Fearless Creative Leadership – Détails, épisodes et analyse

How do you react when people make mistakes?

Patricia Corsi is the Chief Growth Officer of Kimberly-Clark. Patricia has been named one of the Top 50 Most Influential CMOs of the World by Forbes in 2024 and 2025.

She has very clear beliefs about how to unlock creativity and innovation in her business, and the kind of leadership that requires.

Creativity and innovation are unpredictable. They demand uncertainty and depend on failure. Failure is how we learn and without it, creativity dies.

Modern society isn't good on failure. We look for likes and follows and success, defined across as many metrics as possible. Childhood is a celebration of attendance, not attempt. Break the rules, and punishment ensues. Conform, and be confirmed as a trusted member of society.

The world is unstable. Politics is unpredictable. Technology is rampant. We can no longer believe our own eyes. Or ears.

When we can no longer rely on our senses, those attributes that helped us survive the last 3,000 years, it's not a surprise that avoiding mistakes has become the currency of choice for many businesses. Plan and execute. A sea of grey in a world looking for hope.

Leadership is the single greatest opportunity most of us will have to make a difference. I've said that before. Today, it's truer than ever.

It comes with a responsibility which is to decide what that difference is. If you measure it in titles and awards, I promise you will be soon forgotten. Your name on a plaque at the bottom of a recycling bin or a landfill.

But if you measure the difference you make in terms of how you react when people make mistakes, you will have established the foundations on which their creativity is unlocked.

And that opens the door to ideas that no one has ever thought of before and to businesses that no one has ever seen.

So, how do you react when people make mistakes? And what might you do differently?

Are you creating trust?

David Rolfe is the Head of Production at WPP. When David and I debated last year, whether one person could someday make a Super Bowl ad, it felt like a provocation.

This year, we both agreed it's an inevitability. Which brings with it a bigger question. How will we tell the difference between what's real and what's synthetic? And will it matter?

And that's the moment when trust becomes everything. Trust in the makers, when we can no longer believe our own eyes. Trust in the curators that they'll tell us what we're looking at. And trust that technology can expand what's possible without stripping away the humanity that makes creativity matter.

Trust is the fuel of the human journey, the thing we yearn for as we search for our tribe, for where we belong. And trust is the new currency. As Scott Galloway wrote in a recent newsletter, the Next Big Crisis in Confidence will come from our inability to distinguish human Intent. In a world optimized for optics, trust is the next scarce resource.

And that's why trust is one of the 13 dimensions that we measure with our FORM Creativity Diagnostic. Why it shows up as a cornerstone of so many of the world's most innovative and creative companies.

Because without trust, creativity shuts down. People won't share fragile ideas. They won't take risks, and they won't challenge the status quo. But when trust exists between leaders and teams, between companies and their audiences, then creativity is unleashed. It becomes safer to experiment, easier to collaborate, and becomes possible to build the kind of culture where bold ideas thrive.

David Rolfe has always been one of the most thoughtful voices on production. Trust him when he tells you that we are barely scratching the surface of what is possible. And then make sure that you know whether trust is the currency at the heart of your organization. Or what you need to do to make sure that it is.

Welcome to the first episode of 2025. A year that promises to be unlike any other on so many levels.

This episode is designed as a provocation, an inspiration, and a roadmap for the leaders of businesses, for whom unlocking creative thinking is critical.

Over the last four weeks, I've talked to 12 exceptional leaders from a diverse set of experiences and perspectives. I've asked them how the best leaders will lead in 2025. From those conversations, I've identified the three leadership practices that will be critical to leaders of creative businesses this year.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Who is helping you be you?

Liz Taylor is the Global Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy.

Everyone has a story. Liz's story, as you'll hear, has a traumatic beginning. She grew up with an abusive father in a home in which there was always a loaded gun. The police were called often. She and her mother and brother and sister would sometimes have to leave in the middle of the night.

That kind of start to life leaves a mark.

We are shaped by our past, consciously or unconsciously.

Which means the person we become can be defined by circumstance. Or by choice.

Sometimes these choices are informed by the presence of a powerful partner in our lives. For Liz, that partner, as you'll hear, was her mother.

Today, Liz's ability to so clearly and powerfully declare the kind of environment she is determined to provide as a leader, is influenced by the protection and the support that her mother provided her.

But sometimes, the choice of who we want to be does not come from the example set by someone else.

Sometimes, all we have to work with are circumstances in which we were left alone to figure it out for ourselves. Circumstances in which there was no one we could trust.

That can be a lonely place.

One in which it can be overwhelming to ask ourselves honestly, is this who I really want to be?

But I know this to be true beyond a shadow of a doubt.

There are people around you who care. People who want to support you on your journey. People who will help you find your better angels and hold on to them.

Our past shapes us. But it need not define us.

Only we do that.

We just have to ask for help.

How does your leadership make people feel?

Ajaz Ahmed is the Founder and CEO of AKQA. They describe themselves as an ideas and innovation company. AKQA employs 6,500 people around the world and receives about 80,000 job applications a year.

The most creative and innovative companies in the world thrive when they build environments that their people trust and cultures that absorb new blood of every type, willingly and happily.

Developing a truly diverse talent base has been the focus of a great many failed attempts by a great many companies. This is true even of companies otherwise acclaimed as the best of the best.

For the amount of time, energy and talent devoted to the effort, diversity and inclusion is still too often a well-intentioned initiative rather than a lived reality.

Ajaz's definition is the first time that I've heard a description that made me understand what a truly inclusive company culture would feel like. And I think that matters.

Leadership has always been measured by results - usually, the kind you can see on a spreadsheet.

That will always be the case. Economics matter. And in the short term, you can move the economic needle of your business through sheer force of leadership will.

Which is why we tend to judge our own leadership impact by analyzing what we can get people to do.

But, for any company dependent on creativity and innovation for its success, sustained economic performance is the result of how people feel.

This is a frightening idea to contemplate, I think.

'How do I make you feel?' is perhaps the most vulnerable of human enquiries.

But it's the one that moves the needle, both on your impact as a leader and as a soul on the planet. A win-win.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

How does your leadership make people feel?

Ajaz Ahmed is the Founder and CEO of AKQA. They describe themselves as an ideas and innovation company. AKQA employs 6,500 people around the world and receives about 80,000 job applications a year.

The most creative and innovative companies in the world thrive when they build environments that their people trust and cultures that absorb new blood of every type, willingly and happily.

Developing a truly diverse talent base has been the focus of a great many failed attempts by a great many companies. This is true even of companies otherwise acclaimed as the best of the best.

For the amount of time, energy and talent devoted to the effort, diversity and inclusion is still too often a well-intentioned initiative rather than a lived reality.

Ajaz's definition is the first time that I've heard a description that made me understand what a truly inclusive company culture would feel like. And I think that matters.

Leadership has always been measured by results - usually, the kind you can see on a spreadsheet.

That will always be the case. Economics matter. And in the short term, you can move the economic needle of your business through sheer force of leadership will.

Which is why we tend to judge our own leadership impact by analyzing what we can get people to do.

But, for any company dependent on creativity and innovation for its success, sustained economic performance is the result of how people feel.

This is a frightening idea to contemplate, I think.

'How do I make you feel?' is perhaps the most vulnerable of human enquiries.

But it's the one that moves the needle, both on your impact as a leader and as a soul on the planet. A win-win.

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

How does your leadership make people feel?

Ajaz Ahmed is the Founder and CEO of AKQA. They describe themselves as an ideas and innovation company. AKQA employs 6,500 people around the world and receives about 80,000 job applications a year.

The most creative and innovative companies in the world thrive when they build environments that their people trust and cultures that absorb new blood of every type, willingly and happily.

Developing a truly diverse talent base has been the focus of a great many failed attempts by a great many companies. This is true even of companies otherwise acclaimed as the best of the best.

For the amount of time, energy and talent devoted to the effort, diversity and inclusion is still too often a well-intentioned initiative rather than a lived reality.

Ajaz's definition is the first time that I've heard a description that made me understand what a truly inclusive company culture would feel like. And I think that matters.

Leadership has always been measured by results - usually, the kind you can see on a spreadsheet.

That will always be the case. Economics matter. And in the short term, you can move the economic needle of your business through sheer force of leadership will.

Which is why we tend to judge our own leadership impact by analyzing what we can get people to do.

But, for any company dependent on creativity and innovation for its success, sustained economic performance is the result of how people feel.

This is a frightening idea to contemplate, I think.

'How do I make you feel?' is perhaps the most vulnerable of human enquiries.

But it's the one that moves the needle, both on your impact as a leader and as a soul on the planet. A win-win.

Do your weaknesses shape you or stop you?

James Townsend is the Global CEO of Stagwell Brand X Performance Network and the Global CEO at Assembly.

We recorded this conversation in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel during the Cannes Lions Festival. In a week known for its energy, James's own energy stands out.

So does his self awareness.

The art of leadership is becoming more nuanced every day. There is no one-size-fits-all approach any more. What is true for one person is anathema to another.

Knowing yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses, has never been more critical to your success and to your happiness.

But it is also the issue that creates the biggest challenge for leaders today.

Some leaders are terrified of their weaknesses and do everything they can to protect themselves from them. They focus on smaller vulnerabilities as a way to convince themselves that they're self aware, while shoving the real issues into the darkest corners.

Others create long lists of perceived weaknesses and much shorter lists of their strengths. Man or woman, they feel like imposters and the lists they create convince them that they are.

It is rare, I find, for someone to have the kind of clarity about themselves that James describes. Most of the time, it takes working with a coach or a confidant for people to see themselves accurately and compassionately. Then they gain access to their full capacity for unleashing the potential of others.

A client with rare talent once said to me, "I'm scared I might be wrong."

"You're going to be wrong," I replied. "But you're going to be wrong much less often than anyone else."

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Do your weaknesses shape you or stop you?

James Townsend is the Global CEO of Stagwell Brand X Performance Network and the Global CEO at Assembly.

We recorded this conversation in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel during the Cannes Lions Festival. In a week known for its energy, James's own energy stands out.

So does his self awareness.

The art of leadership is becoming more nuanced every day. There is no one-size-fits-all approach any more. What is true for one person is anathema to another.

Knowing yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses, has never been more critical to your success and to your happiness.

But it is also the issue that creates the biggest challenge for leaders today.

Some leaders are terrified of their weaknesses and do everything they can to protect themselves from them. They focus on smaller vulnerabilities as a way to convince themselves that they're self aware, while shoving the real issues into the darkest corners.

Others create long lists of perceived weaknesses and much shorter lists of their strengths. Man or woman, they feel like imposters and the lists they create convince them that they are.

It is rare, I find, for someone to have the kind of clarity about themselves that James describes. Most of the time, it takes working with a coach or a confidant for people to see themselves accurately and compassionately. Then they gain access to their full capacity for unleashing the potential of others.

A client with rare talent once said to me, "I'm scared I might be wrong."

"You're going to be wrong," I replied. "But you're going to be wrong much less often than anyone else."

Edited highlights of our full conversation.

Do your weaknesses shape you or stop you?

James Townsend is the Global CEO of Stagwell Brand X Performance Network and the Global CEO at Assembly.

We recorded this conversation in the lobby of the Majestic Hotel during the Cannes Lions Festival. In a week known for its energy, James's own energy stands out.

So does his self awareness.

The art of leadership is becoming more nuanced every day. There is no one-size-fits-all approach any more. What is true for one person is anathema to another.

Knowing yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses, has never been more critical to your success and to your happiness.

But it is also the issue that creates the biggest challenge for leaders today.

Some leaders are terrified of their weaknesses and do everything they can to protect themselves from them. They focus on smaller vulnerabilities as a way to convince themselves that they're self aware, while shoving the real issues into the darkest corners.

Others create long lists of perceived weaknesses and much shorter lists of their strengths. Man or woman, they feel like imposters and the lists they create convince them that they are.

It is rare, I find, for someone to have the kind of clarity about themselves that James describes. Most of the time, it takes working with a coach or a confidant for people to see themselves accurately and compassionately. Then they gain access to their full capacity for unleashing the potential of others.

A client with rare talent once said to me, "I'm scared I might be wrong."

"You're going to be wrong," I replied. "But you're going to be wrong much less often than anyone else."