Helping businesses attract and retain diverse talent
Helping businesses attract and retain diverse talent
In leadership, we are taught to seek clarity—analysis, evidence, alignment. But what happens when clarity doesn’t come?
In today’s high-pressure environments—where global disruption, stakeholder complexity, and information overload collide—clarity is not always available. And yet, decisions must still be made.
This is where true leadership is revealed. Not in certainty. But in discernment. Not in speed. But in intention.
As I share in my Leadership framework The Lioness Effect, the lioness in the wild doesn’t wait for certainty to act. She doesn’t pause until all variables are known. She feels the ground, reads the air, and chooses her moment—anchored in instinct, integrity, and collective purpose.
This is not recklessness. It is wisdom.
Decision fatigue. Competing demands. Unrelenting change. Leaders across sectors—from life sciences to policy, from healthcare to tech—are navigating a fog of complexity.
It is easy to stall. Easy to second-guess. Easy to lose the thread of our own leadership voice.
But indecision is not neutral. It chips away at confidence. It creates drift. And over time, it disconnects us from the very values that should guide our way.
The lioness teaches us that clarity doesn’t always precede action. Sometimes, it follows it.
Here are five leadership practices to help guide your steps—even when the path ahead is blurred:
1. Lead from Purpose, Not Panic. When the future is uncertain, anchor to your core values. What do we stand for? What impact matters most?
Purpose is not a luxury in leadership. It is a lifeline.
2. Make Micro-Decisions When the whole strategy feels overwhelming, break it down.
What is the next right thing? What can we trial, test, or commit to—without needing full certainty? Small, aligned steps build momentum—and restore confidence.
3. Invite Others into the Process You don’t have to carry the fog alone.
Share the decision-making load. Invite multiple perspectives. Listen—not just to speak, but to understand. Leadership is not always about giving answers.
Sometimes it’s about holding space for better questions.
4. Accept Imperfection Perfect timing is an illusion.
Perfect knowledge, a myth. Real leadership is choosing to move anyway—aligned, not flawless. Delay can feel safe. But presence is safer.
5. Guard Your Energy for What Matters Most
Fatigue distorts judgement. Leaders need not only time—but margin. Space to think. Space to be. Space to return to themselves.
A Leader Who Embodies This: @EmmaWalmsley, GSK
Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK, is a powerful example of this kind of lioness leadership in action.
Faced with intense market pressure, scientific complexity, and expectations as the first woman to lead a major global pharma company, she chose to lead not with noise, but with purpose. Her decision to refocus GSK’s strategy around long-term health impact—even when it meant stepping away from more visible vaccine races—reflects a rare kind of strategic calm.
She didn’t follow the crowd. She followed the cause.
And in doing so, she showed us that impact doesn’t come from urgency—it comes from alignment. I encourage you to watch her interviews – a true Lioness in action!
Leadership is not always about having all the answers. Sometimes, it’s about leading anyway. With courage. With care. With clarity of heart, if not of path.
So ask yourself:
– What am I allowing to delay my decisions?
– What core value can guide me now?
– What would my lioness do—not because she is fearless, but because she is focused?
“In uncertain times, lead with what is certain in you—your values, your voice, your vision. That is the quiet power of the lioness.” — Professor Laura Serrant