Sandi Wassmer shares a personal perspective on how inclusive, authentic leadership inspires people and drives meaningful impact.
Great leadership; inclusive, authentic, open, and human
A huge amount has been written about leadership over the years; in fact, it seems that it is something on which anyone and everyone has an opinion, but it is a term I’m afraid that is sorely misunderstood. Leadership, put simply, is the ability to inspire, motivate, and galvanise people to do their best. It is not about managing the mechanics of your business, it is about leading people, you know, all of those wonderful human beings your organisation employs.
Leaders come in all shapes and sizes
Leadership is also not about position, status, title, or power, as leaders can be found in all of the nooks and crannies of your organisation. They may be leading on a project, a work stream, or an employee resource group. They may be at any level in the organisation, they may be an individual contributor, and they certainly don’t need to be managing people to be considered leaders. Leadership equally is not a set of skills that you can develop, but innate, natural human qualities that you can nurture and cultivate.
Developing leadership qualities is different than developing skills, as it requires reflection, introspection, and the ability to understand your own inner landscape, as well as the way that the things you say and do impacts others. Leadership must be authentic and true to your own values and purpose. Trying to emulate someone else’s leadership style or be the leader you think that other people want you to be will just not cut it. I know because I’ve tried those things before and failed miserably. If you are inauthentic and not true to yourself, all this will cause you is inner conflict, and consequently, things never quite land the way you want them to.
Inclusion at the core
At Onvero, we talk a lot about inclusive leadership, but to me, great leadership is inherently inclusive. It demands openness, curiosity, honesty, ownership, accountability, and the ability to turn up grounded, open-hearted, non-judgemental, empathetic, and compassionate – not just for others, but yourself as well.
Although leadership requires a heck of a lot of resilience and the ability to sit with probably even more discomfort, in our ever-changing, uncertain and ambiguous working world, it is equally something you will need to find your way to relax into. There is no room for perfectionism, rather the integrity and humility to courageously embrace vulnerability, letting others know when you’ve made a mistake, when you don’t have all the answers, and when you need support. This will give everyone else permission to do the same, which opens the doors for abounding creativity and innovation.
Discovering who you are as a leader is as equally challenging as it is joyful. It asks leaders to show up, fully human, imperfect and fallible, in order to create the space for everyone they lead to thrive, to feel engaged with their work and their organisation, to feel they make a contribution and are part of something greater than themselves.
I’m not saying it’s easy, but boy is it ever worth it.
This blog was written by Sandi Wassmer, Chief Executive Officer at Onvero, and posted on 20 May 2026.