professional services: quote-based, multi-year consulting and coaching contracts with enterprise and government clients, plus team training workshops. The book is sold as a one-time purchase through a third-party storefront (mybook.to/LeadWithConversations) and doubles as a lead-generation asset. Consulting pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm itself operates with 1-10 direct employees, augmented by a global certified-consultant network that has worked in 52 countries with executives of 82 different nationalities, allowing international delivery without a corresponding international office footprint.

Name

Lead With Conversations

Legal name

Lead with Conversations®

Website

https://leadwithconversations.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lead With Conversations is a Phoenix-based executive leadership training and consulting firm that helps Fortune 100 enterprises and federal agencies navigate difficult workplace conversations using its proprietary Lead with Conversations® methodology and Leader's Playing Field™ framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Leadership Coaching & Organizational Development Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDABAAAA

Executive Leadership & C-Suite Development

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Leadership & Management Development

SECONDARYEDABAAAK

Leadership Assessment, 360 Feedback & Development Planning

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Leadership & Management Development

Keywords

• Executive leadership coaching
• Organizational development consulting
• Workplace communication training
• Leadership development services
• Conflict resolution consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Sale of the 'Lead with Conversations' book as both a standalone product and lead generation tool for consulting services.
2. Executive Consulting and Coaching: Direct consulting engagements with organizations and executive coaching for leaders, including training programs and organizational culture transformation services.
3. Training and Workshops: Team training and workshops delivered by certified consultants to develop conversation skills across organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lead With Conversations provides executive leadership coaching, organizational development consulting, and team training programs built on its proprietary Lead with Conversations® methodology and Leader's Playing Field™ framework. Its services target Fortune 100 enterprises and government agencies, helping leaders navigate difficult workplace conversations, resolve conflict, and transform organizational culture. The methodology, grounded in neuroscience, is also distributed via a published book that serves as a standalone product and lead generation tool.

Product overview

Lead With Conversations offers a suite of leadership communication products and services centered on its core Lead with Conversations® methodology. The primary offering is a training approach (delivered via a published book and coaching) that teaches leaders to follow the brain's natural problem-solving process during difficult conversations. The company's product portfolio includes the Lead with Conversations® book/methodology, the Leader's Playing Field™ conversation management tool, executive coaching services, and organizational development consulting. The company also offers various workplace assessments (EQi, TetraMap, Predictive Index, Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode, DISC, True Colors) as supplementary tools to their core methodology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Coaching One-on-one coaching for executives and leaders to develop communication skills, improve team dynamics, and address workplace challenges; delivered as a standalone paid engagement.
• Organizational Development Consulting Consulting services that assess and improve workplace culture, strengthen employee-supervisor relationships, and develop high-performing teams across organizations.
• Training and Workshops Team training programs and workshops delivered by certified consultants to develop practical conversation skills, culture change capabilities, and leadership behaviors within client organizations.
• Lead with Conversations® Book Published book presenting the Lead with Conversations® methodology, available for purchase via mybook.to/LeadWithConversations; designed for individual readers and as a top-of-funnel entry point for consulting engagements.

Quantifiable outcome

• More meaningful communication between employees and supervisors resulting in increased accountability, increased productivity, and better leadership (FBI case)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EY (Ernst & Young)minorOthersEY partner has endorsed and referenced Lead With Conversations methodology in client engagements, particularly noting effectiveness in factory and distribution center environments during change management processes.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• DDI (Development Dimensions International): Global leadership and talent management consultancy that delivers leadership development, coaching, and culture programs to large enterprises and government agencies, directly overlapping Lead With Conversations' offering.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a sizeable leadership development, coaching, and culture practice that addresses the same enterprise and government buyers Lead With Conversations serves.
• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): Premier research-driven executive development provider offering leadership programs, coaching, and assessments; comparable buyer profile and overlap in leadership communication and culture-transformation engagements.
• The Ken Blanchard Companies: Long-standing leadership training and consulting firm (Situational Leadership, SLII) selling into enterprise L&D and government buyers, with overlapping content on communication and leadership effectiveness.
• Dale Carnegie Training: Global training franchise focused on communication, leadership, and interpersonal effectiveness; addresses the same 'navigate difficult conversations' problem space and serves enterprise and government clients worldwide.
• FranklinCovey: Large established provider of leadership and communication training (e.g., 7 Habits, The 4 Disciplines of Execution) sold to Fortune-class enterprises and government agencies; overlaps with Lead With Conversations' executive development and culture transformation work.

Direct peers

• Crucial Learning (formerly VitalSmarts / Crucial Conversations): Directly comparable: trains leaders and teams to handle high-stakes, emotionally charged conversations through branded methodologies (Crucial Conversations, Crucial Influence), targeting the same enterprise and government buyers as Lead With Conversations.
• VitalSmarts (legacy brand of Crucial Learning): Historically the closest peer, training on difficult conversations, influence, and change — same category, same enterprise and government buyer, and conceptually similar methodology for handling high-stakes dialogue.

Emerging players

• BetterUp: Tech-enabled coaching and leadership development platform selling to enterprise HR; competes for the same 'executive and manager conversation skills' budget and represents the digital, scaled evolution of the category Lead With Conversations occupies.

Others

• Marshall Goldsmith (Marshall Goldsmith Coaching): Prominent individual executive coach and author offering leadership development and behavior-change coaching to C-suite clients; competes at the high end of the same individual-leader coaching market Lead With Conversations addresses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/leadwithconvos
• Facebookfacebook.com/leadwithconversationsofficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/j-lein-liese-ph-d-13308a4

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lead With Conversations