Meet Nayla Bahri | Leadership coach, podcaster, professor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nayla Bahri and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nayla, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

I’d worked in large organization for 20 years, and there were lots of things l loved: resources, colleagues, significant impact, the ability to do things at scale.

But as I was growing in my own professional identity, it became clearer to me that being interested and able to do a lot of things was part of my professional need. I wanted to teach AND coach AND facilitate AND advise AND write AND research, and there wasn’t always room in one job to be experimental and cross-functional. When a chance came to separate from my last full-time role, I thought: maybe this is the time to create what you want, rather that look for a job that meets all those criteria.

What should our readers know about your business?

I work as a leadership coach and teacher.

I am obsessed with helping people create a healthier relationship with work, one that honors their unique gifts, lets them lead from strength, encourages them to innovate and experiment and take care of themselves and deliver excellence in what they do.

I am thrilled that people want to engage in this work, either through coaching, or coming to a class or workshop I offer, reading my newsletter or listening to my podcast.

A combination of academic research, many years leading in the classroom, even more years as a senior leader in organizations, and my own experience (good and less good) with work led me to building a business centered on this issue.

I knew I wasn’t alone in wanting something better from work – I knew that through my research, through my student and clients and through my own life. So I built something that would let me have the conversations I wanted to be part of.

Nothing about running a business is easy – it’s the fastest course in personal development I could ever have imagined – but right now, it’s worth it.

What I know for sure is that the work to create a better experience of work starts on the inside (that’s why our podcast is called Inside Job) with self-discovery, self-awareness, self-trust and self-honoring. When we have done that work, we have a better chance of having the sustainable impact we want to have in the world.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d head over to Mesa to hang out with my business coach Pam Slim, visit her Main Street Learning Lab and enjoy the diverse business ecosystem in her area!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I was lucky that a few teachers in my life encouraged me to stick to exploring what I was curious about. I often think back to an art history teacher I had in middle school summer camp who pushed us to talk about what we saw when we looked at art – even if we weren’t that experienced – what moved us and caught our attention mattered as far he was concerned. That taught me that being right wasn’t as important as being curious.

My husband has been my partner in our life together as well as my career. He’s encouraged me when I’ve faced obstacles, cheered for the risks I’ve taken, and helped me have a sense of humor about the things that make every day life both wonderful and overwhelming.

And of course, my business coach lives in Arizona! The remarkable Pam Slim is someone who I admired for years before we worked together – she’s an intellectual powerhouse, relationship driven, full of integrity and curiosity and utterly herself, which I love.

Website: www.naylabahri.com

Instagram: @drnaylabahri

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naylabahri/

Image Credits
Photography by Cara