The creativity women demonstrate in overcoming these barriers, the resilience they have nurtured and their sisterhood are inspiring and educational
Women, Creativity and Leadership: Anne-Valérie Corboz
Having celebrated International Women's Day last Saturday, we recognise the words of Professor Anne-Valérie Corboz, co-author of the book Take the Lead: How Women Leaders Are Driving Success Through Innovation. Professor Corboz led a session on 'Creativity and Leadership' last week at Elevate 2025, celebrating #IWD and connecting Laidlaw women. This quote, taken from Take the Lead, highlights three key strengths women harness to overcome challenges - creativity, resilience and an inspirational sisterhood:
A Trailblazer in Women's Leadership
Anne-Valérie Corboz is best known as co-author of the best-selling book Take the Lead. She is a professor at HEC Paris and served as Dean for Executive Education from 2020-2024. She has also co-authored A Dream with a Deadline: Turning Strategy into Action and Smart Big Moves: A Story of Strategic Breakthroughs. Her career spans multiple industries: she has served as advisor to the US National Intelligence Council and held international marketing positions at Pfizer and the International Olympic Committee.
Leadership Driven by Creativity, Resilience and Sisterhood
This week's quote consolidates the tools women use to succeed. Creativity enables women to navigate unique and unpredictable situations. Resilience is refined through life's challenges. And the power of sisterhood - supportive communities of women - is invaluable in breaking barriers and driving collective progress.
Corboz's approach aligns with the Laidlaw value of being #Determined and the Oxford Character Project Leadership Virtues of #Collaboration. Being determined means to constantly develop your ability to be resilient in challenging situations. Being collaborative means to be flexible, open-minded and connected within your community.
A Call to Reflect
As we celebrate International Women's Day 2025, we invite you to reflect on Anne-Valérie Corboz's powerful leadership insights. Share your thoughts in the comments: How have creativity, resilience, or sisterhood played a role in your leadership journey?
Hi! Having previously been a Laidlaw Undergraduate Scholar studying English Literature at UCL, I’ve recently joined the Laidlaw Foundation as a Community Ambassador and Team Support Executive.
My research looked at collaborative and innovative practices in academic publishing, and community building is something I built a passion for during my Leadership in Action. I’m looking forward to continuing my journey at the Laidlaw Foundation in this new role! Feel free to reach out or connect with me!
![If you look at the world today... [and] the fact that we’re in culture wars, who understands those better than people in the arts and humanities?](https://images.zapnito.com/cdn-cgi/image/metadata=copyright,format=auto,quality=95,width=256,height=256,fit=scale-down/https://images.zapnito.com/users/584929/posters/3decfe90-ccae-4e21-91de-43552d7fbf6d_medium.jpeg)
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Resilience has been the greatest aspect over my leadership journey. Also, this journey made me face the importance of not leaving undeveloped the other aspects. Through the Oxford Character Project I started to recognise that there are virtues that truly can be underdeveloped unless we decide to work little by little on them. Yes, that's definitely a good work in progress to maintain personally!