Episode 27: ‘‘Credibility in Motion”  

There was a time when credible leadership came with certainty. Leaders were expected to have answers, set the direction and stick to the plan. But how can leaders be credible when the world around them is uncertain and changing?

That question sits at the heart of this conversation with Fiona Watson, Vice President of Corporate Performance & Accountability at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Fiona works alongside global organisations facing challenges and making decisions while the evidence is still evolving. Whether the challenge is sustainability, artificial intelligence or any other area of rapid change, new regulations emerge, technologies advance, expectations shift and better data changes what we thought we knew.  

In that environment, changing course isn’t necessarily a sign that something has gone wrong. Sometimes it’s a sign that we’ve learned something new.  

But how do you remain credible as a leader in that context? How do you explain a shift in direction without appearing inconsistent? And how do you build trust when today’s best answer may not be tomorrow’s? 

Rather than presenting leadership as projecting confidence at all costs, Fiona argues for something more demanding: being transparent about what is known today, ambitious about what can still be achieved, and willing to adapt as understanding grows.

One insight in particular stands out. Fiona describes how organisations often view changing methodologies as corrections – as though something must have been wrong before. But they should be seen differently because they reflect improved understanding. For leaders, the challenge is not to defend yesterday’s position but to communicate why today’s understanding is stronger and more pertinent than yesterday’s.

That perspective shapes everything Fiona talks about. She speaks about listening deliberately to opposing views, learning from cultures beyond the frameworks we instinctively rely on, and creating environments where organisations learn together because no single company can solve these challenges alone.

Whether your focus is sustainability, AI, organisational change or leading people through any evolving landscape, this conversation offers a thoughtful perspective on one of leadership’s biggest challenges: how to remain credible when the landscape itself refuses to stand still?