Leadership starts with you.

The most impactful leaders I know remind me that leadership has nothing to do with a title.

It's how you show up - in a meeting, in a hard conversation, in your community, in moments that matter.  It's the colleague who changes a team's energy without any formal authority. It's the volunteer who gets people moving. It’s the person who finally decides to stop waiting for permission.

Leadership is everywhere. It starts with one person every single time.

You.

That's the whole idea behind LeadUFirst. Before you can lead or influence anyone else, you have to know yourself - your values and your blind spots, and what lights you up and what trips you up.

 No corner office or titles required. Just the courage to look in the mirror and lead from that place first.

 That's not the soft stuff. That's the hardest work most of us will ever do.

 It's where everything begins, no matter who I'm working with, or how. 

1:1 connections, working with a team, or designing strategies or programs for an entire organization, it always comes back to this one simple thing: 

Know yourself first. Lead yourself first. Watch what becomes possible.

I'm Nancy Lalonde-Zaidi

Grounded in Experience. Driven by People.

Executive Coach | Leadership & Employee Development Consultant | Facilitator

B.Com, MBA, ACC

For over 30 years, I've worked at the intersection of business strategy and the human side of work, helping individuals, leaders, teams, and organizations close the gap between where they are and where they want to be.

My career has taken me inside some of Canada's most recognized and complex organizations, where I've held senior leadership roles and designed and led enterprise-wide initiatives that strengthen leadership, build organizational capability, shift cultures and help people navigate change. I have worked across the full spectrum of talent and organizational development. I've built and led high-performing teams and been at the table where important decisions are made.

I understand the realities of leadership because I've lived them. Leading through uncertainty, balancing competing priorities, making difficult decisions, and having critical conversations. I also know that the strongest results come when people feel trusted, challenged, supported, and empowered to do their best work. And that's where my real passion lies. I believe that high performance and a healthy workplace aren't competing priorities. They go hand in hand.

My approach is simple: I listen before I advise. I ask the questions others might avoid. I challenge with care. I bring high expectations and genuine warmth to every relationship. Those two are not opposites. They're partners.

Whether I'm coaching or working with a team or organization, my goal is the same: to build trust, create clarity, unlock potential, and help people achieve things they may not have thought possible.

That's not a program or a framework. It's a practice. And it starts with leading yourself first.

Based in Ottawa, Canada | Fully bilingual in English and French

What I Offer

Not sure where to start? Reach out with any questions, or if you are ready to dive right in, schedule a free discovery call.

  • One-on-one coaching for leaders and employees navigating transitions, increased scope, or performance plateaus. This is where self-leadership gets real, one conversation at a time.

  • Cohort-based programs for aspiring and current leaders at every level, including AI enablement and leading through complexity and uncertainty. No quick fixes, my programs are comprehensive and built for scale, without losing the human side.

  • Leadership forums, employee town halls, team effectiveness sessions, and culture conversations. I create the room where the real conversation can happen.

  • Workforce transformation, succession planning, employee listening and engagement and culture change. The systems work that makes individual leadership stick.

  • Needs assessment, program design, stakeholder alignment, and delivery. Turning "we need to develop our people" into a plan that actually works.

How We Work Together

From Conversation to Meaningful Change.

No pitch. No pressure. No one-size-fits-all solutions. Just a chance to talk about what's happening, what you're hoping to achieve, and how I might help.

From there, we work together to turn insight into action and action into meaningful results.

1. Let's Talk

I start by listening. What's happening, what's getting in the way, and what would success look like?

2. Let’s Build

Together, we shape an approach that fits your goals, your people, and your reality.

3. Let’s make it happen

We put ideas into action, we learn as we go, and focus on progress that makes a difference.