There's No Playbook for Leadership - Looks Like Work, Season 1, Ep 3
Some careers look like a carefully plotted chess game. Yali Harari’s looks more like jazz.
She didn’t follow a roadmap from math student to serial entrepreneur, public company executive, and impact investor. She followed her gut — choosing people and visions over titles, and saying yes to what felt alive. That unplanned path has given her not just an impressive résumé, but a leadership style that’s deeply her own.
In this conversation, Yali dismantles the myth that leadership comes from a book, a framework, or a perfect LinkedIn post. For her, leadership is about listening so closely you hear what’s being said even when no words are spoken. It’s about showing vulnerability in rooms that reward bravado. And it’s about building partnerships that feel like spine support — the kind that holds you up when you can’t do it alone.
We talk about:
Choosing visions and people over job titles and safe bets
Finding your own “brand” of leadership in industries that weren’t built for you
The difference between startup and corporate leadership (and how to navigate both)
Bringing impact investing to Israel — and making sure it can sustain itself
The discipline of saying no to the wrong opportunities
Why partnership is the foundation for everything worth building
The daily work of remembering you are not your job
Making peace with the list of things you won’t accomplish
Asking yourself the hard questions when the world feels out of control
Yali’s anchor question is simple but piercing:
👉 “What’s my role in this?”
It’s a compass for moments of overwhelm — whether you’re watching global headlines, facing a team crisis, or staring down your own inner critic.
Her story is a reminder that there’s no one-size-fits-all leadership model. The only “right” way is the way that makes you more human, not less. And that the most impactful leaders aren’t the ones who know all the answers — they’re the ones who dare to show up, spine supported, to find the answers together.
"Everybody has their own brand of leadership. I don't think leadership comes in one size fits all."
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Resources & Mentions:
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