The Real Work of Leading

For the second year running, BIRD hosted The Leadership Revolution, a forum dedicated to examining new forms of leadership. This edition gathered around fifty leaders, executives and experts around three women with significant responsibilities: Aurore Muller Gaudard, business leader; Adèle Thorens Goumaz, political figure; and Nina Costioli, Head of People & Culture. Despite their different paths, they share a common reality: making decisions, taking a stand, carrying a vision — and accepting the consequences. Together, they reflected on what it means to lead today with coherence and courage.

Leadership does not begin on paper, nor with grand speeches. It begins in a more intimate, often invisible space: the relationship one has with oneself. In roles where strength and composure are expected, the reality is more complex. Doubt, tension, fatigue and vulnerability are all part of the leader’s experience, even if they are rarely acknowledged. It is precisely this gap — between public posture and lived reality — that the three speakers addressed.

For Nina Costioli, Head of People & Culture at Forvis Mazars Switzerland, this deeply human dimension is unavoidable and requires continuous personal development. Leading is not about concealing one’s fragilities, but about knowing oneself, recognising one’s triggers and learning to regulate one’s responses.

This perspective resonates with the journey of Adèle Thorens Goumaz, who spent more than 20 years in political life. In a world shaped by constant compromise and uncertain recognition, alignment with one’s values became her compass. Carrying minority ideas, losing often, and continuing nonetheless: what sustained her was not victory, but inner coherence.

Leading also means accepting that not everything will unfold as planned. It requires the ability to face criticism, setbacks, and moments of doubt — and to question oneself.

Mature leadership rests on a delicate balance between conviction and openness: the conviction to hold a clear vision and defined direction, and the openness to embrace mistakes, adjustments, and feedback. Allowing failure creates space for learning—for oneself and one’s teams. It is a prerequisite for building organisations that are both resilient and humane.

For Aurore Muller Gaudard, taking over the family business Gaudard Énergies and driving an ambitious transformation required precisely this steadiness. Changing a model inevitably unsettles established balances, risks displeasing stakeholders and sometimes means losing support — while remaining faithful to what one believes to be right.

“As a leader, you must carry your vision through — and accept the criticism that comes with it.” — Aurore Muller Gaudard

Risk management is another central aspect of leadership. Innovation and transformation require moving forward without certainty, sometimes without a safety net.

For Aurore, this entails assuming financial and human risks while implementing mitigation measures. For Adèle, it involves weighing competing interests: understanding the impact of decisions on all stakeholders, accepting that no option is perfect, and choosing accordingly.

Across these journeys, perseverance, discernment and courage emerge as essential qualities when navigating uncertainty and scrutiny.

Assuming leadership as a woman — particularly in environments still largely shaped by male codes — often demands an additional layer of resilience. Yet the conversations made clear that there is no single model of “female leadership”. Reducing it to a countermodel or a claim of difference would be simplistic.

Adèle Thorens Goumaz spoke of the confidence required to assert both her singularity and her femininity in highly codified environments, where difference can easily become a point of tension. Aurore Muller Gaudard described her own evolution: refining a highly direct leadership style by incorporating greater softness without compromising clarity or decisiveness.

Ultimately, what defines their leadership is not gender, but the pursuit of authenticity and balance — between assertion and listening, steadiness and adaptability, authority and vulnerability.

“Being aligned with your values is what gives you the strength to stay the course, even when the wind turns against you.” — Adèle Thorens Goumaz

Through its partnership with The Leadership Revolution, BIRD reaffirms its vocation: to be a place where people do not simply work, but step back, challenge their practices and find the professional support needed to grow.

The next edition of The Leadership Revolution will take place at BIRD on 13 November 2026 — another opportunity to continue this dialogue. Beyond expert talks, the forum will once again include dojos: fully horizontal discussion spaces designed to free up speech and encourage small-group reflection on leadership in practice.