The start of 2026 has felt unusually unsettled. There’s a growing sense that the playbook many leaders have relied on no longer quite fits the world in front of them. Established assumptions about power, stability and predictability feel less certain. The rules of the game seem more fluid, and the ground beneath us less stable.

In 2016, Elevate didn’t just launch a programme – it launched a different way of thinking about leadership. At a time when leadership still often defaulted to command-and-control, especially under pressure, we built Elevate as a fully virtual, human-centred programme to support a 21st-century style of leadership – one fit for a more complex, connected

I spent the first 20 years of my career in investment banking – an industry where numbers aren’t just important, they’re everything. You live and die by the accuracy of your models. You’re trained to interrogate data, to question patterns, and to distinguish genuine volatility from systemic failure. In any organisation, if a CEO wanted

2025 has been a year defined by volatility. The economic climate remains tricky, organisations are under pressure to deliver more with less, and individuals are navigating careers in choppy waters. Against this backdrop, Elevate marks its tenth year, now with over 11,000 graduates – a milestone that highlights not just longevity, but continued relevance. This

When something goes wrong at work, most people jump straight into fixing mode. But as Keith Cunningham says in The Road Less Stupid, smart leaders don’t rush – they think. They stop long enough to ask one powerful question: Is this a people issue or a process issue? Cunningham calls this “thinking time” – taking

In October, we delivered The Gift of Change as part of the Elevate programme – and it’s been incredible to read the feedback. It’s tough out there right now, and seeing how much energy and confidence people are taking away from these sessions is genuinely inspiring. Which is why I wanted to share one of

For many of us, imperfection feels like something to fix – we apologise for it, hide it, or work harder to cover it up. But what if imperfection wasn’t a flaw – what if it was a gift? Perfectionism is often misunderstood. It’s not just about wanting things done well – it’s about tying our

The world feels like a challenging place right now. Change, uncertainty, and competing priorities are part of daily life. That’s why keeping your motivation on track is so important – it helps you stay focused, resilient, and ready to move forward in your career. At Elevate, we’ve shared many tools over the years to help

For much of the 20th century, leadership followed a predictable formula: hierarchy, control, and stability. Leaders stood at the top, decisions flowed downward, and success was measured in order and efficiency. But the 21st century has torn up that playbook. The pace of change in just the first quarter of this century has been extraordinary

When we launched our podcast Finding Your Epic®, it began as a space for female leaders to share their journeys – the challenges and opportunities that shaped them. Each episode revealed the richness found in the small details: a subtle tweak in approach that makes a big difference, a piece of feedback from a colleague

“Having a seat at the table.” It’s a phrase we all know. The truth is: simply being in the room isn’t enough. Presence is more than attendance. It’s how you arrive, whose support you’ve cultivated, and what you say. The First Ride: A Diplomatic Meltdown President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offers a striking case study. His first

Measuring the return on investment (ROI) of training is a constant challenge for companies. It’s a question every HR and L&D team faces: “How do we know if it’s working?” The answer is rarely straightforward. Business impact, behaviour change, and performance improvement are often complex, long-term outcomes influenced by multiple factors. But while true ROI