Leadership

The ability to build trust is an essential human skill but it's not easy to build trust relationships quickly and certainly not in the midst of crisis. That comes from consistent behaviour that demonstrates integrity, honesty, truthfulness, and keeping one's word.

Former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator & National Security Adviser

I remember taking my daughter to a speech I gave when she was just 5 years old, I wanted her to see mummy on stage as a way of showing her that she could be whatever she wanted to be.

Founder and former CEO of Ann Summers lingerie and party plan business

If you don't empower your team, you are doing them a disservice and it's not about working long, long hours but working smartly, productively, and sharing the workload with others who you are able to empower.

Founder and former CEO of Ann Summers lingerie and party plan business

I remember writing myself a letter- it's something I encourage women to do today- listing the things they've achieved in their career and personal lives. Before you go into that next important meeting, event or anything outside your comfort zone it's a great tool to give yourself that boost. Women need to be their own cheerleaders and remind themselves of the amazing things they've achieved.

Founder and former CEO of Ann Summers lingerie and party plan business

Most people think of optimism as a celebration, but for us optimism is a courageous choice to remain grittily determined to find solutions in a timely and collaborative way. We have no choice but to address climate change, and thus we have no choice but to remain stubbornly optimistic.

Former UN Climate Change Executive Secretary & Global Climate Action Leader

You need to master the basics and do the little things right. If you want to do something well you do it 1,000 times, if you want to do something great you do it 10,000 times. There's an old warrior saying, the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.

Former Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden in 2011

Fear is healthy, fear is natural, and if anyone's ever told you they've been to combat and were never afraid… they're either lying or a sociopath. Fear is a very good reaction; it makes you think more clearly. The fine line is panic. Panic is contagious- if one person panics, everyone panics. Fear is healthy, but panic is contagious. As a leader, you also realise that calm is contagious.

Former Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden in 2011

In the West, politicians will say anything and not care about it- they'll be out of office by the time they would be held to account. The Chinese tend to under-promise and over-perform, they don't want to lose face.

Environmental lawyer and founder of ClientEarth

My hope is that the world will come to realise that doing good and doing well are not in opposition, and then effectively can begin to contribute to solving the big challenges we face, environmentally and socially. If I contributed in some small way to making that happen, I'd feel very good about my life.

Founder of Social Venture Network & Pioneer of Social Impact Investing

Your readers may be disappointed, but there's only one thing I would suggest they do. Find three other people and meet regularly- once a week on Zoom. Hold each other to account, the end. Either you're willing to do that or you're not. If you're willing to do that, it will change your life.

Marketing Thought Leader & Author of "The Purple Cow

We embrace imposter syndrome because it gives us a chance to get off the hook. If you're an imposter it feels like the kind, mature thing to do is to not ship the work and to say, 'no, this isn't for me to do…' In fact, imposter syndrome is a symptom that we are leading because leaders are doing something that's never been done before and so of course you will feel like an imposter, because you are one!

Marketing Thought Leader & Author of "The Purple Cow

The crucial bit came when I was 20 and we got dropped from our record deal, leaving us high and dry. That was when I thought, 'am I going to be someone who only wants to do music when it's all going well? And only when it's served to me on a plate? Or do I want to do this… no matter what…' For me, there was nothing else, I wanted to make music.

British Pop Singer & "Murder on the Dancefloor" Artist

One of the most effective flip-floppers in American history was Abraham Lincoln. How lucky are we that he was willing to change that particular opinion? He stayed true to his values and adjusted his policies to advance those values.

Organizational psychologist & bestselling author on work culture and human potential

We need to be more nuanced about how we define integrity. For me, it's not about sticking to opinions, but about sticking to values. I'm very flexible about the best way to live those values.

Organizational psychologist & bestselling author on work culture and human potential

Any time you get angry, frustrated or disappointed, it's worth remembering that those emotions are just a first draft. You would never publish a draft version of your blog, right? The same is true of emotion- a lot of people just go ahead and 'publish' – internalising how they feel – without stopping for a second and thinking that maybe they ought to do a revision.

Organizational psychologist & bestselling author on work culture and human potential

We don't always see change and activism from the perspective of what we're giving, it's too often about taking things away… Don't eat that… don't do that… don't drive that car… we have to reframe and rethink. Imagine if we told people we could give them the universe back, it's a beautiful gift- but also allows us to save energy, birds, insects and more.

Canadian science broadcaster and host of Discovery Channel's Daily Planet