PhD Loading…

I am so excited to finally share, that after a solid year of reading and writing and discussions and a successful application, I have just embarked on the next stage of my professional journey: a PhD at Trinity Business School. My research focuses on the psychology of leadership in mission-led scaling firms.

It feels very much like the final third of my career is about legacy. I find myself asking: how can I uncover even a small shard of insight that helps us understand the kind of leaders we most need now? Leaders who hold the Sustainable Development Goals in sight, and who can conceive of and grow organisations that do no harm to planet or people, but still yield profit and are economically viable.

While I am still at the early stages of fine-tuning my project, I know from experience that there is such a need for this kind of work, and that this work is not simply about identifying who those leaders are, but it’s also about how we can support their development. Scaling by its very nature is inherently fraught with tensions and paradoxes, but I believe that we need to know more about how we can support the proliferation of these types of organisations. These organisations whose very raison d’etre is one of purpose. This, I believe is one of the great challenges of our time - and it demands leaders who can balance vision with humanity, growth with groundedness.

I do not know yet where this research will take me, but I do know it matters. My hope is that, in time, it will contribute something lasting to the way we think about leadership and legacy in a world that urgently needs both.

In practical terms, I have had to begrudgingly walk away from some exciting work opportunities, but I will continue to run my business, so do get in touch still to see what capacity I may have for you!

Thank you to my brilliant Supervisors, and my amazingly supportive family and friends. Education as a mature student feels a real privilege and I am thrilled to finally be getting started!