Aang Lakey (they/them) is a passionate advocate for equity in leadership, dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations to create inclusive environments. As the Founder and CEO of Increasing Consciousness, Aang focuses on fostering consciousness and reflexivity in leadership practices to address systemic inequities. Aang’s journey into this work was shaped by a deep personal history, having grown up in severe poverty with parents who struggled with substance abuse and homelessness. A pivotal experience at age 12, during a conflict over racism between their aunt and father, sparked Aang’s awareness of societal inequities and began their lifelong path of questioning deeply ingrained beliefs.
Aang’s academic background includes a Master of Social Work (MSW), where they delved deeply into the complexities of bias, violence prevention, and social justice, particularly in military contexts. This foundation, combined with their own life experiences, provided Aang with a unique understanding of leadership’s intersection with social equity, emotional intelligence, and mindfulness. Their personal mission evolved into promoting equity and fostering inclusive environments by recognizing the distinct needs of individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Over time, Aang’s professional path shifted toward coaching, consulting, and speaking on leadership development. A key influence was their Army mentor’s "crossroads speech," which emphasized the importance of resilience and growth through life’s storms. It was a message that resonated with and inspired them to lead with empathy and integrity. After facing and overcoming personal adversities, including the loss of their best friend, Aang embraced the values of kindness, compassion, and connectedness, all of which now form the heart of their work.
Through Increasing Consciousness, Aang offers one-on-one coaching, team training, and leadership education, empowering leaders to step into uncomfortable conversations, model inclusivity, and embody reflexivity. Their work emphasizes not just knowledge, but the practical application of it, helping leaders navigate complex challenges with a conscious, equity-centered mindset. Aang's belief is that by increasing self-awareness and practicing presence, leaders can create meaningful, lasting change in their organizations and communities.
Aang Lakey, Life Coach, Consultant & Speaker
Please tell us more about you.
I am Aang Lakey, Founder and CEO of Increasing Consciousness. My journey has been shaped by deeply personal and transformative experiences, from growing up in severe poverty with parents who struggled with substance abuse and frequent incarceration to losing my best friend at 17, which pushed me to re-evaluate my path and embody kindness and compassion. These experiences gave me a profound understanding of resilience and inspired my mission to foster equity and consciousness in leadership. My work is not just about professional growth but about embracing humanity in every person to help create cultures that reverberate across industries. My approach is holistic and transdisciplinary in a world that wants to compartmentalize and simplify for the masses. The reality is that life and leadership are about nuance and context, and that’s the heart of what makes me, and what I do, unique.
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.
There are really two instrumental moments in my early adolescence that forever shaped who I have become. The first was witnessing a confrontation over racism between my father and my aunt, which sparked my awareness about social justice and the power dynamics around identity. While this was an impetus for me to question some of my upbringings, the most pivotal moment came after the loss of my best friend at 17 years old and the string of trouble, I got myself into after feeling as though there wasn’t really a point to life if someone so kind and compassionate could die. After returning from a 30-day suspension, my Army mentor sat me down and told me I was at a crossroads in my life and the only person who could decide what happened next was myself. He showed me that regardless of what someone has been through in their life, they can always change course and become a better person. His words, "Rainbows come after storms," inspired me to choose a better path and set me on the course that eventually led me to where I am.
Tell us a bit about your story. How did you build your career until this point?
I spent 15 years in the Army National Guard before transitioning to federal civilian service, where I became an advocate for survivors of sexual and domestic abuse. After several years of crisis work as a first responder for survivors of sexual violence, I realized I wanted to shift toward violence prevention education. Although this brought me fulfillment for a time, I soon recognized the need to address the underlying socialized beliefs that lead to violence. This led me to focus solely on DEI work. However, after a few years in the field, I realized that true equity couldn't thrive without leadership support and a certain level of consciousness throughout the organization. Despite being hired for specific advisory roles, I often faced resistance when proposing the interdisciplinary approach required for meaningful change. After a profound meditative experience, I decided to start my own company, Increasing Consciousness, to bridge these gaps and empower leaders to create systemic change through consciousness and equity.
What drives/inspires you?
I’m driven by the belief that leadership when grounded in consciousness and reflexivity, has the power to change lives and systems. I’ve seen firsthand the ripple effects that one leader can have, and I’m inspired by the possibility of creating spaces where equity, intentionality, and congruence are the standards.
What is your work inspired by?
I wholeheartedly believe in creating a more conscious planet that elevates all of humanity, and my work is inspired by a passion to elevate the consciousness of leaders to influence as many people as possible. This is heavily influenced by my spiritual beliefs and the concept of the interconnectedness of all living beings. I believe that when leaders understand their impact on the world around them on systems, people, and communities, their influence can create meaningful and lasting change that can ripple across their spheres of influence.
What’s your purpose, mission, and driving force for all the work you do?
Leaders influence everyone around them, and they can either inspire and uplift or divide. Everything I do is centered around a deep purpose to increase consciousness in leadership, enabling leaders to embody reflexivity, intention, and congruence and to make decisions that promote equity and inclusion. I want leaders to feel empowered to engage confidently in uncomfortable conversations and use their influence to drive systemic change.
Is there a core value that you are most passionate about?
Equity is at the core of everything I do and everything that I believe in. My work revolves around ensuring equitable treatment and opportunities for all individuals, especially within leadership spaces, where the impact of equity can cascade into every facet of an organization.
My core personal values are kindness and authenticity, as these values promote my own congruence with the life I want to live and inspire in others.
Who inspires you to be the best that you can be?
After over twenty years without him, my late best friend continues to inspire me the most. His kindness and compassion shaped my understanding of how we should live our lives and, every day I strive to embody those same values in my work and interactions.
What is your motto?
My professional motto is a belief that "Conscious leadership is the key to collective liberation." This encompasses my belief that leadership is about more than power or success. It’s about being reflexive, intentional, and always striving for social equity.
My personal motto stems from one of my earliest mentors and is an acknowledgment that “Rainbows come after storms.” No matter what happens in life, we always have a choice in how we respond and what we do next.
What inspired you to create Increasing Consciousness?
Increasing Consciousness was born from a culmination of my personal, professional, and spiritual experiences. My personal experiences of overcoming the socialized bias I grew up with continue to inform my compassion, empathy, and understanding of others, as I know how difficult it is to overcome socialized ignorance and challenge deeply held personal beliefs. My professional experiences in social work and advising leadership teams have shown me just how much of an influence leaders can have on their environments.
By providing leaders with tangible skills and practical solutions to equity-based work, their influence can facilitate massive shifts in personal beliefs and cultural norms. This led me to a deep desire to create a space where leaders could be equipped with the consciousness, reflexivity, and practical tools to challenge traditional paradigms and create equitable, inclusive environments.
What specific goals/vision do you aim to achieve?
I aim to redefine leadership by integrating consciousness into its core. My vision is to see leaders who are reflexive, intentional, and equipped to tackle inequities in their personal lives and their organizations. Ultimately, I want to help create a world where conscious leadership is the norm, not the exception, and where all people can thrive.
What kind of audience do you target your business towards?
Our ideal audience is composed of forward-thinking, purpose-driven leaders who are not only open to but are actively seeking transformative change. They are often high-level executives, founders, HR leaders, and DEI advocates who are deeply invested in integrating consciousness and reflexivity into their leadership style. These individuals value holistic and integrated approaches to leadership and are eager to challenge and move beyond traditional leadership paradigms.
They are committed to personal growth and willing to engage in uncomfortable conversations and self-reflection to drive systemic change. My ideal audience is characterized by their readiness to leverage their influence to create ripple effects of positive change, both within their organizations and in the broader community, becoming fierce allies and champions for equity, inclusion, and social justice.
What services or products does Increasing Consciousness offer?
Increasing Consciousness offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to empower leaders to create systemic change through equity and consciousness practices. These offerings are crafted to address the complex needs of today’s leaders and organizations, blending deep self-awareness with practical, action-oriented solutions.
We offer coaching and consulting, educational workshops, and team training sessions that focus on the practical application of consciousness and equity principles. Our services help leaders navigate uncomfortable conversations and create equitable environments that honor diverse experiences.
What sets Increasing Consciousness apart from other services in the industry?
Our approach combines deep personal storytelling, practical application, and systemic change. While many focus on knowledge acquisition, we emphasize the embodied practice of leadership principles, ensuring that leaders not only learn but act with integrity and intentionality. We emphasize the action cycle of self-reflection, self-evaluation, and self-adjustment through the practical application of insights gained through education and lived experiences.
We focus on a holistic, conscious, and equity-based approach that draws from numerous fields of study and addresses not only leadership behaviors but also the underlying thought patterns and beliefs. This allows us to foster lasting change that transcends traditional training programs.
How do you foster connections and support among your audience?
We create open, safe spaces where leaders can engage in reflective dialogue, share their stories, practice different approaches, and support one another along their journeys. Through workshops, coaching, and community-based learning, we foster deep, authentic connections by emphasizing an understanding that everyone in the world has been socialized to believe things that simply are not true based on where and how we were raised and acknowledging that we all must critique our own beliefs and how we came to have those beliefs if we want to facilitate meaningful change. This is the essence of consciousness and understanding our consciousness is the foundation of true equity work.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
If I could change one thing about the industry, it would be the deeply entrenched idea that leadership is centered around power, authority, or profitability. While these elements can play a role, they shouldn't define what leadership means. True leadership is about fostering consciousness, the ability to be self-aware, to reflect on your own biases, and to make continuous self-adjustments. Instead of focusing solely on outcomes like profit or authority, leaders should be driven by the desire to uplift people, build trust, and foster meaningful change within their organizations.
By shifting the focus from power to equity and empathy, leaders can create cultures that prioritize human connections, ensure everyone feels heard and valued, and help drive systemic transformation. This not only results in better outcomes for organizations but also for the communities they serve.
In your experience, what are some common misconceptions about leadership?
The biggest misperception I see in leadership is the belief that leaders must know it all. Of course, this simply isn’t true. No one can know it all. I believe the best leaders are those who can acknowledge this and also bridge the gap by being reflexive and open to learning from their mistakes. When leaders can model these behaviors, they teach others the importance of being open and agile and they also build connections in the process.
Another misperception is that leadership is about success and profitability. Leadership is truly about creating environments where people thrive holistically, not just about hitting targets. If your team doesn’t support you or your vision, they are much less likely to give innovative and creative solutions that will ultimately drive your bottom line.
Lastly, theirs a misperception in leadership that leadership only happens in the office. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over and over again, it’s that leadership transcends location. It’s about presence and mindset, whether in a boardroom or a community, and it happens at every moment of every day.
How do you and your business address them?
We address these misconceptions by emphasizing reflexivity, intentionality, and presence in our training. Our programs help leaders recognize that growth comes from reflection and agility in their actions and behaviors and that leadership is about serving others, not just achieving success.
For readers inspired by this conversation and eager to start their journey, what first steps would you recommend?
Start small. Watch our YouTube videos or follow our LinkedIn or Instagram channels to integrate consciousness practices into your daily life. If you’re ready for deeper transformation, explore our coaching opportunities for both personal and professional growth.
If you want to share these ideas and concepts, we offer workshops on a range of different topics and absolutely love getting to connect and share practical application strategies with community events.
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