Courage to have confidence in your own identity helps to empower better leaders.

At Courageous Leaders Live 2024 Joanna Howes, CEO and Founder of The Change Creators and The Courageous Leaders Club Podcast, sat with Harjot Singh, Global CSO at McCann Worldgroup and McCann, and Francesca Warner, Co-Founder and CEO at Ada Ventures, to discuss how understanding their own needs and values help them to act and lead.

Embracing identity

Francesca Warner, Co-Founder and CEO at Ada Ventures, kicked off by sharing the importance of vulnerability in leadership. With just five months since she had a baby, she demonstrates that motherhood and leadership are not mutually exclusive pursuits. She shared the importance of being honest about where you are as a leader.

“I’m trying to lead the business and make the right decisions while struggling with my own sense of identity,” says Warner. Acknowledging the challenge of navigating the two roles and shifting identities without letting limiting beliefs slip in, she attempts to do this by celebrating and reflecting on what she’s proud of.

“Come back to logic, facts and evidence, so when you go into limiting beliefs, look back at a balance sheet of what you’ve done,” says Warner.

Harjot Singh, Global CSO at McCann Worldgroup and McCann stressed the importance of courage and accepting that leadership can be a selfish pursuit. Pointing to the example of putting your own oxygen mask on before helping other people, he underlines that courage is about knowing yourself and your values to perform leadership in your own way.

“De-stigmatise the conversation of being self-centred,” he says. Courageous leadership is about being in touch with yourself and aware of your own needs to then help the others around you.

Letting go of limitations

In the industry of Venture Capital, Warner shares that she is not what people expect, as the industry is not the most diverse. Yet, “turning what you perceive to be weaknesses into strengths, can help in a more individual way”, says Warner.

Championing having a strong sense of self and not being swayed by the opinions of others, Singh urges the audience to “take a look at the labels you walk around with that you’ve allowed people to stick on you. Take control and change your own labels”.

Singh shares that as a child he would always question everything, even the reason for having to wear matching socks. He highlights the importance of this way of thinking. Questioning why and not just conforming to structures for the sake of structures helps you to keep in touch with who you are.

“When I decided I don’t believe in imposter syndrome that’s when it changed for me” says Singh. Defining imposter syndrome as a fear of being “found out”, Singh shares that being open and honest comes with freedom. “It’s a fear of getting found out, but I’ve got nothing to find,” says Singh.

Warner adds that everyone has the same insecurities and worries. While it is easy to put people on pedestals, knowing that everyone is struggling with their own version of the same problems alleviates the pressure we all put on ourselves.

Reconnecting with self

“Operating on less than 80% bandwidth gets us into a cycle of making bad decisions,” says Singh. He stresses the importance of taking time for yourself to help make better decisions.

He adds: “Connect with your own values, when in doubt can you lens your thoughts and decisions through your values?”, sharing that his own are courage, ambition and kindness. Looking to his values as a framework helps him to lead with more authenticity.

As well as being in touch with values, Warner stresses the importance of boundaries and how saying no cannot be underestimated. Making space for feedback in both her professional and personal life, while also keeping a focus on the importance of physically feeling good, exercising and getting proper sleep, she stresses the importance of reflection and rejuvenation.

Both Warner and Singh believe in being kinder to themselves and know the power of vulnerability and honesty in leadership. “Trust is built by sharing problems”, adds Warner.

The discussion underlined the importance of being honest that no one has all the answers 100% of the time. Leadership demands both constant evolution and openness to learning.