Jean Gomes and Emma Sinclair from The Evolving Leader podcast hosted Professor Edward Brooks, Executive Director of the Oxford Character Project, to discuss how cultivating human character can provide the deep stability needed in today’s leadership.
The conversation explores the difference between optimism and hope, why certain virtues are undervalued in leadership, and how the arts and humanities uncover untold stories that challenge traditional assumptions. Edward emphasises how virtues such as hope, courage, humility, clarity, kindness, and creativity show that leadership must be rooted in more than performance.
Drawing insights from Plato’s Republic and the everyday leadership of community organisers, the conversation rethinks what (and who) we value in leadership and highlights how character can reshape both organisations and ourselves.