​Dr. E. Elisabet Lahti is a behavioral scientist, international speaker, and award-winning educator specializing in the applied psychology of inner strength, resilience, and unlocking human potential. As the founder of Sisu Lab, she helps individuals and teams cultivate the skills and mindset essential for high-stakes decision-making, navigating uncertainty, and building resilient, regenerative cultures—without compromising well-being or humanity. Her PhD research at Aalto University in Finland established the foundation for studying the age-old Finnish concept of sisu—a deep, embodied form of courage essential for overcoming challenges in both business and everyday life to unlock hidden inner strength.

 

You can download the research paper on sisu and embodied fortitude here (awarded as the IJW article of the year) and access its press release here. Elisabet's research and work focus on the embodied, pre-verbal and intuitive aspects of personal transformation, intelligence, and leadership. She holds a master's degree in social psychology from the University of Tampere in Finland and a master's in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied under Professors Martin Seligman and Angela Duckworth. Elisabet is the co-founder of the Positive Psychology Association of Finland and she also holds a ACF accredited coaching certification in the field.

 

In 2018, she completed a 2408 km run and bicycle journey across the length of New Zealand for her research on sisu, and later engaged with kung-fu and Chen-style tai chi in a martial arts academy in Northern China to explore the embodied process through which individuals gain tools for sisu, conscious self-leadership, and resilience

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Her first book about sisu was published by Sounds True/Macmillan in 2023 and can be ordered here. Her Finnish book Sisun alkemia is about sisu as kehoäly - as somatically intelligent leadership and action in a transforming world - came out in April 2025. You can order a copy here.

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Elisabet's work has been featured at The Economist, The New Yorker, CNBC, Business Insider, BBC, and Forbes. She's given talks at Fortune500 companies, as well as universities and conferences internationally. She lives in Helsinki and spends her time seeking to live out sisu in the micro and macro moments of everyday life, as well as engaging in writing, teaching, and practicing martial arts.

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Reach out to Elisabet directly for keynotes and training requests, interviews, and other queries via this website at contact.

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Humanity’s greatest challenges are also its greatest opportunities. They are also a touchstone of who we are. May you be supported in your striving to be a conduit for positive change.

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