Why The Best Leaders Don't Need To Prove Themselves | Hetti Barkworth-Nanton

Hetti Barkworth-Nanton on Humility, Purpose & Leading Through Trauma | What We Don’t Know (Eden Project)

Recorded in the Eden Project Rainforest Dome at the Anthropy conference, Hayaatun speaks with Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, CEO of Ploughshare and chair of Refuge, about leading change across defense innovation and domestic abuse services. Hetti explains how Ploughshare spins Ministry of Defence innovations into civil applications, sharing examples from water-protective coatings used in Samsung phones to laser-detection tech adapted from battlefield needs to air ambulances and sport.

She traces formative influences - rural upbringing, her father’s death, early lessons on commitment, and being “spark spotted” into senior roles at British Airways, including being the “Project God.”

Hetti describes the murder of her friend Jo Simpson, resulting trauma therapy, later breast cancer, and how these experiences drove her campaigning, founding the Joanna Simpson Foundation, and her leadership at Refuge amid controversy and difficult board decisions.

Key lessons: systems thinking, curiosity, resilience, boundaries, and humility.

Chapters

00:00 Intro 00:45 Welcome To Eden Project 02:35 Two Leadership Roles 04:33 Rural Roots And Loss 08:01 Finding Self Belief 09:56 Strawberry Field Commitment 11:10 BA Breakthrough Roles 16:17 Project God And Servant Leadership 22:29 Why Domestic Abuse Matters 27:19 Trauma Therapy And Authenticity 29:49 Trauma and Cancer Reset 33:24 Purpose Over Corporate Life 35:06 Finding Ploughshare Mission 37:55 Defense Tech Impact Shift 40:56 UK Innovation System Fixes 43:11 Sentinel Photonics Story 45:59 Leading Two Careers Openly 48:16 Refuge Board Tough Calls 51:14 Resilience and Burnout Signs 53:55 Quickfire Leadership Lessons 57:16 Host Wrap and Takeaways

Credits:

Producer: Sunny Winter

Producer: Thuy Dong

Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE

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