Women in Business | March 2025

Three remarkable leaders

Shared their journeys, challenges, and wisdom and offered candid perspectives on leadership, authenticity, and navigating complex business environments. 

• Claire Waghorn, Sustainability Transition Lead at Christchurch Airport
• Kaila Colbin, founder and CEO of Boma
• and Sacha Coburn, COO of Coffee Culture

Key Insights:

1. The Power of Authentic Leadership 

• A consistent theme throughout the discussion was the importance of bringing one's authentic self to leadership roles. Claire Waghorn reflected on what authenticity truly means in a professional context: "When I say authenticity, I don't mean our whole unfiltered selves at work. I mean our sense of values and what's in it for us. I think that makes a real difference." This sentiment was echoed by Kaila Colbin, who emphasised that leadership isn't confined to those at the top of organisational hierarchies: "We're all leading all the time. Every action that we take is a vote for how we think it's okay to be. And when we realise that, then we go, okay, so that means everyone in the organisation is leading all the time." 

• The panel discussed how they've approached significant business challenges, particularly during the pandemic. Sacha Coburn shared her approach to leading Coffee Culture through uncertainty: "Whatever decisions the government makes, we will spend no energy fighting. We will spend all of our energy going, 'So what now? What is our response to this?' Because we will not get sucked into a fight that we cannot win." This pragmatic approach was coupled with a deep commitment to her team's wellbeing. Coburn made the decision to assure her staff that their jobs were secure, regardless of how long lockdowns might last, a move that allowed them to focus their energy on solutions rather than personal anxiety. 

• For Claire Waghorn, whose work involves tackling climate change within the aviation sector, balancing long-term strategic thinking with immediate action presents a constant challenge. Her approach combines morning strategic work with afternoon execution, recognising her own cognitive patterns: "I'm definitely happy in the strategic, in the long term and my happy brain spaces, and the visionary stuff. I'd spend all my day in that. Getting to know yourself and what your strengths are, the way your brain works—and my brain works in the morning, it doesn't work in the afternoon." Waghorn also emphasised the importance of making incremental progress on seemingly insurmountable challenges: "Something is better than nothing. We might not very likely keep temperatures within 1.5 degrees, but 1.6 is better than 1.7. So keep doing everything we can." 
  
  

• Kaila Colbin addressed a common misconception about empathetic leadership: "The biggest myth that I see is people thinking that empathy and care and connection and support equal letting people get away with bad behaviour. The single biggest thing that I think we need is clarity of boundaries to be able to go, 'I love you and I support you and I want you to be well and thriving. And this is what's acceptable and not acceptable in this environment.'" This balance between compassion and clear expectations creates what Colbin calls "leaderful teams," where everyone recognises their power to shape the organisation's culture. 

• All three leaders emphasised the importance of embracing imperfection and continuous learning. Sacha Coburn challenged the notion that successful business leaders have everything figured out: "I perceived that if you were successful in business you were like amazing. And I didn't realise it's not that people aren't amazing, it's just that they're no more amazing than any one of us." This perspective was reinforced by Kaila Colbin's memorable description of humanity: "We're all just imperfect meat sacks stumbling through life." This acknowledgment of shared humanity creates space for authentic leadership that recognises both strengths and limitations. 

• When asked about projecting power authentically, Claire Waghorn offered practical advice:  "Being prepared for meetings... it shocks me to the core how few people do the pre-reading before a meeting. And if you've done it, that puts you at an enormous advantage with everyone else in the room." This simple yet powerful practice demonstrates competence and commitment, establishing credibility without requiring traditionally masculine displays of authority. 

CONCLUSION: Leadership as a Collective Journey

The conversation highlighted that effective leadership isn't about perfection or hierarchy, it's about authenticity, clear boundaries, and recognising the leadership potential in everyone. As Sacha Coburn noted, referencing the musical Hamilton: "The first power move is to get into the room where it happens, and then to exercise your influence and power within the room."

These insights from Canterbury women in business offer a blueprint for leadership that balances strategic vision with day-to-day execution, empathy with clear boundaries, and professional competence with authentic humanity, creating workplaces where everyone can thrive. 

PLUS thanks always to our Strategic Partners, for helping make this event possible