Awaken the curious leader within you.

Dear Leaders,

First, let me wish you a wonderful new year – filled with inspiration, impact, and kindness. May 2025 bring you joy and a renewed sense of purpose!

For those of you who are new here: I’m Anita Cassagne from The Laughing Willow – at the start of every month, I drop by your inbox with Inspiring Connections – a simple and pragmatic one-pager to support you on your never-ending leadership journey.

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Here’s an opportunity for you this year: develop the authentic, curious, and enabling leader within you. Why? Because these three qualities will fuel both inspired and inspiring leadership.

To learn more and join us in discovering how collaboration can unlock fresh perspectives..

This month, let’s focus on curiosity, the cornerstone of growth and innovation!

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This month's nugget

How can you develop the curious leader within you?

There isn’t just one definition of a curious leader, but here are a few traits I’d like to share with you.

💭 How will you cultivate curiosity this year? Where will you look for something new?

Leadership nudges

Inclusivity, for real

I recently had the privilege of contributing to HEC Paris’ programme, Leader as a Coach, talking about inclusivity. This experience brought me back to my days at Nestlé and reminded me of a leadership dimension we cannot overlook today: embracing diversity as a strength and truly understanding what inclusivity means.

Two fundamental aspects of inclusive leadership:

Listening and asking better questions: In order to feel valued and trusted, each individual needs: * **Recognition and appreciation:** Their efforts, contributions, and achievements should be acknowledged and praised. * **Respect:** To be treated with dignity and consideration, regardless of their role or status. * **Autonomy and empowerment:** To have a degree of control over their work and decisions, and to be given opportunities to take initiative. * **Clear communication and transparency:** To be kept informed about what's happening, to have their opinions heard, and to understand the reasoning behind decisions. * **Fairness and equality:** To be treated justly and without bias, with equal opportunities for all. * **Support and understanding:** To know that their well-being is cared for, and that they can expect help when needed. * **Opportunities for growth and development:** To be given chances to learn new skills and advance in their careers. * **Trustworthiness:** To be seen as reliable and dependable, and for others to have confidence in their abilities. Empathy: taking the time to Really Understand who is on your team, their experiences, and their perspectives.

Inclusive leadership begins with humility – questioning ourselves, letting go of assumptions, and committing to internal change.

💭 So, let me ask you: how are you adopting an inclusive leadership posture?

Feel free to reach out if you’d like to explore practical methods for improving active listening and building awareness.

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Portrait of an inspiring leader

Meet Charlotte David

I met Charlotte David when I was at Nestlé. Among the leaders of the management committee, Charlotte, at the time General Manager for Nestlé Infant Nutrition, impressed me by the way she listened, through the quality of her questioning and her personal investment in social justice. The successful rollout of the market’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy required leadership at management level. I was very grateful Charlotte immediately said “YES” to lead the LGBT+ employee resource group. Inspired and supported by her leadership, we raised awareness and implemented actions so that each employee concerned could come to work feeling fully accepted to be themselves.

When recognised for her investment, Charlotte often replied very humbly saying that what was achieved was thanks to the group effort. →Connecting with Charlotte is a great way to start the year.