Hi, I'm Lori.

I am grateful every day for the opportunity to do what I love most: connect deeply with other dedicated professionals seeking to grow and learn, to fulfill their greatest purpose as leaders and as human beings.

I grew up outside of Philadelphia, where my family owned the local drugstore. The whole family worked there and bonded while we did so—love was work; work was love. The community we built with customers, family, and our team at the store both warmed my heart and piqued my curiosity. What created that environment that allowed us to both argue and laugh at the same time?

Years later, as an executive at Booz Allen with increasingly complex responsibilities, I had the honor of working with an executive coach who provided wonderful support in my professional efforts. Through our engagement, I realized that what I loved most about my job was both supporting and challenging others to be their best selves. My coach suggested that I’d make a good coach myself. I attended the coaching program at Georgetown University. It was transformational.

Zukin Leadership was born out of this transformation, almost 15 years ago. And the transformation continues—as my colleagues and I stay abreast of the latest advances in our field, apply our learnings with our clients, and continuously evolve and refine our own practices.

Along the way, we’ve observed that…

Traditional approaches to leadership development—classroom-style experiences that focus on conceptual learning, and isolated, one-time events—are not working. (I mean, look how unhappy people are!)

The most successful approaches sustain a strong focus on ongoing self-awareness and self-development and take an integrated systems approach (connecting with the larger team and organization levels). They also tend to use a nontraditional combination of modalities—often integrating nature, art, somatic practices, and new ways of seeing things, even in everyday experiences.

It is a privilege to share and apply all that we’ve learned with our valued clients.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose a response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.”

–Viktor Frankl

My story...

My professional roles include organizational psychologist, consultant, executive and team coach, and facilitator of executive development experiences. I have also supervised other executive coaches, team coaches, and facilitators. You’ll find me on the faculty of Georgetown University’s coaching program, and I've had the honor of serving as a coach for the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, founded by George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Additionally, I facilitate courses with The Optimism Company by Simon Sinek. My clients range from federal agencies and major pharmaceutical companies to finance firms and even the NFL and other sports organizations.

In the first part of my career, spanning more than 17 years, I was an executive at Booz Allen, overseeing P&Ls of over $30M in complex projects and managing hundreds of people.

While I have over 30 years of experience, I am also still learning every day—from ongoing research and innovations in psychology, leadership, and organizational development; from the insights of my accomplished colleagues; and from every client leader and team I have the privilege to work with.

And what I care about the most...

is the connection with every client I work with. Whether I'm working with an individual executive, a team, or a cohort of leaders in one of my immersive leadership programs, I attune closely to their personal and professional needs, their goals and aspirations, and their moment-to-moment experiences. My goal is always to translate my care and attunement into the impact that YOU want. That’s why people hire me—and refer their colleagues and friends to me—time and time again.

I’m known for saying, “Love is the bottom line.” After decades of experience as a leader, consultant, coach, and advisor, I know that a more connected, attuned way of being isn't just a nice-to-have; it's instrumental in achieving results.

True Story:

In my wedding vows, I promised my husband that I'd never write another dissertation. I’m happy to report that I have kept that promise. However, while I haven’t written another 200-page document, I do stay abreast of the latest research on leadership development to ensure my clients get the latest and greatest methods to take their individual, team, and organizational leadership to the next level.