Liam's got issues: May

What do an Ethiopian ethical entrepreneur, the marketing director of a Las Vegas-based online shoe retailer, the artistic director of the Southbank Centre and the CEO of a bank called Middelfart Sparekasse have in common? Well, they all spoke at the launch event of Wavelength Connect, the network of business leaders we are building in Britain.

The membership could not be more diverse comprised as it is of social enterprises and corporates of all shapes and sizes. Their challenges are bewilderingly complex too.

But what they share is that they are all leaders and keen to develop their thinking and practices in a time of momentous change and increasing complexity. Whether you are the founder of a social enterprise helping young people in London, a retailer of fair trade chocolate, the head of finance of a multinational with a presence in 80 countries, the director of strategy of the nation’s best shops or responsible for buying and selling multi-billion-pound businesses – you all have the same need to find ways of getting the stimulus, insights and new connectivity which challenge your thinking and open up new ways of doing things.

Really big hits were Aaron Magness from Zappos, whose story about how to use social media to create a successful and transparent business held everyone spellbound. Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, who created soleRebels in Addis Adaba to provide income for her impoverished neighbours was hugely impressive. Her unwillingness to accept any barriers was astounding and so she now owns the only Ethiopian brand trademarked in the US.

Arts supremo Jude Kelly was great on the personal and emotional costs of leadership and the mindset needed to really learn from cultures and business models, which are very different from your own. And our Danish banker Hans Erik Bronserud – well, his tale of turning how banking is done on its head was a revelation.

Wavelength should come with a health warning, one social entrepreneur texted me on his way home – having your thinking challenged is as unsettling as it is inspirational. Exactly.

Whether it’s in politics, big business or social enterprise, if you want to lead then you’ll need to be relentlessly curious, convinced that you can find relevant learning in the most unexpected places, and have a 3D matrix of connections up, down and across sectors.

Liam Black is co-founder of Wavelength.

Contact him via www.thesamewavelength.com or via Twitter @LiamABlack