About OrgLeader
OrgLeader is a Southern California-based advisory firm working with CEOs, executive teams, boards and top-potential leaders across middle market and Fortune 500 organizations. Founded in 2006, OrgLeader brings organizational effectiveness expertise and practical business advisory to the complex, high-stakes situations that affect execution and governance.
OrgLeader operates at two levels:
- For organizations: executive team alignment, conflict and escalation dynamics, succession planning, family governance transitions, post-M&A leadership integration, along with board and C-suite advisory during periods of growth, transition or heightened organizational pressure.
- For individuals: top-potential leaders preparing for C-suite or board roles and those at pivotal points of leadership responsibility.
OrgLeader works extensively with organizations in STEM-related industries and beyond, across more than twenty industries and four continents.
Primary industries served include:
- Science: Healthcare, medical devices, pharmaceutical and biotech
- Technology: Software, semiconductors and consumer electronics
- Engineering: Automotive, aerospace and engineering & construction
- Finance: Banking, financials services and insurance
Additional industries served include consumer products, energy and transportation.
What we value
- Professionalism: Business decorum grounded in respect for the individual
- Candor: Honest and empathetic dialogue to obtain the best outcome
- Reliability: Consistent, high-caliber engagement from start to finish
- Integrity: Actions that align with words to produce trust
What we believe
- Leadership effectiveness and organizational effectiveness are reciprocal. Exceptional leaders compensate for organizational shortcomings
and accelerate performance. - Finesse is built, not fixed, and can be assessed with rigor. Natural capacity influences where leaders start, but deliberate application determines
how far they go. - Building a strong executive team involves more than assembling a collection of smart leaders. Structure and dynamics together determine whether senior leaders function as a true team or simply share a title.
- Uncertainty and risk cannot be eliminated. What leaders can control is how they respond, and that response determines the impact.
What we pledge to you:
- We focus on outcomes rather than activities.
- We are direct, objective, and willing to speak truth to power when it serves your best interests.
- We bring senior-level attention to every engagement from start to finish. Clients work with our principal throughout, not a team of associates.
- We treat every engagement as a long-term relationship rather than a transactional project.
- If your organization is navigating something complex, we welcome an exploratory conversation.
OrgLeader’s Founder and Managing Principal
Dr. Ryan Lahti is the Founder and Managing Principal of OrgLeader. As a strategic advisor and industrial/organizational psychologist, he partners with CEOs, executive teams and boards on the uncertainty, risk and complexity that affect execution along with governance. He also develops top-potential leaders at pivotal points of leadership responsibility.
Central to Ryan’s practice is the concept of finesse (the way leaders carry themselves as well as understand, process, and deftly perform in tricky situations). His book, The Finesse Factor, lays out seven essentials exceptional leaders use to navigate uncertainty, risk and complexity. It draws on decades of advisory work and leadership assessment across more than twenty industries.
Ryan serves on both for-profit and nonprofit boards in fiduciary director and board chair roles. This board service deepens his perspective on the governance dynamics his clients navigate every day.
Prior to founding OrgLeader in 2006, Ryan consulted with Ernst & Young and Hay Group and led organizational effectiveness work inside Gap Inc. and Life Technologies. He has served clients across four continents in industries including aerospace, healthcare, pharmaceutical, technology, financial services and consumer products.
Ryan holds a PhD in Psychology/Organizational Science from the University of North Texas, an MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from California State University Long Beach, and a BA in Psychology/Business Administration from UCLA. He is an ICF Professional Certified Coach.
Outside the office, you are likely to find Ryan exploring the outdoors.
