Be inspired. Read our insights and news.

10 fun facts about our team

From self-discovery to societal impact, these ten approaches show what it takes to develop social leaders.

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10 books that changed our perspective

These 10 fun facts reflect the individuality, curiosity, and heart that shape how our team shows up in the world.

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10 powerful questions we love to ask

From bold ideas to timeless wisdom, these 10 books have left a lasting mark on how we lead and live at Be Leadership.

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Shaping Leaders, Expanding Horizons: The Be Leadership Study Abroad Fund

At Be Leadership, these ten questions are among our favorites to ask, because they open doors to growth, clarity and purpose.

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Giving Back, Impact, Reason to Be

Five years ago, we set up the Be Leadership Study Abroad Fund at The University of Kansas, giving students who otherwise might not travel internationally an opportunity for a life-altering experience. As a KU alum (and former international student), our...

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Stuff a Stocking 2025: Spreading Joy Together

10 ways we make an impact

The holiday season may feel far away (t’s only September, after all) but at Be Leadership, we’re already turning our thoughts to one of our favorite traditions: our Stuff a Stocking initiative. Starting early gives us plenty of time to rally...

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10 quotes that guide our vision

At Be Leadership, we believe impact is created when leaders act with clarity, compassion and courage, here are ten ways we bring that belief to life.

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How to Lead with Purpose in Uncertain Times

For our third Power of 10 list, we are sharing ten of the amazing places we have worked over the past decade.

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Impact, Leading with Purpose

Leaders today are expected to do more than just manage operations – to be successful they need to lead with clarity, empathy and intention. But how do you stay values-aligned when everything around you feels uncertain? The answer lies in purpose-led...

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What is social leadership--and why does it matter now?

Do you see AI as a threat to leadership—or as an opportunity to lead differently? In a world that’s more connected, complex, and fast-moving than ever, leadership is changing. Traditional, top-down approaches are no longer enough. Today’s challenges call for a...

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10 places we've worked

10 leaders who have inspired our journey

For our third Power of 10 list, we are sharing ten of the amazing places we have worked over the past decade.

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10 leadership lessons learned over 10 years

List #2 is 10 social leaders who have inspired all of us at Be Leadership with their passion, curiosity, commitment, and wisdom.

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Introducing our new campaign: “This Year I Will Be”

We’re turning 10! This year marks our 10th year in business and to celebrate the “Power of 10” and exponential impact, we will be sharing 10 lists of 10 things throughout 2025. We kick off with our lessons learned…

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Share some love this holiday season

We’re inviting each of you to reflect on a quality or aspiration that resonates with you, then print out the PDF template below, and fill in the blank: “This year I will be _______.” It could be anything from courageous to...

stockings to be donated to runnymede foodbank

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Giving Back, Impact, Reason to Be

As we head into September, it's time to start thinking about....Christmas! At Be Leadership, we run an annual program called Stuff a Stocking, which provides holiday joy to local children. This program, which is now in its sixth year, delivers...

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How do our hackathons impact participants?

Our 14th Social Enterprise Hackathon

Here at Be Leadership we have recently completed our 14th Social Enterprise Hackathon with BNP Paribas. These hackathons have huge impact on our social partners, but also for the participants who spend a week learning and growing as individuals. Watch...

Team shot from our Virtual Social Enterprise Hackthon 2024

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Impact, News

It's hard to believe that last week was our 14th BNP Paribas Social Enterprise Hackathon. Not our 3rd or 5th or even 10th -- but 14th! Across these events, we have worked with more than 500 leadership talent from BNP...

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Download our social leadership brochure

Unlocking the power of social leadership

In our work at Be Leadership, we bring together positive impact and leadership developent to help organizations bring their purpose to life through their people. If you're curious to learn more about this, we've developed a small brochure that covers...

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We care about climate change.

Our founder Shannon Banks recently sat down with leading strategy consultant Kaihan Krippendorff of Outthinker Networks to discuss the importance of social leadership and how to hone your skills to help your team make an impact through purpose.

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We believe in education for all.

Our October charity partner is The Climate Coalition, a group of over 130 organisations that are dedicated to action on the climate and nature crises. At Be Leadership, we donate 5% of our profits each month to purpose-led organizations that are selected...

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New book on social leadership launching 31 October

Our September charity partner is ActionAid UK. Their work changes the lives of women and girls in some of the world’s poorest countries by helping them get the education that is rightfully theirs. At Be Leadership, we donate 5% of our...

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Sharing the magic of the holidays

We are excited to announce that in just one month, our founder Shannon Banks will be launching her latest book Because: 12 Essential Skills for Connecting How You Lead with Why. This book delves into the skills required to be...

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Action Learning: The game-changer for Africa Leadership Legacy

While it still feels warm outside, we are already preparing for the holidays! At Be Leadership, our 2023 Stuff a Stocking project is well underway. Now in its the fifth year, this project provides 300 stockings to children ages 3-16...

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We believe in supporting research.

Did you know that 66% of employees say they would likely leave their job if they didn't feel appreciated? This statistic underscores the importance of effective leadership and inclusion in the workplace. One organization that has taken this to heart is...

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We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to succeed

One in three people will develop dementia in their lifetime. Our August social partner was Alzheimer’s Research UK, who are working toward a cure. At Be Leadership, we donate 5% of our profits each month to purpose-led organizations that are selected...

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We believe no child should suffer.

In July we supported the work of one of our social partners, Human Needs Project. Worldwide, over a billion people live in slums, and 250,000 of them live in Kibera in Kenya. Human Needs Project has created Kibera Town Centre to...

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We believe no one should face illness alone.

In April at Be Leadership, we support the good work of World Child Cancer who are striving to improve diagnosis and treatment for children in resource-poor countries. At Be Leadership, we donate 5% of our profits each month to purpose-led organizations...

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Be part of a virtual social hackathon.

Our March charity partner is Macmillan Cancer and we are proud to support the work they do with patients, from diagnosis to treatment and beyond. Cancer is an illness that crosses all boundaries and sadly most of us have been touched by...

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We believe in giving support.

If you are a social entrepreneur, charity director or leader in a purpose-led organization and could benefit from free consulting and leadership development, we have an opportunity for you: We are looking for seven inspiring social organizations to join our 12th...

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We believe in giving back.

In February our selected charity partner is DEC. By donating to the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal, we are joining thousands of others in helping DEC charities provide vital medical care, emergency shelter, food and clean water to the region. At Be Leadership,...

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We believe home is everything

We give back. Our January charity partner is Sole Survivor PTSD Support, who provide peer-led support groups, 1-1 coaching and therapy for those struggling to rebuild their lives after trauma. ptsdsupport.co.uk/

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We believe in experiential learning and education for all

At Be Leadership, we donate 5% of our profits each month to purpose-led organizations that are selected by members of our team. This month, we are supporting Shelter, who provides needed aid to the thousands of people sleeping on the...

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We believe in experiential learning and education for all. For the third year, we are proud to provide support for our Be Leadership Study Abroad Fund, which gives students at the University of Kansas who otherwise might not travel internationally an opportunity...

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We believe in love

We believe in the power of dialogue to broaden perspectives

At Be Leadership, we donate 5% of our profits each month to purpose-led organizations that are selected by members of our team. In October, we supported Choose Love, which are providing adult learning and vocational training to refugees so they can...

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We believe every child deserves a happy childhood

We believe in the power of dialogue to broaden perspectives. Our September charity partner is the Human Library, a non-profit designed to build a positive framework for conversations that can challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue. The Human Library is a...

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Providing holiday joy to local children

We believe every child deserves a happy childhood. At Be Leadership, we donate 5% of our profits each month to purpose-led organizations that are selected by members of our team. In August we are happy to support Little Miracles, which helps families...

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Giving Back, Impact, Reason to Be

We are coming to the end of a hot, dry summer here in England and the days are getting noticeably shorter. If you are like most people, you are hoping to enjoy every last bit of sunshine before winter arrives....

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We believe in providing hope

We believe in raising awareness

We believe in providing hope to those who have been forced to flee their homes. Right now, more than 113 million people worldwide have been made homeless by disaster and conflict. That’s why we have chosen ShelterBox as our July...

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We believe in the power of food to heal communities.

As a Be Leadership team, during May we participated in our 2nd annual Lupus Activity Challenge to increase wellbeing and raise funds and awareness around lupus. We ran, walked, meditated, cycled and played tennis, all to raise awareness for Lupus...

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We believe in empowering women.

Our April Be Leadership selected charity is World Central Kitchen, a not-for-profit organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disaster. World Central Kitchen has served tens of millions of nourishing meals to people affected by crises across the...

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We believe every life matters.

Our March Be Leadership selected charity is Women’s Aid, working to end domestic abuse against women and children. As a federation of over 220 organisations, Women's Aid provide a range of support to help women and children cope with every...

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We believe in the power of listening.

Our February Be Leadership selected charity is Against Malaria, which purchases and distributes long-lasting insecticidal nets that protect people from disease. Our associate Richard Strudwick selected this charity because of their commitment to saving lives with every donation. Malaria currently kills...

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The impact of the Social Enterprise Hackathon

Our January Be Leadership selected charity is The Listening Place, who offer face-to-face support for those who feel life is no longer worth living. Our associate Ed Williams selected this charity because of his conviction around the importance of listening...

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Impact, News

Our programs and experiences have a lasting impact on the leaders who take part in them. With some programs, like the BNP Paribas Social Enterprise Hackathon, we ask participants to create videos to summarize this impact. Here’s a great example...

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Working virtually with BNP Paribas

Our Stocking Project is Back: Share Some Holiday Love with a Child Affected by Poverty

At Be Leadership, we help organizations bring their social purpose to life through their people. One organization that is committed to this approach is BNP Paribas. BNP Paribas is a French-headquartered international banking group with a presence in 72 countries...

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Our Director, Shannon Banks, Featured on TrainingBusiness Podcast

The days are getting shorter and children are heading back to school. For all of us at Be Leadership, it’s time to start thinking about the holidays. Many of us have a long list of gifts to buy for family and...

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Syngenta Uses Action Learning to Develop Leadership

Last week Shannon was a guest on the TrainingBusiness podcast, sharing how we use Action Learning in the work we do with our clients and how she's developed and grown Be Leadership since founding the company in 2014. Shannon, who serves...

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Impact

As part of a program for its high potential leaders, Syngenta uses Action Learning to help participants develop their leadership skills while simultaneously working on real challenges. We provide action learning coaching across modules, supporting leaders as they build skills...

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What is 2020 Leadership?

Insights, Skills

It's the start of a new decade and what we need from our leadership is different than in the past. At Be Leadership, we describe this emerging style as social leadership. Social leaders are collaborative, networked professionals, who proactively use...

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Stuff a Stocking for a Kenyan Child

2019 Finalist in the IoD Awards

Where did the summer go? It's September and the holidays will be here before we know it. While the sun is still shining here in England, it's a good time to start thinking about giving. Many of us have a long...

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We are excited to share that our Managing Director, Shannon Banks, was named as a finalist in the IoD 2019 Director of the Year awards for London & the South. Shannon has a strong personal and professional commitment to driving...

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Creating a Better World

Upcoming WIAL Global Conference

Managing Director Shannon Banks spent two weeks with her family volunteering at the Karibu Centre, in February 2018 and February 2019. Because the Centre encourages skills-based volunteering, Shannon spent her time in Thika working with the staff on leadership development. The...

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Stuff a Stocking: Bring the Magic of the Holidays to a Kenyan Child

We are looking forward to joining the coaching community at the World Institute for Action Learning's Global Conference in Sao Paolo, Brazil in just a few weeks. Join us there - Managing Director Shannon Banks will be giving a keynote...

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Developing Social Leaders in Mumbai

At Be Leadership, we are passionate about creating a better world through the development of social leaders. To support this, we have developed the Beautiful World Campaign, whose goal is to create connections between communities, organizations and individuals for greater...

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Giving Back, Impact, News

Social leaders understand the true value of social impact and have the necessary skills needed to thrive in a modern work environment. We are proud to partner with BNP Paribas as they develop their future leaders through innovative development workshops that...

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WBECS Session on The Future of Leadership

News, Skills

We are pleased to be joining the WBECS 2018 speaker lineup with a talk on The Future of Leadership, focused on the importance of social leadership in a modern workplace. Click here to register!

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Be Leadership Managing Director, Shannon Banks, Selected as Finalist

What is Your Side Hustle?

We are excited to share that our Managing Director, Shannon Banks, has been selected as a finalist in the 2017 Best Business Women Awards. Debbie Gilbert, organiser of The Best Business Women Awards said "We were delighted with the number of...

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Last week I had the privilege of being part of a team delivering a leadership development experience in Nairobi. As part of the program, we visited many local non profit organisations and met with Kenyan entrepreneurs. In one of the...

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Running in a Headwind

For the past couple of days, we've had really strong winds in Southern England. As a runner, I have noticed. As a population, we spend so much time in the protection of our offices, homes or cars, we aren't always aware...

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Working Outside the Box