Diversity delivers value.

In this episode of Speech Bubbles, Charlotte Otter talks to Barbara Salopek - Founder & CEO of Vinco Innovation, TEDx speaker, lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School, board member, and author of Future Fit Innovation - to unpack a powerful leadership truth: the very things that make you different can become your biggest advantage.

Barbara, Croatian-born and Norway-based, challenges the modern obsession with innovation shortcuts. She argues that real, sustainable innovation isn’t delivered by a single workshop or the latest fashionable framework. It’s built by doing the deeper work: understanding individuals, how they form teams, and how teams operate inside organisations shaped by technology, markets, and society. Her three-level lens makes innovation feel less like hype and more like a capability leaders can intentionally grow.

A standout theme is the link between diversity and psychological safety. Barbara makes the case that diversity can’t deliver value if people don’t feel safe enough to speak. When the loudest voices dominate and everyone else goes quiet, organisations end up with echo chambers, weak decisions, and missed customer insight. Her memorable analogy lands the point: we don’t expect everyone to wear the same shoe size - so why would we design one-size-fits-all products, solutions, or cultures?

The conversation also explores Barbara’s leadership journey: learning under pressure early in her career, developing a practical, action-oriented style, and navigating cultural differences between direct Croatian communication and more conflict-avoidant Norwegian norms. Barbara shares what it took to write Future Fit Innovation alongside full-time work - including reviewing 50–60 scientific articles - and why she ultimately enjoyed the process more than she expected. Follow Barbara on LinkedIn · Buy Barbara's book · Barbara and her work · · Follow Charlotte on LinkedIn · Subscribe to Speech Bubbles the newsletter · Link to buy We Need New Leaders