Episode 97- How Kylie Leota Built Her Thought Leadership Practice
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Most people don't plan to become a thought leader. For leadership expert and author Kylie Leota, it happened almost by accident, the result of a career-altering injury, twenty years of experience inside the education system, and a slow realisation that the problems she was solving for others could become the foundation of her own practice.
Today, Kylie runs Elements for Success, has authored the book Infinite Leadership and co-authored Impact, and recently returned from a book launch in New York City. But behind the milestones is a much more familiar story: single parenthood, self-doubt, "organised chaos," and years spent figuring out what actually works.
In this article, we break down the lessons from Kylie's journey, from leaving a stable government role in education, to writing her first book, to building the systems and community that now support a growing practice. If you're building your own coaching, consulting, or thought leadership business, her experience offers a practical, honest look at what that path really involves.
Listen to thefull conversation with Kylie Leota on The Jane Anderson Show.
Who Is Kylie Leota?
Kylie Leota spent close to two decades working across the education sector, holding various leadership positions in schools and regional offices. Her focus was on ensuring the voices of young people were heard, particularly those navigating disability, complex behaviour, and trauma.
She didn't set out to build a business. As she puts it, she has "always probably been a thought leader but never really knew what it was." That changed in 2019, when a workplace injury forced her to reconsider how, and whether, she could continue working the way she always had.
By 2020, she had left her government role to start her own practice. Since then, her work has expanded to include executive and aspiring leaders, educational leaders, and individuals seeking support around neurodivergence and self-leadership. Her business, Elements for Success, is named after Earl Nightingale's definition of success as "the progressive realisation of a worthy goal or ideal."
From Educator to Accidental Business Owner
The Injury That Changed Everything
Kylie describes 2019 as a turning point she didn't choose. An injury made it impossible to continue working the way she had for years, forcing her to ask a difficult question: What if I can't do this anymore? What would I do instead?
That question led her to reflect on what she genuinely enjoyed about her work, and what she didn't. Out of that reflection came the early, informal beginnings of a practice: a few people she quietly let know what she was doing, which grew through word of mouth.
Why She Calls Herself an "Accidental" Thought Leader
Kylie is candid that she never planned this path. She grew up wanting to be a music teacher, then briefly considered becoming a PE teacher, before finding her place supporting young people through complex educational challenges. Looking back, she recognises that she was already thinking outside conventional frameworks long before she had a name for it.
This is a common pattern among service-based professionals who eventually become thought leaders: the expertise and unconventional thinking exist well before the formal "practice" does. What often shifts is not the person's capability, but their willingness, or circumstances, to package that expertise into something of their own.
This growth-oriented outlook is one she agrees with when it's put to her directly, the interviewer draws a parallel to psychologist Carol Dweck's concept ofgrowth mindset, the idea that abilities can be developed through effort rather than viewed as fixed traits. Kylie affirms the connection, while adding that her resilience also comes from years spent working in complex environments, where she learnt to see possibility where others might not.
Writing Infinite Leadership: Her First Book
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome as a First-Time Author
Kylie is an avid reader, by her own account, surrounded by books, but says it hadn't occurred to her that she could be the author rather than just the reader. Comparing herself to established names in the leadership space made the idea feel out of reach.
What ultimately gave her the confidence to write was the same concept she built into her book: ecosystem. Having the right people around her made the process possible.
Her book, Infinite Leadership, is built around a framework of pillars, including Identity and Ecosystem, designed to help readers drive continuous improvement in how they lead themselves and others.
The Moment a Stranger in New York Had Read Her Book
One of the more striking moments in Kylie's publishing journey happened almost by chance. While in New York for a book launch, she met someone at breakfast, a stranger from Pennsylvania, who had already read Infinite Leadership.
"It was mindblowing to me... that was just such a powerful reminder to never underestimate the impact that you might have on someone that you don't even know."
The same week, a chapter she had contributed to a separate book, Business Goddesses, reached number one on Amazon. For Kylie, both moments reinforced a core belief: you rarely know who your work will reach, which is part of why she sees her writing as an act of service rather than self-promotion.
Kylie isn't the only guest on the show who has built a business around her own name and expertise. In Episode 99, Gillian Smith discusses leading with her own name versus a separate business brand, a useful companion piece for anyone weighing up personal brand versus business brand.
The Real Challenges Behind Building a Practice
Being a Single Mother While Scaling a Business
Kylie is a single mother of three. She's open about the fact that leaving a stable government job in 2020 to start her own practice felt, to many around her, like an unusual risk.
She recalls people around her struggling to see the vision she had for her practice, which required her to consciously "have her own back" during moments of doubt, something she says she still has to remind herself to do, even years into running a successful business.
Finding the Right Team: Zone of Genius vs. Zone of Frustration
As a self-described fast, visionary, big-picture thinker, Kylie had to learn early on that she couldn't, and shouldn't, do everything herself. Some tasks drained her energy disproportionately to their importance, which she describes as her "zone of frustration," as opposed to the strategic, visionary work that energises her, her "zone of genius."
Building the right team meant identifying which tasks to hand off first, and finding people who could execute the operational work that allowed her to stay focused on the parts of the business only she could do.
She also emphasises that this isn't a one-time fix. What supports a practice at one stage often stops working at the next, requiring ongoing recalibration rather than a single structural decision.
This mirrors a theme explored in Episode 101 with global workplace expert Dr Michelle Gibbings, who built her own practice after a corporate career and speaks to navigating complexity as a leader.
Why Ecosystem and Identity Matter Most
The Thermostat vs. Thermometer Mindset
One of the clearest frameworks Kylie shares is the distinction between being a thermostat and being a thermometer.
A thermometer simply reflects the temperature of the room, it reacts to its environment. A thermostat, on the other hand, sets the temperature. Kylie encourages leaders to actively choose the environments and standards they operate within, rather than letting external circumstances dictate their sense of success or failure.
This concept ties directly into her broader emphasis on identity: understanding who you are and who you're working to become, rather than allowing outside opinions to define your trajectory.
How Community Counters "Tall Poppy Syndrome"
Kylie speaks candidly about a pattern she's observed: people are often willing to support you only up to the level of their own comfort, not yours. As she grew more visible, she noticed some relationships and dynamics became strained, not because she had done anything wrong, but because her growth made others uncomfortable.
She contrasts this with the value of being part of a genuinely supportive community, Kylie is a member of Jane Anderson's Women with Influence community, where success is celebrated rather than diminished. This runs counter to the "tall poppy syndrome" often associated with Australian professional culture.
"Many people are happy to support you to the level of their comfort, versus your comfort."
For Kylie, surrounding herself with people who could match, rather than shrink from, her ambition was a turning point in her ability to grow the practice with confidence.
Systems and Routine: Not Restriction, But Freedom
Her Routine and Weekly Structure
For the first couple of years of her practice, Kylie describes operating in what she calls "organised chaos", successful, but unsustainable, without clear systems in place.
Over time, she developed a structured routine: early mornings (she's typically up at 4 a.m.), dedicated blocks for specific types of work on specific days, and an early bedtime she jokingly calls "nanner o'clock", around 8:30 p.m. Rather than experiencing this structure as restrictive, she describes it as freeing. She traces the idea partly to a book she'd read, she thinks it may have been James Clear's Atomic Habits, though she wasn't fully certain of the source, that structure and routine create freedom rather than restriction. For Kylie, the payoff is that it removes the friction of constantly deciding what to work on, or "code-switching" between different types of tasks throughout the day.
Importantly, Kylie doesn't prescribe a single formula. She acknowledges that early rising works for her but won't work for everyone, and encourages finding the structure that fits your own working style through trial and error.
This same intentionality extends to how she protects time for her children, treating family time as a scheduled priority rather than something fit in around business, even while acknowledging she could easily work far more given how much she enjoys the work itself.
What's Next: The Infinite Leadership Diagnostic
Looking ahead, Kylie is currently developing a diagnostic tool tied to her Infinite Leadership framework, both a short and long-form version, designed to help individuals and organisations identify where they are in their leadership journey and what they need to move forward.
She has been testing it with a small group and reports strong early feedback on its accuracy. The diagnostic is intended to serve both educational and corporate leaders, reflecting the dual markets she continues to work across.
Building your own signature framework or diagnostic is one of the ways experts like Kylie turn deep experience into a scalable offer. If you're at that stage in your own practice, Jane Anderson's 1:1 coaching program works with B2B consultants and thought leaders on exactly this kind of positioning.
FAQ
Who is Kylie Leota?
Kylie Leota is a leadership expert, author, and speaker who spent nearly 20 years in the education sector before starting her own practice, Elements for Success, in 2020. She specialises in self-leadership, executive leadership development, and neurodivergence-informed coaching.
What is Kylie Leota's book Infinite Leadership about?
Infinite Leadership is built around a framework of pillars, including Identity and Ecosystem, designed to help individuals and organizations drive continuous improvement and create excellence through ongoing personal and leadership development.
How did Kylie Leota transition from education to coaching?
A workplace injury in 2019 prompted Kylie to reassess how she could continue working. She began informally sharing her expertise with a small number of people, which grew through word of mouth into a full-time practice she launched in 2020.
What is the "thermostat vs. thermometer" leadership concept?
It's a framework Kylie uses to describe two ways of operating: a thermometer reacts to and reflects its environment, while a thermostat actively sets the standard or "temperature" of the room. She encourages leaders to operate as thermostats rather than being shaped by external circumstances.
What is Elements for Success?
Elements for Success is Kylie Leota's business, named after Earl Nightingale's definition of success as the progressive realisation of a worthy goal or ideal. It focuses on helping individuals, teams, and organizations identify the specific elements needed to reach their goals.
How can I connect with Kylie Leota?
Kylie can be found on LinkedIn and Instagram/Facebook under Elements for Success, and via her website, elementsforsuccess.com.au.
Conclusion
Kylie Leota's path from educator to published author and practice owner wasn't the result of a single bold decision, it was built gradually, through injury-forced reflection, word-of-mouth growth, hard-won systems, and a community willing to support her ambition rather than shrink from it.
For anyone building their own coaching, consulting, or thought leadership business, her story is a reminder that the "behind the scenes" is rarely as smooth as it looks from the outside, and that ecosystem, identity, and structure, in that order, tend to matter more than any single strategy or launch.
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If you're ready for hands-on support turning your own expertise into a scalable practice, explore 1:1 coaching with Jane Anderson or learn more about the Women with Influence community.
Key Takeaways from Today’s Episode:
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The podcast opens with a warm welcome from the host, who introduces the guest, Kylee Leota, as a leadership expert, author, and speaker. Kylee transitioned from a long-standing career in education into her own thriving thought leadership practice during the COVID era. She has since written books, travelled to New York City to promote her work, and even had her book featured in Times Square. The host sets the scene for a discussion about Kylee’s journey from the education sector into corporate and entrepreneurial spaces, leveraging her specialised expertise. Kylee joins the conversation and reflects on her origins, describing herself as an “accidental” business owner. Although she had aspired to be an educator from a young age, her creative, out-of-the-box thinking—particularly in supporting students with disabilities, trauma, and complex behaviours—foreshadowed her current work. While she didn’t initially see herself as a thought leader, hindsight revealed she had always approached problems innovatively, even in structured systems.
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Kylee shares that after 20 years in various leadership roles across the education sector, it was an injury in 2019 that forced her to reconsider her career path. Unable to continue in the same way, she asked herself what parts of her job she truly loved and how she might create something new. What began as quiet experimentation—letting a few people know what she was doing—soon evolved through word-of-mouth into a full-blown practice. Connecting with mentors and engaging in personal growth enabled her to sharpen her business model. Today, she primarily works with executive and aspiring leaders, including educational professionals, offering coaching in self-leadership and alignment. Her business, Elements to Success, is inspired by Earl Nightingale’s definition of success and focuses on identifying the “elements” individuals and organisations need to realise their goals. Kylee’s offerings are deeply personalised, supporting clients in bridging the gap between their current reality and their envisioned future.
She also discusses the impact of writing and publishing her book, Infinite Leadership: Driving Continuous Improvement to Create Excellence for Everyone. Initially plagued by imposter syndrome and doubts about her authority compared to renowned thought leaders like Simon Sinek or Adam Grant, Kylee eventually embraced her place as an author. The writing process was empowering rather than exhausting, and having now contributed to multiple books—Infinite Leadership, Impact (a co-authored book), and Business Goddesses—Kylee feels confident to keep publishing. She speaks passionately about her “ecosystem” of support and how it bolstered her confidence. A serendipitous moment in New York underscored her growing influence: she met a reader from Pennsylvania who had devoured her book, reaffirming the unexpected global reach of her work and the profound impact a book can have.
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As the conversation moves behind the scenes, Kylee is candid about the challenges she has faced. Despite appearing calm and composed on the outside, she likens herself to a duck on water—serene above but paddling frantically below. She shares a humorous anecdote about her “ducks” not being in a row but rather “in the back of a police car,” illustrating the chaos she has sometimes managed behind the scenes. Kylee is a single mother of three and launched her business in 2020 during the peak of COVID—a move many people around her thought was irrational. Yet she believed in her vision, even when others couldn’t see it, and this required deep courage and conviction.
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Kylee reflects on the ongoing self-doubt she experiences and the importance of having her own back. She recently received a message from someone who only now appreciated the bravery it took for her to leave a secure government role. As a fast-thinking visionary, Kylee admits that administrative or operational tasks drain her energy. One of her biggest breakthroughs was recognising she couldn’t—and shouldn’t—do everything herself. She prioritised outsourcing the tasks that fell outside her “zone of genius” and building a supportive team. Delegating allowed her to focus on her strengths and grow her business strategically. However, she notes that this is an ongoing journey; what serves a business at one stage may not serve it at the next. She underscores the importance of recalibrating and evolving one’s business mindset. Instead of viewing challenges with resentment, Kylee now sees them as signs of progress, much like being grateful for a high tax bill because it signifies financial success.
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Kylee reflects on the critical role of mindset in her journey, drawing from her education background, particularly the influence of Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset. While she acknowledges her ability to reframe challenges and move forward, she’s quick to clarify that it’s not always easy. She still experiences moments of frustration and self-doubt but has developed the resilience to keep getting back up—what she humorously likens to “fall down 777, get up 888.” This tenacity stems from recognising that the world is inherently complex, and waiting for perfect conditions is futile. Instead, she’s learned to act amid uncertainty.
The conversation shifts to the value of the Women With Influence community in her personal and professional growth. Kylee shares that this community has allowed her to fully step into her authentic identity—something she previously struggled with in environments that weren’t receptive to her visionary thinking. She describes how being surrounded by like-minded peers who celebrate ambition rather than diminish it has been transformative. This safe, supportive ecosystem contrasts sharply with past experiences where others tried to limit her because of their discomfort with her success.
She particularly values how the community embraces and celebrates success without falling into the cultural trap of tall poppy syndrome. In this group, wins are openly shared and supported. This camaraderie helps members—herself included—believe in what's possible, ask questions freely, and draw inspiration from one another’s journeys. Kylee praises the generosity, kindness, and intentionality of the group, noting how rare and powerful it is to be surrounded by people who lift each other up regardless of where they are in their business journey. She credits the host, Jane, with carefully curating this environment, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach and instead creating a cohesive, aligned collective.
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Reflecting on her five-year journey, Kylee shares several lessons she’s learned in hindsight. One of the biggest was not prioritising systems early enough. Although her business was successful, it operated in “organised chaos” for a while before she streamlined her operations. She also highlights the importance of having trusted advisors—her “board of directors”—but admits she wasn’t initially discerning enough in choosing them. In the early days, she was vulnerable to believing people who promised quick fixes. Over time, she’s developed sharper discernment and become more selective about whose advice she follows and who she invites into her inner circle.
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Another powerful insight Kylee shares is the importance of consistently backing yourself—not just at the start, but at every stage. While she took a bold step in leaving government to launch her business, she noticed that at each new phase of growth, she needed to renew that self-belief. Despite consistent year-on-year business growth, her confidence sometimes wavered, which she’s learned to address through self-compassion and breaking down big ideas into smaller, actionable steps. As a visionary, she’s learned the importance of translating large-scale ideas into manageable chunks to avoid becoming overwhelmed or paralysed by comparison.
She also offers guidance for others building thought leadership businesses: focus first on understanding your identity. Only when she was clear on who she was and aspired to be could she attract the right people into her ecosystem. She introduces the metaphor of being a thermostat (setting the temperature) versus a thermometer (reacting to the temperature), advocating for leaders to become thermostats who create and maintain the conditions they want to thrive in. That clarity of identity and aspiration influences who you attract and how effectively you grow.
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Looking ahead, Kylee shares her excitement about a new development in her practice—the creation of the Infinite Leadership Profile Diagnostic. Over the weekend, she finalised both a short and long-form version of the diagnostic, which she plans to introduce first within her community and then more broadly. The tool is designed to help educational and corporate leaders identify where they are in their leadership journey and what steps to take next. It builds on the core philosophy of her Infinite Leadership framework, which sees leadership development as an ongoing evolution.
The diagnostic has already been piloted with a few individuals, who reported that its insights were remarkably accurate. Kylee sees it as a way to add value to clients at any stage in their leadership growth, helping them self-assess and move forward intentionally. Jane responds with enthusiasm, affirming the power of diagnostics in making leadership frameworks more relatable and actionable for individuals.
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Kylee shares how much joy and fulfilment she derives from her thought leadership practice, particularly when working on projects that excite her—even on weekends. Far from feeling burdened, she describes how choosing to work during her downtime is energising because she’s immersed in work that’s deeply meaningful and aligned with her purpose. For her, the process of developing tools like the Infinite Leadership Diagnostic is not only intellectually stimulating but also a way to serve more people at a deeper level.
Jane affirms this passion, drawing parallels with entrepreneur Simon Baird—co-founder of Culture Kings—who now devotes his time to supporting other entrepreneurs. Despite achieving financial freedom, Baird continues his work because, as he describes it, it’s both his job and his hobby. Kylee resonates with this sentiment, explaining that having the freedom to choose when and how to work gives her the flexibility to design her business around what matters most to her—especially her family.
This freedom and intentional design, she explains, is what makes her practice so valuable. Whether it’s going “all in” on a workday or stepping back when needed, her business gives her autonomy that traditional roles never could. That sense of fulfilment—choosing what she does and loving it—is what sustains her momentum and joy.
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Responding to the question many people ask—how she manages it all—Kylee dispels the myth that she has a secret trick, like a time machine, although one client jokingly insists she must. She credits her ability to juggle family, clients, and creative projects to a strong routine and disciplined structure, not magical time-warping powers. Drawing on lessons from thought leaders like James Clear (Atomic Habits), she emphasises the liberating nature of structure. Contrary to the common belief that routine is restrictive, she insists that structure actually creates freedom.
Kylee describes herself as an early riser—up at 4:00 AM—with a strong morning routine that includes personal care, reading, writing, and sometimes connecting with international clients. Her days are deliberately designed, with certain types of work scheduled on specific days to avoid task-switching fatigue. She admits that the first years of her business were marked by “organised chaos” and constant code-switching between different types of work. While she was successful, it wasn’t sustainable.
Now, with systems and structure in place, her business feels more spacious and effective. That intentional design has created more room for creativity, family, and joy—an evolution that has taken time, experimentation, and self-awareness, but which now serves as a model for building a fulfilling, values-aligned practice.
