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Introduction

Leadership isn't about who's in charge. That's according to Sophia Kianni, who says it's important to have an open and honest dialogue with the people that you work with.

Listen to more of her advice on being an effective leader.

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TRANSCRIPT

Sophia Kianni

Leadership, to me, is giving people broad overarching advice, but then leaning on them to get things done.

I really admire Mary Robinson. I was on a panel with her and was really inspired by the work that she's done to bring climate justice to the forefront of discussion, as well as to really champion intergenerational dialogue.

I think that the most effective leaders are the ones who work with their team to get things done and listen to their team when they... when they give them advice. I think so much of what I've done is really learning how to work with others, instead of how to delegate responsibilities to others, because by leaning on my team and by developing collaboratively with them, I think I've been able to be much more productive and also prevent from personal burnout.

Leaders should not just utilise a very bureaucratic process, where it's like: 'I'm in charge of you; you're in charge of them and this is how it all goes'. Being able to talk with every single one of the people who work for you, instead of only communicating with your directors, I think is a great way to ensure transparency and that people come to you whenever there are issues, instead of feeling that they're in a pressurised situation.

It's having an open and honest dialogue with the people that you work with and striking a balance between giving people guidance and telling them what to do, and also listening to their feedback and being able to adjust accordingly.