Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, President of the Leadership 20:20 Commission

Earlier this year I and fellow Commissioners Tarn Lamb and Jules Mason, along with out intern Joanna Francis, attended NCVO’s annual conference. We were profiling our online consultation and had a stand at the back of the main conference hall. We spent the day listening to speakers and plenaries, and discussing the issues around supporting emerging leaders with many of the attendees.

As the day progressed I was getting increasingly excited. The afternoon speaker was someone who I had always felt a great deal of respect and admiration for, and whilst I had never seen them speak in person I was all too aware of their campaigning reputation. I was expecting her to be good ... I wasn’t expecting her to be that good.

Through a series of stories and anecdotes, both personal and professional, Tanni Grey-Thompson described what it means to overcome adversity by not being overwhelmed by circumstance. In a way, she described a ‘mind set’ that was geared towards achievement, rather than being defined by limitations. In what she was saying I recognised the attributes so often lauded in good leaders.

When I became Chair of the Commission we discussed finding a figurehead; someone who could lend their experience and reputation to the cause of supporting emerging civil society leaders. On that day I knew we had found them. NCVO’s head Stuart Etherington agreed, and offered to speak to Tanni on our behalf to see if she would be interested in supporting the Commission.

I met Tanni along with fellow Commissioner Hilary Carty a few weeks ago, and we were immediately struck by how easily she grasped the challenges and nuances of supporting emerging leaders in civil society. Having campaigned for many years on opening up leadership opportunities in the sporting community, she knew that challenges are wider and deeper than simply funding for initiatives; attracting talent, and opening up leadership were critical to reforming the sector as w hole, and they are not easy tasks.

We are genuinely thrilled to have the support of such a highly respected and passionate individual. Tanni is joining the Commission at a crucial moment where we have begun to consider our recommendations, having conducted our open consultation since January. With her support for the Commission we have an opportunity to raise the profile of emerging leadership in the sector and create a step change on how we support our future leaders.