Lockdown, social distancing, quarantines, and the ‘new normal’ are concepts we barely understood this time last year – but after almost a year in lockdown, since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic – what are the lessons leaders have taken from the past 12 months and how are they using this insight to move forward?

In this episode, we are joined by Atholl Duncan author of Leaders in Lockdown. For his book, Atholl interviewed 28 leaders from all over the world to gain their perspectives on business in the time of Covid-19. We found out his inspiration for writing this book and explored some of the key themes which emerged from the interviews.

Have you ever wondered if certain personality traits lead to more inclusive and diverse leaders or if you could construct the 'perfect' team based on personalities? Kimberly Nei, Director of Talent Analytics at Hogan Assessment Systems, shared her observations on Hogan’s latest research into this challenge, as well as defining some other personality traits which impact individuals, teams, and company success. Nei also talked through the opportunities and challenges for using AI in relation to personality testing from an ethical standpoint.

Shep Maher is EVP of Global Sales at Betterworks but his self-described job title is 'Servant Leader'. We spoke to Shep about what this unorthodox job title means to him and how he uses the philosophy behind it to get the most out of his team. Shep is also a sales expert, he describes the personality traits he sees as being essential to succeed in sales. We also spoke about how the very nature of sales is changing and what Shep predicts for the future of the role. This episode is full of great tips and insights for any future leaders as well as those wishing to get ahead in a career in sales.

On Friday 29 January, AMBA & BGA will announce the winners of The AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2021.

This year, the MBA Leadership Award is a new award which will honour alumni from AMBA-accredited Business Schools who have been making an impact in the business world following their graduation. The award recognises the work of these alumni through their achievements, performance and recognition.

David Woods-Hale took some time out to talk to four of the six finalists: Alforde Charumbira, who graduated from UCT Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town; Ashwanth Gnanavelu, who graduated from Kent Business School, University of Kent; Ivan Syreyshchikov, who graduated from Graduate School of Management, Saint Petersburg State University; and Oare Ehiemua, who graduated from ESADE Business School, Ramon Llull University.

They shared their stories of how their MBAs put them on the career path to where they are now, and tackled the challenging question: what does it take to be a stand-out MBA leader in the modern world?

On Friday 29 January AMBA & BGA will announce the winners of The AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2021. The MBA Student of the Year award recognises students who have shown exceptional career potential and who AMBA believes can act as ambassadors for the high quality of accredited MBAs and the opportunities these programmes provide for students from a wide range of different personal and professional backgrounds.

Continuing her series of interviews with shortlisted finalists, Ellen Buchan spoke to Ramiro Agustin Costa from Universidad del CEMA; Leon Lloyd from Business School, Manchester Metropolitan University; and Mital Thanki from the School of Business, University of Leicester, to find out a bit more about the finalists and what winning this award would mean to them.

On Friday 29 January AMBA & BGA will announce the winners of the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2021. One of the most coveted categories, the MBA Student of the Year award plays a pivotal role in supporting AMBA’s pledge to promote the MBA degree as the leading international business qualification.

Ellen Buchan caught up with Koshy Alexander from IE Business School; Kayee Au from AUC School of Business, The American University in Cairo; and Ciara Close from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin, to find out a bit more about the finalists and what winning would mean to them.

Stephen Frost is an expert in inclusivity and diversity and author of Building an Inclusive Organization: Leveraging the Power of a Diverse Workforce. We spoke about some of the challenges and opportunities that the Covid-19 pandemic presents for inclusivity and diversity initiatives in recruitment and in remote working. We also spoke about Stephen’s incredible career to date and his role in the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Michele Schneider has had an amazing career taking her from teacher to market trader and now Director of Education and Research and author. She spent 13 years as one of the few female members of several New York Commodity Exchanges in the World Trade Centre. We spoke to Michele about the state of the markets, and the volatility we’re experiencing, her views on the trends set to impact the markets over the coming years, and we also find out more about her new book, Plant Your Money Tree: A Guide to Growing Your Wealth.

We then spoke to David Ssegawa, a judge for the MBA Leadership award, as part of the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards. David gave some hints on what he will be looking for from the winning entry and shared some background on his career, from his current role as Global Chief for People and Culture at Living Goods, to other roles he has had at Oxfam, African Development Bank, Unilever and Coca-Cola.

Rita Monteiro describes herself as being on her seventh career path in her eighth country. We were keen to talk to Rita about how her MBA led her from roles in small businesses to securing a career at one of the largest companies in the world – Amazon. She took the time to explain some of the initiatives she's working on, her role as Head of Sustainability at Amazon Japan, which will help the company hit its carbon neutral target by 2040.

Our editor Edward Holmes, provides an update on the Ambition Podcast during the holiday season.