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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
The world is changing, and so must our understanding of leadership. Through the stories of trailblazing female leaders, discover what leadership can look like and how you can become a catalyst for change. In Leading Our Way, renowned executive and author Gaia van der Esch shares an inspiring collection of leadership stories from seven iconic women around the world. Stories that explore new leadership models, concepts and tools, to inspire action and solve global challenges. Featuring exclusive interviews with Christiana Figueres, Gitanjali Rao, Becky Sauerbrunn, Diane von Furstenberg, Tawakkol Karman, Comfort Ero and Gloria Steinem, this book examines key trends in leadership, and in how female leaders from across the globe are redefining its meaning, surfacing essential patterns and ideas to re-imagine our present and future. You'll find: * In-depth discussions of how women - still heavily under-represented in leadership positions and debates - are contributing to changing our cultural, economic and political scene * Strategies for overcoming the mounting polarization in our communities, companies, and countries, by re-focusing on the common ground and the common good - for humanity and for our planet * Tools and inspiration to become an effective leader and act as a catalyst for change in your organisation, your community, your country, as we collectively strive to overcome today's global challenges and build a fair and sustainable world An inspiring and essential new exploration of leadership, Leading Our Way is a must read for both men and women in leadership positions and those who aspire to them. A stepping-stone to build your purpose, find inspiration, and lead in your own way.
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Seitenzahl: 382
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgements
About the Author
INTRODUCTION: WHY LEADERSHIP, AND WHY ME?
1 OPTIMISM
INTERNAL COMMITMENT: HOW LEADERSHIP IS BORN
LA LUCHA SIN FIN
OR THE ENDLESS STRUGGLE
OVERCOMING DESPONDENCY, AFFIRMING OPTIMISM
STRONG BACK, SOFT FRONT
PLANTING FORWARD
FEMALE LEADERS VERSUS FEMINIST LEADERS
LA PAZ SIN FIN
2 CURIOSITY
CARVING HER PATH
IT STARTS AT SCHOOL, AND IT STARTS WITH KINDNESS
LEADERSHIP IS NOT WHAT WE ARE TAUGHT, NOR WHAT WE SEE
LOOKING UP
THE POWER OF DIVERSITY
CURIOSITY: A WAY OF LIFE
SUCCESS IS THE CAPSTONE TO A PYRAMID OF FAILURES
3 CONSISTENCY
THE POWER OF ROLE MODELS
COMFORTABLE WITH THE UNCOMFORTABLE
IMPOSTORS, EVEN WHILE LEADING
ON THE FIELD
LEADING AS AN INTROVERT
MAKING HISTORY, BEYOND THE FIELD
LEADERSHIP, POWER, DIVERSITY: A TRIAD FOR CHANGE
DREAMS IN A DRAWER
DOING WHAT OTHERS CAN'T: THE COURAGE OF LEADERSHIP
4 AUTHENTICITY
LIFE, AFTER DARKNESS
A MAN'S LIFE IN A WOMAN'S BODY
SUCCESS IS A FAÇADE; AUTHENTICITY IS THE REAL DEAL
DESIGN YOUR LIFE
A CHAOTIC WORLD, IN NEED OF WOMEN'S SOLUTIONS
LIFE AS A CONDUIT
THEN AND NOW
SEDUCTION, THE POWER OF WOMEN
JUST BE YOU
5 FREEDOM
JUST AS CAPABLE: EQUALITY IN A CONSERVATIVE COUNTRY
THE IRON WOMAN
PERSEVERANCE, A PATH TO FREEDOM
WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY?
TRUE POWER. IF NOT, WALK AWAY
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS: RELIGION
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS: THE DICTATOR
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS: THE CULTURE
6 INTEGRITY
IT STARTS AT HOME
REUNITING WHAT IS DIVIDED
DIFFERENT
WHAT IS LEFT TO DO
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP, FOR A RENEWED GLOBAL ORDER
WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN
7 CIRCULARITY
THE ROAD
ESCAPING EXPECTATIONS: INDIA AND THE ROAD AHEAD
CO‐CONSTRUCTING CHANGE
EXPANDING LEADERSHIP MODELS
MODESTY: WITHOUT IT, CHANGE SIMPLY CAN'T HAPPEN
WRITING, HER ULTIMATE HOME
HOPE, THE FUEL THAT KEEPS US GOING
BEYOND GENDER
HOLDING HUMANITY TOGETHER
REGRETS
CONCLUSION: IT STARTS WITH EMPATHY
BE YOURSELF AND BE HAPPY ALONG THE WAY!
DARE, FAIL, AND START AGAIN…
REBOOT: BY LISTENING RATHER THAN SPEAKING
PATIENCE AND URGENCY—TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
NUANCES ARE THE REAL DEAL, NOT BLACK‐AND‐WHITE THINKING
THE POWER IS IN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH OURSELVES
OVER TO YOU:
INDEX
End User License Agreement
Guide
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Introduction: Why Leadership, And Why Me?
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Index
Wiley End User License Agreement
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LEADING OUR WAY
How Women Are Re-defining Leadership
GAIA VAN DER ESCH
This edition first published 2024
Gaia van der Esch©2024
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Gaia Van der Esch to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Esch, Gaia Van der, author.
Title: Leading our way : how women are re‐defining leadership / Gaia van der Esch.
Description: Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2024. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023032190 | ISBN 9781394191819 (hardback) | ISBN 9781394232901 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781394232895 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Leadership in women.
Classification: LCC HQ1233 .E78 2024 | DDC 303.3/4082—dc23/eng/20230830
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023032190
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © Daniil Khailo/Shutterstock
Author Photo: Courtesy of the Author
To the women of my family, who taught me kindness and courage, independence and empathy.
To you who is reading, with the hope that these values and this book can guide you in leading your way.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A HUGE THANK YOU GOES to Christiana, Gitanjali, Becky, Diane, Tawakkol, Comfort and Gloria (and to their teams!)—all of whom jumped on board this project with me. Thank you for believing in my vision, for sharing your stories and for inspiring us to lead our way. I insisted on having your names on the cover page, because this book is ours, not mine alone.
To the Wiley team—thanks for believing in this out‐of‐the‐box project, and for giving me your full confidence and the freedom to build it and write it exactly as I wished to do.
I also want to say a big thanks to the army of people who helped make this book happen—friends, colleagues, university contacts, as well as some people I hardly knew. Thank you for believing in my idea, and for mobilising your social capital to get me the interviews behind this book. I was moved by the support I got throughout the process—it gave me the conviction and energy to overcome the challenges along the way, so your support was more precious than you can imagine.
Last but not least, I want to thank the people who stood by my side. My (in two days to be) husband (yes, my book deadline was the day before our wedding), my girlfriends, my family. Thank you for “volunteering” to be part of my mock interviews, for reading my chapters late into the night, for cheering me up when I was down, for celebrating with me every small achievement. A special mention goes to my dad, Stephen Andrew van der Esch, who—having just retired from his career in biology—became my “research assistant”, helping me process the background info and prepare the interviews with the featured leaders. All of you, each in your own way, made it possible for me to write an entire book while being in a CEO role and planning a big Italian wedding. You are my rocks!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gaia van der Esch is an Italian–Dutch CEO, policy expert and author, driving change and impact in the public and non‐profit sectors.
Gaia is currently the managing director of a large foundation working on climate change, inequalities and civic participation across 50 countries. Prior to this appointment, she served as the G20 EMPOWER Sherpa under the G20 Italian presidency—leading the G20 private–public alliance for the advancement of women's leadership. Before this, Gaia spent 10 years working in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the USA—holding executive roles with international NGOs and think tanks. Because of her accomplishments, she was recognised by Forbes in its “30 Under 30 Europe List” (2017) and by Nova Talent as “Supernova of the Year” (2022).
As an executive and policy expert, Gaia is a contributor for several media outlets in Italy and internationally. Her first book, Volti d'Italia, was released in 2021—delving into polarisation and politics in Italy. She regularly intervenes as a speaker and expert at international events, and on television and radio.
Gaia holds a Bachelor of Philosophy from La Sapienza and two master's degrees: in International Relations from Sciences Po Paris and in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.
INTRODUCTION: WHY LEADERSHIP, AND WHY ME?
I WAS RAISED FREE.
Free to play, free to dream, free from roles, free to be and become myself.
How?
Imagine a medieval village on a hilltop, perched on a beautiful volcanic lake, surrounded by green hills, where kids are playing in the streets while old Italian grandmas sitting in the shadow of their doorsteps keep a discrete but constant eye on them.
I was one of those kids.
Used to living outside: be it running up and down the streets, swimming or fishing in the lake, pony riding at the local farm, learning how to use a bicycle on the only flat road along the lake—all while getting all sorts of scars and a variety of rare diseases from the stray cats we would try to cure.
Used to being independent: since age three, I was authorised to walk to the music school by myself—my parents knew there was a network of old ladies sitting by their windows keeping an eye on me; and soon after, I started my summer business to be able to afford candy supplies and gelato for the whole season—selling old books, pots and pans, or any object our neighbours were ready to let go of, to tourists.
Used to standing up for what was important to me, I was well known among the village mayors for bursting into their offices, hardly reaching the height of their desk, to share my lists of complaints—from broken swings to scooters speeding on the street where we were training our bicycle skills; and I was well known in school for standing up for stuff—be it a classmate, my weekly boyfriend, my little brother.
Being used to all of this seemed and came natural to me. But I realised with time that it wasn't a given.
It took granting me the freedom to try things out and do it my way; it took giving the support and the encouragement where guidance or confidence‐building were needed; it took drawing clear red lines that I couldn't cross. Be it the square at the end of the historical centre where cars were allowed again to drive, be it certain words or behaviours that were simply not tolerated within the family, or the clear requirement to attend and do my best at what was important to my parents: school, music classes, sports and family events.
Of all things, though, what shaped me the most were the daily examples and reference points of how things were done and—even more—of how things could be done differently.
Both my parents came from outside this small village in the countryside of Rome. A Milanese mother and a Dutch–Canadian father, who both came to Rome with a biology scholarship, fell in love and decided to settle down in the village nearby the research centre—to build their life together.
A life which had to bridge not only their differences in culture but also their difference in roots as they emerged from two opposite worlds.
My Italian family still lives today in the (relatively poor) outskirts of Milan. They migrated there from other parts of the country because the local factory was giving houses with water and electricity to its workers, and they saw it as their chance of moving out of poverty. After living under the fascist regime; refusing to ever take the fascist party card; suffering hunger, cold, and bombardments; they succeeded in rebuilding their lives. By exiting the factory and making their dream jobs come true: for Gianna, my grandmother, a hairdresser saloon—which she ran out of their living room; for Tersilio, my grandfather, driving trucks. And by creating their most precious accomplishment: my mum.
The biggest dream and drive for all though was to give my mother what they never had: an education. My grandad died as my mum was in high school due to an unknown (back then) sickness, my grandma—supported however possible by her 10 sisters—increased her work hours, her number of clients, to be able to afford my mum's education. And my mother delivered: a degree in biology, a job in the capital city, a life living the unlived dreams of her parents.
Now imagine the opposite. That is my other half.
My Dutch grandad came from a banker's family; my Canadian grandma from a military doctor's one. After being part of the anti‐Nazi resistance in the Netherlands and imprisoned for a few years in Germany, Bastiaan—my grandad—graduated as a lawyer and moved to London for his PhD in law. There, while playing tennis at the university club, he met Patricia Anne Margaret, my grandma, known as “PAM”, who had recently graduated from a posh all‐girls university in the United States and also freshly moved to London for her history PhD. A power couple who lived an international and upper‐class life, from The Hague to Paris, from Luxembourg to Brussels—surrounded by four children, nannies and cooks.
A life filled with wealth and purpose. Which wasn't—as for my Italian family—giving their children a better life than their own, as that wasn't even a faraway concern. It was, rather, leaving their children a better world to live in. Bastiaan dedicated his life to building the European project, advancing our collective values of peace, freedom, democracy. PAM dedicated her life to finding purpose in all sorts of other ways—since, in those years, wealthy women were highly discouraged from having a full‐time job. After publishing a few books, PAM spent her life teaching English, visiting prisoners, founding the renowned International Bazar in Luxembourg to create a culture of charity among the upper class, founding and presiding over the Femmes d'Europe (European Women) Association in Brussels to advance women's rights and serving as a loyal member of her Quaker community—fighting for peace and equality, in the streets, in op‐eds, in her own patriarchal family.
And this is how we get to me: a result of this improbable mix.
With a Canadian grandmother screaming at me because I behaved in a too non‐lady‐like manner at the dining table (i.e. eating eagerly, without leaving any trace of food ever being on my plate) and an Italian one teaching me to eat and savour every little piece of it—because I was lucky to not starve. With a mother for whom her job as a biologist and our little home by the lake was the ultimate success—given her modest roots—and a father for whom the same job and the same home were never enough—compared to his upper‐class upbringing.
A mix which wasn't always easy to manage but which did give me a unique perspective on the world.
A father who—unlike most dads in the village and certainly unlike his own father—cooked for us, took us to school, invented magical evening stories, took us on birdwatching trips and used to be the only man attending parent–teacher meetings, showing us that being a dad starts at home and teaching me that parity can and must be expected; and a mother who worked late, became the main breadwinner and taught us that nothing counts as much as your independence, especially as a woman. Dutch grandparents who made us tour European cities and institutions to teach us that we all have a role to play in the greater good; our Italian grandmother who taught us the importance of family and the power of kindness and of modesty, especially in the smallest things we do—they reveal who you really are. A surname for which I was teased at school, teaching me it's never easy to be different, but which now gives me strength and uniqueness. A life in the calmness and isolation of a tiny village, regularly interrupted by jet‐setting to see the family abroad. A mix and match of English, Italian, French, and even some Dutch, which trained my mind to think like a global citizen—without even realising it—while always staying rooted in the winding streets of my village.
An upbringing bridging worlds, cultures, social classes. An upbringing which shaped me to the core.
A bachelor's degree in philosophy and a master's in political science between Rome, Berlin, and Paris—filled with the hope they would give me the foundation to somehow contribute to our world. Taking on my first job as a humanitarian worker in the Middle East, to be there for those suffering due to absurd wars. After four years spent between Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Turkey, moving to Geneva in a global executive role, aged 27, co‐leading a large think‐and‐do‐tank to ensure political and aid decisions were based on data, on reality, not on the usual poor planning and assumptions. Deciding to then return to study, this time in Boston, to get closer to the political world. Discovering, while there, my passion for writing. Returning, after 12 years abroad, to my home country, Italy, as a result of a mix of nostalgia and of my drive to contribute to its socio‐political change—a return accelerated by the global pandemic and by my desire to be there, close to my parents, my grandmother, in the streets of my childhood. The publication of my first newspaper columns, then of my first book. Followed by an experience which changed my life trajectory more than I would have expected it to: being appointed as G20 Sherpa during the Italian presidency, leading the work of the G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women's Economic Representation (G20 EMPOWER).
Suddenly submerged in data, briefings, policies, reflections on gender inequality. And then having an eye‐opening realisation: I had lived many of those data points, of those statistics, on my own skin; and, for the first time, I connected the dots—supported and encouraged by the amazing female colleagues that surrounded me—realising that such episodes, micro‐aggressions, discriminations were linked to my gender, to being a woman. And that it wasn't just my problem, my challenge, my failure, but a systemic one.
Sexist comments, looks, gestures—be it at work, in the streets, while at the doctor; salary discrepancies, out‐of‐place questions on when I'll have kids; men struggling to accept me as their boss, undermining me whenever I succeeded. Some other men and women, luckily, teaching me, on the contrary, how to believe in myself, deal with such backlash, and leverage my management role to lift others up. But as all of this was happening, the good and the bad, I was naively oblivious of the fact that what I was seeing were not isolated accidents but symptoms of a system that needed rethinking, fixing, transformational change. Blissfully unaware of the fact that I was dealing with a systemic problem. A problem which, once I saw, I could no longer unsee.
One out of three women in the world has been a victim of physical or sexual violence. A total of 90% of the CEOs of the 500 largest American companies (Fortune 500) and 89% of heads of states worldwide are men. Women took on three times more unpaid child‐caring work than men during the pandemic, a trend which simply reflects the pre‐pandemic reality. And, according to the World Economic Forum, it will take another 131 years before we reach gender equality. I won't see it, my potential daughter will not see it, maybe—if we are lucky—my granddaughter could… this is the gravity of the situation.
Suddenly, everything my mum, my grandmothers had taught me—as a little girl—made sense.
At age seven, I managed to convince my parents (and my brother, as there was a requirement for us to do the same sports for logistical reasons) to enter us into figure skating. After karate, swimming, tennis, I could finally do a “girly” sport. My real objective? Wear—just as the girls I saw on television—a short and tight dress for the final show and have my hair and make‐up done. That was my end‐goal, my dream come true. This is why I remember, as if it was yesterday, the moment our teacher showed my mum the pictures of the sexy dresses she was meant to buy and asked her to free up her time to do my hair and make‐up on the day. I was sitting on the side, trying to capture my mum's reaction, because I knew she wasn't the make‐up and sexy pink dress type of mum—praying she would make an exception. “Is this the type of woman you want our daughters to become?”, says my mum to the teacher with a severe look on her face. “Well”, she continues before the baffled teacher has a chance to answer, “it definitely isn't what I hope for my daughter, so there is no way I am going to dress her up as one of those sexy ladies on TV at age seven and make her think there is any value or ambition in that—because there is none, she is smart, she is independent, she is not going to be taught to be an object of our patriarchal society”. That was it. My dream was broken. My mum said she will think of something appropriate for my age, came and picked me up and walked away.
On the day of the show, as all the other girls were sitting with their mums getting their hair and make‐up done, I was sitting with my mum—who had freed up her time—to get me ready as well. But not as the sexy doll I wanted to be, rather as an Indian girl, wearing my mum's hippy long skirt as a dress, and a red dot between my eyes in honour of a country filled with great women who had liberated their nation. As if that meant anything to a seven‐year‐old Gaia, whose vision of success was dancing on a TV show.
Reading this, you must be part of one of two teams: team “poor girl” or team “go Anna Rosa (i.e. my mum)”. I was team “poor girl”, for a long time. But I must admit a conversion happened, yes—to team “go Anna Rosa”, once I started seeing the systemic problem we live in. Because that decision she took made me sad, very pissed, yes, but taught me something. Gave me a red line of what I should not be aiming for in my life—not because it's not authorised but because I could do better than that. Gave me a signal of which values we should carry as mothers, as women, as people younger girls and boys are looking up to. And, above all, taught me that being different doesn't necessarily mean being excluded, rather it means being special.
As I was entering the skating stage, despite being the only one with a long skirt and a red dot on my forehead, I could still perform the moves I had learned (also, I can assure you, I understood in that moment why skaters wear short skirts—a consideration which hadn't passed through my mum's head), and I was still part of the overall choreography. The other kids thought my outfit was part of the show, it made me different, special, capturing the attention I wouldn't have had if I had have looked like every other girl. And despite being disappointed, upset, that I was different—because I was—I still survived it, and that's also a good lesson to learn early on: you can get through a skating show, through life, even if you don't always fit the mould.
Standing up for what I care about but also standing up for myself, by owning—not hiding—my diversity, became a crucial part of my daily life. Because each time we stand up for ourselves, we are standing up for all women and are helping change a system which is breaking too many of us. And we need more women and men doing just that: understanding the systemic aspect which I had also not seen for too long; stand up for themselves and play their part to be the change we want to see.
But for such change to be effective, we need to go even one step further.
While I was leading negotiations, defining policies, hosting high‐level events on women empowerment and leadership at the G20, I noticed what—according to me—were shortcomings of the change we were trying to bring.
A lot of our focus was on how to get women into decision‐making rooms, around the table. Which policies to adopt, be it quotas, targets, incentives for companies, to increase the 10% of women CEOs or heads of states, which is crucial.
But we often forgot the other side of the coin: what we would do once we get to that table.
If I teach a little girl the rules of the game, once she wins and she dominates the rules, I can't expect her to change those rules to help other girls win. She won, by playing by the rules of the game—meaning that's all she knows—and she will think that others should do just the same. But we forget that the reason why women are not emerging is also because the rules of the game are made by and for men. More often than not, these rules define our strengths as weaknesses: be it collaboration, be it empathy, be it our capacity for long‐term thinking, our prioritisation of the common good. Instead, they reward competition, assertiveness, short‐term profit, self‐interest. Creating biased (and unhealthy) reward mechanisms which have, slowly but surely, brought our companies, our countries, our world, to the state we are in now: never‐ending wars, catastrophic consequences of climate change, deeply entrenched inequalities, and discriminations.
If we don't start changing the rules of the game, what is being rewarded, or discouraged, and how, we will just continue perpetuating this faulty system, which is breaking our world, and which is the source of discrimination, be it against women or the many minorities, at all levels of society.
So, yes, we must get women around the table, just as we must increase the representation of all types of diversity—be it age, ethnicity, sexual orientation. Because it's the right thing to do, but also because—as proven by data—it is the smart thing to do: companies with diversity in their executive level and in boards outperform companies led by less diverse teams (i.e. in today's world, only men). But we must also get women and men to think differently, to act differently, once they are sitting in that chair, and we must create a new generation of leaders which is playing by different rules of the game. By redefining what leadership means, how it acts and looks like, for us and for the generations to come.
This means starting to value different and new traits, to allow women to bring all of themselves in their jobs, at the decision‐making tables, at home, and to liberate men from having to act “as men do”, be it at work or at home. Because we are all capable of empathy, of collaboration, of pursuing the common good, of kindness—if only these behaviours would be encouraged and not seen as weaknesses. And because we all need to shift gears, in our families, in our communities, in our jobs—from the most junior to the most senior level—if we want to take our world, our countries, our companies in a better direction, for the sake of humanity and for the sake of our planet.
And the good news is that we all have the power to do just that. As citizens, as consumers, as employees, as executives. Because—as you will discover through the pages of this book—leadership is not a title, what is written on our office door. Leadership is the commitment that each of us makes to change what we think is wrong. In our home, in our community, in our school, in our company, in our country. It is every small or big gesture, action, word we take or say, which makes us actors for change, which makes us one of the people helping to revise and redefine the rules of a broken game.
So, how can we go to this next level, rethink what leadership means?
As I sat with this question, I thought back to my childhood, my life. Of what helped me expand my imagination, learn how things are done, but even more, how they could or should be done differently.
The answer was easy: examples.
My parents, my grandparents, my friends and family from different cultures and countries, my colleagues, my bosses, my mentors. But also movie characters, book protagonists, who helped me see and imagine a different world. Role models, whom I have learned from and with. And who have the power to open our minds, to give us confidence, to make us feel less lonely in our ups and downs, in our thirst and hope for change.
And this is the spirit you will find in each page of this book.
Where you will encounter seven women from across the world, who have marked their countries, their companies, their community—be it by leading revolutions or soccer teams, climate negotiations or fashion ventures, the feminist movement or peace deals, science experiments and innovation. But who, even more, have done so by being their true selves, by leading in their own way.
In each page, you will discover the life and leadership journeys of these iconic women, with all the challenges and vulnerabilities hiding behind the face of success. But, even more, you will discover their eagerness and their urgency in rethinking what leadership means and looks like—for them, and for each and every one of you reading these words.
And, as you advance through the pages, we will define—together—a new set of traits which can help expand our idea and vision on what leadership acts, thinks, and looks like—for women and for men. Because fitting the mould is not going to allow us to bring the change we all want and need.
We break this mould by starting with the power of optimism—as a philosophy of life for all those who want to fix things through action, and which drives the powerful leader that delivered the most historic climate agreement to date—Christiana Figueres. To then get into the importance of curiosity, a trait which we are often lacking in today's world and which we tend to lose as we move up the ladder, convinced we know it all. A trait which, on the contrary, is crucial to make us learn, improve, and become over time more effective change‐makers, innovators, leaders. A trait which Gitanjali Rao, the first‐ever Kid of the Year of TIME magazine, a young innovator and scientist, embeds in everything she does. And, yes, we need more compassion, empathy, optimism, curiosity, kindness in everything we do, but to go far, we also need something else: consistency. A trait which Becky Sauerbrunn, the captain of the US national football (“soccer”, for Americans) team, has been training for decades now, and which helps us understand that we don't control everything that will happen in our lives but that we can control how we show up every single day—and that can make a huge difference in how we lead, where we go, and where we get to. You should trust her, as she has got a few world cups and Olympic medals under her belt. Authenticity is another trait which emerges throughout the book: being ourselves is what makes us unique, and doing what makes us unique, following that passion, is what gives us an edge, what makes us stand out in the crowd. Diane von Furstenberg, the iconic designer who created the wrap dress, shares how she's done that in her life and how others can and should do just the same. It will make you happier, it will make you more fulfilled, it will make you more impactful and effective in whatever you do with your life. But what is all of this for? Well, for freedom. Freedom to be who we are, freedom to do what we want to do, to follow our dreams without being held back—from social pressure, from discriminatory laws, from religion, from dictatorial regimes. And no one is better placed to speak of this, of freedom, than Tawakkol Karman—the woman who led a revolution in her home country, Yemen, and succeeded in overturning the dictator, reaffirming equality for all, despite the long road that still lies ahead for her country and for most countries in the world. No wonder she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for this accomplishment. But we won't be able to lead our world towards freedom without integrity. Without the capacity to be honest, be fair, be coherent, be principled, in how we treat others—be it our family, our community, at our workplace, or in decision‐making rooms. Comfort Ero, the CEO of one of the most renown think tanks working on conflict prevention, shares with us what integrity means and why it is so essential to leadership. A leadership which, though, above all, will not succeed in changing the rules of the game until we shift one fundamental trait: seeing leadership no longer as hierarchy but as circularity. Co‐constructing, co‐leading, as a means of building a better society, a better world. A world in which leadership is no longer attachment to power, to self‐interest, to short‐term results, but in which leadership is circular, focused on the common good, on long‐term well‐being of us humans and of our planet. And no one is better placed than the trailblazing and iconic Gloria Steinem, known as the “mother” of the women's liberation movement, to share some wisdom on how we can transform this different concept of leadership into reality.
But one trait underlies this all, brings it all together: empathy. Its Greek root, έν + πάθος, means: “in suffering with”, “in passion with”. A concept which we explore in the conclusion, as the key which is allowing all these impressive women to lead change, as the key that allowed me to write this book and guides me in my job as an executive, as the key that will guide your leadership in the right direction for our world.
In short, get ready to discover a set of interviews that will make you laugh, cry, think, doubt, believe in yourself, act, to become the change you want to see. With a set of women to whom goes all my gratitude, for jumping on board this journey with me, to redefine leadership together, and to inspire and empower together all those reading—boys and girls, women and men—to lead, and to do so in their own way.
1OPTIMISM: Christiana Figueres
When I started thinking of this book, one thing I was certain about was that I wanted women out of the box. Women who don't homologate, who are bold, have the courage to fail and to speak about it, even to laugh about it. Women who are outspokenly themselves, with all the imperfections that come with it and—exactly because of that—have the power to inspire others.
Christiana Figueres is all the above, and more.
SINCE A FEW MONTHS, wherever I go, I have Christiana in my ears. While walking to the supermarket, on a train ride, on my way to a meeting. I have become more and more an aficionada of her podcast—Outrage + Optimism. Through her stories, the anecdotes on climate change negotiations, the interviews with her always impressive guests, Christiana manages to inspire me, to make me think, learn, expand my views on our world. But more than that, she manages to give hope on a topic which typically brings us down: climate change. And that is what got me hooked.
The hope is in her voice. Upbeat, full of courage, optimism, always searching for solutions, nonetheless brutally honest, realistic. And that hope activates me. It has the power to make each and every one of us feel like an important and purposeful piece on our collective path to change, rather than an interchangeable or useless part of a dysfunctional machine. It's the kind of attitude our world needs more of. And it's what makes Christiana one of the most iconic figures in the climate change space: “the woman behind the Paris Climate Agreement”, “one of the top world diplomats on climate change”, “the ray of hope in the fight against global warming”.
No wonder that suddenly sitting opposite Christiana, hearing her familiar voice from just a few centimetres across the table, feels exciting and surreal. And a little intimidating. If you have listened to her, you know how persuasive she is as a speaker, how insightful she is when interviewing others … living up to her level is not the easiest of tasks.
“I have three parts to the interview”, I explain to her, “Lead, change, inspire. Lead, to discuss your vision of leadership. Change, to discuss how you would like leadership to change. And Inspire, to discuss your personal story and—through that—encourage others to lead”.
“Well …” Christiana answers with a kind smile on her face, “I don't know what the difference is between the three, for me they are the same. You wouldn't lead if not to change something, and you wouldn't change something without inspiring—they are intertwined”.
We both laugh as in one second, she has upended my interview script—but she quickly starts speaking again, this time to reassure me: “they are interlinked, but don't worry, I see how you want to split things, so please go ahead”.
After these initial few exchanges and laughs, we wonder if we might be disturbing those around us—we both have loud voices, and even louder characters. Not the most welcome combination for a traditional British business environment. Christiana lives in Costa Rica but has travelled to London for meetings. This is why we are sitting in the business centre of a hotel right next to the iconic Trafalgar square. It's a historical building: the wall and ceiling covered in dark wood, the floor of the typical British moquette. There are international newspapers lying around—The Telegraph, The China Daily. There is an old fireplace, a modern coffee corner, and some comfy sofa‐chairs where we had just sat down with our afternoon tea. To not disturb, we decide to move into one of the small meeting rooms and, before I have the time to do so, I see Christiana already up, carrying my stuff: my backpack, my cup of tea. I quickly pick up her coat and my portable recorder and follow her into the meeting room. She is down to earth, she is kind, caring—my pre‐existing admiration is reinforced by this initial impression and by each of her gestures.
“So, let's start”, I say while pulling my chair closer to hers. Christiana looks straight into my eyes, pulls her chair closer to mine, and in her upbeat voice, answers, “Yes, let's go!”
INTERNAL COMMITMENT: HOW LEADERSHIP IS BORN
We delve right into the gist of the topic, leadership.
“Well, let me start by saying what leadership is not”, says Christiana. “It is not whatever you have on your business card, nor your title, or what is written on your office door. It is not about a position, be it elected or nominated. It's about how you see yourself in the world with respect to change. And that is an internal commitment, which does not necessarily need you to be occupying particular positions. We are all in roles, in positions, whichever they are in our lives—and we can either decide to lead from there, as the centre of concentric circles that generate change, or we can choose not to, and just go with the flow. So, if you choose to dedicate time, energy, space, to make a difference, no matter your position, then—by definition—you are leading. This means we can all lead from where we are. When people assume their title alone entitles them to be ‘a leader’, it always makes the alarm bell in my head go off very loudly” she says, laughing.
“Are those leaders mainly men?” I ask to tease her.
Christiana stops laughing, and with a reflective look, seems to take a step back in her mind. “Well, I don't want to fall into simplistic ways of thinking. Yes, I would say it's mainly men, but statistically, historically, we have had more men leaders than women leaders, so maybe it's simply because they are statistically more present. I am actually grateful today to work with many men who do not fall into that simplistic box and who lead through their actions, not because of their titles. But yes, I think we are observing a more feminine trait that is emergent in both men and women, a trait that allows us to see the capacity to lead without a position and without a title. Is that a feminine trait? Probably. Is it a good trait that we should see more of? Definitely. I can tell you though from my experience, within the United Nations, within state diplomacy, that leadership in today's world is still seen as hierarchy—and that needs to change”, she adds in a calm and serious tone.
