Amy Lessinger’s name is synonymous with leadership at the highest levels of real estate. Over nearly three decades, she’s gone from selling homes in Reno to leading more than 140,000 agents worldwide as President of RE/MAX. But in 2025, Amy stepped away from corporate leadership to build something new—her Irreversible Step philosophy for high achievers navigating major life and career transitions.
In this episode of Wisdom from the Helm, hosts Danielle Wilkie and Heather Frick sit down with Amy to talk about courage, burnout, and why the decisions you don’t make may matter the most.
From Agent to RE/MAX President: A Relentless Rise
Amy began her career in 1996 as an agent before scaling a Reno brokerage to 130 agents and nearly $1B in sales during the Great Recession. Her obsession? Helping her people perform at the highest level, even when the market was collapsing. That drive eventually led her to RE/MAX headquarters, where she rose to the role of President, guiding an agent network that spanned the globe.
Yet behind the success, Amy began to feel unfulfilled and burned out. Her identity had become inseparable from her business—and she knew something had to change.
The Irreversible Step: A Framework for Change
Amy introduces her Irreversible Step framework, designed to help leaders and high performers navigate reinvention without chaos. The five steps are:
- Tell the Truth – What do you really want?
- Explore What’s Possible – Move beyond either/or thinking.
- Pick Your Path – Choose the most aligned direction.
- Build Your Bridge – Audit resources and close the gaps.
- Take the Irreversible Step – Make the decision permanent and embodied.
“It’s about freeing yourself from doubt,” Amy explains. “Every breakthrough you’ve ever had started with a choice you couldn’t take back.”
Burnout, Boundaries, and Redefining Success
Amy opens up about her struggle with burnout, the boundaries she ignored, and how those experiences reshaped her leadership philosophy. Her new definition of success? Only saying yes to opportunities that are a “hell yes.”
She also reflects on failure, including the end of her 25-year marriage, and why choosing to redefine relationships with grace is just as important in business as it is in life.
Fear, Intuition, and Leading with Heart
High achievers often wrestle with fear and overthinking. Amy encourages leaders to “trot fear out into the arena,” examine it, and move forward anyway. She also highlights the role of intuition—listening to the quiet whispers that signal when it’s time for change.
Her advice for leaders at a crossroads? “You don’t need a perfect five-year plan. You just need the courage to take the next step.”
The Future of Leadership
Amy believes leadership is evolving away from rigid obligation and toward authenticity, compassion, and clarity. Her work today centers on helping leaders embody that shift—so they can step fully into the lives and careers they’re meant to create.
Resources
About Amy Lessinger
Amy is a lifelong entrepreneur and former President of RE/MAX, she has spent decades building and leading through disruption—coaching teams, scaling enterprise, and navigating complex transitions with unshakable focus. Amy doesn’t just manage change; she commands it. From launching a real estate startup on the eve of a housing crash to steering a global brand through tectonic industry shifts, she has thrived in moments most would avoid.
She’s taken The Irreversible Step herself more than once. Walking away from what looked perfect on paper to honor what was real in her soul. It’s what makes her work so resonant. She knows the cost of staying misaligned, and the courage it takes to leave behind what no longer fits. Today, her mission is to help people build lives and careers that actually feel like theirs.
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