“Say yes, then figure out how.”

— Sally Lean

Bio: Sally is an International Bestselling Author, Keynote Speaker, Educator and NLP Master Coach. From learning Chinese in middle school and then at University, Sally carved an international career as a Chinese language teacher and teacher trainer across Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand. Fluent in Chinese, with her unique understanding of Eastern & Western perspectives, particularly regarding education, Sally was tasked with founding a $25M+ Chinese Immersion Program for her school in Singapore. Sally is the founding director of Lean In to Succeed Pty Ltd, a coaching and consulting company working both locally and online providing leadership and success coaching for teenagers and their parents, particularly for immigrant and international TCK families. Sally has keynoted and presented at conferences across Australia, Asia and the USA, bringing her unique life experiences to energie and activate the audiences she works with.

How wise are you? 53 years wise

Where are you from? Wagga Wagga, NSW

What about your life would you like to celebrate most? The 22 years I spent living and working in Asia were transformative. I taught Chinese for 15 years, including in China – with my face! Years ago my international school students in Beijing gave me the nickname ”The Undercover Chinese Teacher”, which still makes me smile.

Over time, I built a strong reputation across Asia, and was honored to receive an award from the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) for contributions to international education. Apart from inspiring hundreds of my students, I left two big legacies – one, an English teacher training project for a large district in Beijing, the other, developing and implementing a Chinese immersion program in the elementary school of one of the largest international schools in the world. That program generated nearly $25 million in revenue within its first six years and is still running successfully to this day.

Now, however, I celebrate the courage it took to reinvent my career so I could repatriate to my regional hometown and take care of my aging father. I love empowering young people and their parents to thrive rather than just ‘survive’ the tough teen years. They are our future leaders, and as the world changes so rapidly, traditional school systems struggle to keep up. My work bridges the gaps, equipping teens with the soft skills they need to navigate life — a “Future Readiness Toolkit”.

What 3 words best describe you in this phase of your life? Focused, Determined, Grounded

What do you love about this time of life? The freedom to be myself - it seems to take us a long time to figure out who we are in the world, and then we have all the adult pressure to manage - career, financial, family. So in my 50s I know who I am, what I want and what I stand for, so it’s easier to be aligned across the areas of life. I love the confidence in myself and no longer needing anyone else’s approval.

I still marvel at my courage to walk away from a highly successful international career and start again, essentially from scratch, to give myself the freedom to live and work in my hometown in Australia and care for my aging father.

Where to find me:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SallyLean008/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallylean/

Website: https://leanintosucceed.com/