On a recent trip to Melbourne, I met with Dr Hannah Piterman, author of Unlocking Gender Potential: A Leader’s Handbook. We were discussing the pressure women come under to change aspects of themselves when ascending the leadership ladder – even to the extent of having voice coaching to sound more masculine and, therefore, authoritative.

“That’s ludicrous,” she said. “You are never going to be as good at being someone else as you are at being yourself.”

It’s perfectly normal for people to feel outside their comfort zone when appointed to a more senior position – but it’s how they handle that discomfort that matters.

I’ve seen managers promoted to senior leadership roles who – feeling that they are under the spotlight – become so concerned not to make a mistake or be seen as not up to the job, that they fall into the trap of micro-managing everyone below them.

Could you unconsciously be excluding potential talented leaders from your team, organisation or business? Chances are, if you have never thought about how introverts operate in the workplace, you may well be.

If you have read at least three of my blogs (because it takes that number to see a pattern…) you may have noticed that I finished each one with an opportunity statement.

Why? Because making a habit of spotting opportunities works. It has worked for me in business, and I’ve seen it work well for clients.

Just as common sense isn’t common, the blindingly obvious isn’t always obvious.

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when trying to effect change is they assume others know what they know, and see what they see.

"Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world. It is past time for women to take their rightful place, side by side with men, in the rooms where the fates of peoples, where their children's and grandchildren's fates, are decided" Hillary Clinton

An interesting theme I noticed when doing my MBA was the bringing together of business and the arts.

Unlikely bedfellows really. At least they are from the perspective of someone brought up around artists, writers and film-makers.