Lionesses and Executive Presence. Part 4: Education, People and Perseverance
In the fourth part of the series, I’ll touch upon the remaining pillars of the approach to leadership as inspired by the lioness, as a metaphor: the values of educating others, investing in people, and the perseverance born of genuine “wanting.” These complementary traits raise the three core lessons covered in the series (instinct, observation, preparation) to a higher level, ensuring that a leader not only thrives personally but also brings their whole “pride” along with them. I’ll also synthesise how all these elements combine to enhance executive presence, tying the lioness lessons back to the modern boardroom.
Educating and Investing in People: Mentoring Like a Lioness
There are two closely related values that augment instinct, observation, and preparation in leadership: educating others and investing in people. In the story of our early start-up, these were not just nice-to-haves, they were deliberate strategies. We succeeded, in part, because we became, both internally and externally, educators. The latter was even more demanding, however, once we realised that before we could sell anything, we had to teach our prospective clients – we did just that: taught them why data analytics mattered, how to interpret what the data revealed, and what was possible if they embraced new approaches. We were effectively offering a free education to the market.
This was a risky investment of time, but it established us as thought leaders and trusted advisers, not just vendors. “Educating was not only the key to survival but also to longevity in growth and quality relationships,” I wrote in my reflections.
When we shared knowledge generously, we sparked an appetite for something changing in substance, not only superficially, in our clients. In a sense, we created the very market we needed. It’s akin to a lioness bringing food to her cubs and teaching them to hunt: unless you dig deep now in equipping them with the skill to hunt, it is impossible to enable them to stand on their own later.
There is ample proof that those who adopt an educator’s mindset tend to empower their teams and customers, building a legacy beyond immediate results. It did happen to us, and it still does!
Educating is investing in people. By this I mean putting time, trust, and resources into developing others around you – your team members, mentees, and even forward-thinking clients. We invested heavily in the people behind the technology; everyone in our small team was encouraged to learn, to deepen their expertise, and to grow their client-facing skills (some excelled more than others – and that’s natural selection at work!).
We also invested trust in those early visionary customers – and we enjoyed enormously the collaborative approach of the ones who didn’t insist on a free proof-of-concept, those who were also recognising the importance of treating data with trust and iteration, and were willing to take a leap of faith. Although this happened later than we wished for, when such customers came along, we were ready: we had a tight-knit, skilled team poised to deliver above expectations.
Another good thing happened along the way: the trust we had built internally spilled over and multiplied externally; the consequence was that our early adopters did sense our confidence and capability. Over time, colleagues we invested in went on to lead their own successful projects and careers thousands of miles away, creating a ripple effect. To me this was a confirmation that our vision had been robustly bought in and the solidified trust in the different stages of our growth was the foundation of everything we accomplished.
The lesson? If instinct and observation guide what you do, and preparation is how you do it, then investing in people is about with whom you do it – and no major success is achieved alone. Much like a lioness shares the hunt with her pride, a leader’s role is to bring others along and make them stronger.
From the perspective of executive presence, a leader who actively educates and mentors others often exudes greater presence without even trying. Why? Because teaching something requires clarity of thought and communication – it forces you to distil complexity into clear essence, which is a hallmark of poised leadership. Mentoring someone requires empathy and patience – qualities that humanise a leader and create genuine connection.
Leaders who invest in their people also tend to radiate confidence in others, not just in themselves, and this in turn inspires trust and loyalty. There’s a quiet gravitas around someone to whom others consistently turn for guidance. In my experience, those who teach knowledge and skills are not therapists or merely coaches in an organisation – they are the ones who usually command deep respect. They become a centre of gravity that people naturally orbit. Thus, educating and investing in people contribute to a leader’s presence as robustly as a motivational speech or bold decision does. Leadership demonstrates through substance, not just a performance.
Perseverance and the Power of “Wanting”
The will to persevere – and to inspire perseverance in others – underpins everything we covered so far. I often pose a question to groups of leaders I interact with: “Can anyone tell me how we can stimulate wanting?” In this context, wanting is that spark of motivation that makes someone ready to learn, to adapt, to strive.
Because, as all leaders know, you can educate your people all you want, but if they don’t want to grow or change, progress will be slow. (‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink’, as the saying goes.) In a tough environment, whether it’s a competitive market or a high-stakes corporate setting, perseverance fuelled by genuine desire is often what separates those who thrive from those who merely survive. Let’s not forget also those with their eyes constantly on the greener grass elsewhere – there is another dimension of ‘wanting’.
I’ve seen the full spectrum in my own experiences of working with teams – and I have also been privileged to meet others of the same ilk who had to move mountains to turn their vision into reality. I came from a background where resources were limited, and nothing was handed to me on a plate. To build a tech business and later lead at an executive level, I had to want it deeply – to want to prove what data could do, to want to open doors for others behind me, to want to keep going when conditions were hostile. That intrinsic drive acted like an engine, pushing me through long hours, re-iteration and inevitable setbacks.
Perseverance is often framed as a marathon runner’s quality – enduring, never giving up. But I need to add that for those responsible for others and those with real ‘wanting’ this is not about slogging on; it’s perseverance with purpose. The lioness persists in hunting not out of mere habit, but out of the drive to feed her cubs and herself. In leadership, our perseverance must connect to a purpose we truly care about, or else we’ll burn out or become cynics. Both big issues which need recognising and acting upon early.
One thing is clear as the light of day both for employers and employees: perseverance doesn’t and shouldn’t mean stubbornly doing the same thing ad infinitum. The trend of being encouraged to change career is healthy for everyone involved. In an earlier part we introduced a life and professional lesson about not persisting in win-lose scenarios: sometimes persevering means having the tenacity to find a different way to achieve your goal. It might mean pivoting your strategy but not your mission, or, as mentioned before, choosing a healthier game to play altogether. The common thread is you keep aiming for the worthwhile goal. You still want the outcome; you’re just flexible about the tactics.
What does this mean?
If you are someone who desperately wants to drive innovation in a company that resists it, perseverance might involve you taking a different role or demonstrating small wins to change minds, rather than banging endlessly on a locked door. Demonstrate practical perseverance informed by your observation and instinct, not a blind one.
So, for those at the top, the same question keeps arising: can you instil “wanting” in others? As a leader, you certainly try – through an inspiring vision, through incentives, through leading by example. Those brilliant leaders do manage to light that fire in many of their followers. But it’s tricky. I’ve seen teams and boards where breaking through complacency was the hardest task. As I noted in my book, “playing and imagination can be feared by those not used to the freedom of thinking on their feet… Educating boards caught up in structural groupthink is as hard as those early days of ‘build me a free demo’.” You can present the case for change, you can even show evidence (data, competitive threats, etc.), but if they don’t want to hear it, you hit a wall. Often it takes a shock or an enlightened champion within to change the equation – someone on the inside who, for whatever personal reason, truly wants a better outcome and is willing to advocate for it.
That’s why I keep on emphasising sponsorship and mentoring as catalysts: a sponsor can validate the “want” for others by backing new ideas, and a mentor can slowly nurture an individual’s latent desire to grow. In any case, wanting is the seed of any change with substance. Without desire, there is no drive. With no drive there is no action, therefore no change: the perfect vicious circle.
From an executive presence perspective, perseverance and desire translate into passion and resilience – two qualities that greatly enhance any professional, not only one already in a leadership role, is perceived. When a leader clearly cares about their mission and shows commitment, people sense it – it’s inspiring. Likewise, when a leader stands firm through adversity (without being reckless), it projects steadiness.
Just for a minute, consider the leaders we admire in history: many are those who wanted a better future so badly that they overcame towering obstacles. Their presence was amplified by this visible conviction. For example, we often cite Winston Churchill for his unwavering resolve and clear vision during World War II – his passion and perseverance in Britain’s darkest hours were palpable and formed a key part of his executive presence. The same could be said of countless entrepreneurs and changemakers who simply refused to quit. In my own much smaller-scale story, I was once described by a VC magazine as “the toughest entrepreneur in Europe” – a moniker I earned purely by staying put and continuing to innovate when many would have given up. I wear that with pride, not because toughness itself is a goal, but because it reflected the depth of my wanting to succeed in opening new frontiers. That kind of perseverance, when channelled well, makes people realise you are truly committed, and that encourages them to trust and follow your lead.
In the next part we’ll summarise the executive presence lessons lions and lionesses teach us – and how they can be transferred from the savannah to the boardroom.
In case you have missed Part 1, 2 and 3 here they are: