LAURA TOOP

PGMAG: Laura, welcome to today’s interview with Lady Anita.

LT: Thank you so much. It’s an honour to be here. I’ve long admired how Lady Anita elevates voices across the globe - especially those often overlooked. It’s a privilege to contribute to this powerful platform.

PGMAG: Please briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

LT: I’m Laura Toop, Leadership Transformation Consultant, Founder of #ProjectMe, Human-Centred Change Strategist, and currently serving as the NHS & Police Advisory Chair. I support leaders and organisations navigating complexity and uncertainty through my framework #ProjectMe, which is rooted in self-leadership, personal agency, and values-led transformation. My work is deeply informed by lived experience, including rebuilding my life after the loss of my husband, my health, and my corporate career.

PGMAG: As a key player in leadership development, what would you say to a professional who is trying to transform a struggling organisation?

LT: Start with identity. Transformation isn’t about simply fixing what’s broken. It’s about remembering who you are, what you stand for, and why you exist. Too often, organisations leap to strategy without anchoring in purpose, people, and shared values. Rebuild trust.

Acknowledge the realities. Create psychological safety. Then engage your people through frameworks that empower action from the inside out.

Just like the depth and breadth of the root system to a tree is what enables it to weather the storms - even being felled - this is true of organisations.

That’s where the 3As from #ProjectMe come in: Acknowledge where you are, Act with courage and intention, and Attain the clarity and momentum to flourish.

You don’t need all the answers upfront - you need the courage to take the first step. And often, it’s not about creating more - it’s about using what you already have, smarter.

We don’t need more meetingswe need momentum. Not more leaders, but ones who truly listen and empower. That’s the shift #ProjectMe helps unlock.

PGMAG: If you were given an opportunity to address world leaders, what would your message be?

LT:

Reconnect with your humanity. You cannot lead what you do not understand, and you cannot inspire what you do not live. We talk of systems and strategy, but the world is shaped by people. We must stop seeing leadership as control and start recognising it for what it truly is - facilitating courage, clarity, and connection in others.

Prioritise well-being, equity, and courage over performance metrics. The future isn’t waiting for us to catch up - it’s calling for us to lead differently.

I’d remind them: leadership is not a title - it’s a commitment. One that begins with selfleadership.

PGMAG: Please tell us about some of your programmes/ projects, and your call to action for our readers.

LT: At the heart of my work is #ProjectMe - a humancentred framework designed to help people take control in an uncontrollable world. It includes:

• #ProjectMe Playbook: Practical tools for leading through uncertainty using my 3As model (Acknowledge, Act, Attain).

• #ProjectMe Pathway: The inner journey from vulnerability to flourishing.

• #ProjectInsight and #ProjectUnity: Organisational initiatives under my wider programme, your

• #TogetherAsALLies, designed to bridge divides, empower voices, and build safer, more inclusive environments that improve health outcomes and community well-being.

Because resilience isn’t just personal. It’s collective.

#ProjectMe was also born from my own teenage experiencewhere, following an accident, I underwent bilateral hip and back surgery. Physically, I was back on my feet within six months. But emotionally? That’s a very different story.

The isolation, the loss of control, and the disconnection from friends and schoolingespecially in an era long before mobile phones or the internet (yes, I am that old!) - all had a profound and lasting impact. I wasn’t fully present at school for nearly two years, and that absence shaped more than just my education.

In that void, I grasped for something - anything - I could manage. That “something” became food. I stopped eating. The eating disorder I was left with… well, that took years to truly move forward from.

Traditional therapy addressed the symptoms, not the cause. No one ever asked who I was beneath the pain or acknowledged that the very essence of who I was and what mattered most had shifted as a result. That’s why #ProjectMe starts with identity - because when we anchor in who we are, not just what we do, real transformation becomes possible. We are truly set up for sustainable success without compromise.

My call to action? Don’t wait for permission. If you feel disconnected, disillusioned, or stuck, start with what you can control. You are not nothing - contrary to my then 4-yearold nephew’s belief when my world imploded. (To be fair, he did promise to look after me for 100 days.)

But truly, ‘nothing’ became what I rebuilt my life onmyself, and my ability to business plan. 20+ years in corporate change & transformation taught me something. And I’ve learnedit’s a very good place to start. Reconnect with your values. Rebuild your inner resilience.

Then lead from that place - for yourself, and for others.

Because #ProjectMe is what brings sustainable change and success without compromise. It’s applicable to every situation in life - large or small, organisational or personal.

PGMAG: As one of the global speakers for the upcoming Powerhouse Global Leadership Conference/Awards event, and with a focused theme on “global collaboration”, why is it important for change makers to work together in the current socio-economic climate?

LT: Because no one has the full picture alone. We are navigating overlapping crisessocial, economic, environmental - and old models of leadership are no longer fit for purpose. Collaboration isn’t optional. It’s essential.

But collaboration doesn’t start in boardrooms; it starts in conversations. With humility, with curiosity, with a willingness to be changed by what we learn from one another.

#ProjectMe is built on this idea: that we flourish together, or not at all. Our collective future depends on courageous connection across silos, sectors, and systems, and is a fundamental part of maintaining our momentum.

PGMAG: What are your top three keys to winning in life?

LT:

1. Know your #BrandMe –your values, your voice, your vision.

2. Don’t outsource your power – the strength lies within you.

3. Lead with courage, not just confidence – confidence follows when you act in alignment with who you truly are.

And perhaps a fourth: Lead with courage - but bring your full self. That includes the wonky bits, the off-script moments, and the belly laughs, because you already are perfectly imperfect, and belong right where you are, in your own skin. Work with yourself, rather than against, and you will find it a lot less like pushing water uphill with a rake!

Because leadership is messy, human, and relational. And when you lead from the inside out - even with the wonky bits - you become the kind of leader people remember and trust.

PGMAG: If you knew what you know now, what would you do differently?

LT: I would have paused and paced sooner. I would have made space to listen to myself, rather than silencing my intuition to meet others’ expectations. For too long I overfunctioned, thinking that was strength. Now I know: strength is knowing when to stop, when to ask for help, and when to start again.

Pacing and Pausing are 2 of the 7 P’s of Proactive Choice, another of the #ProjectMe Playbook tools. It’s amazing how much more clarity you gather as a result, and, ironically, in slowing down, you do in fact speed up!

PGMAG: What keeps you motivated as a leader?

LT: Knowing that every time I speak truth, create space, or offer tools for someone to rise, it makes a difference. My motivation isn’t performance driven - it’s purpose-led. I do this because I promised my husband, before he died, that I would continue to fight for a life worth living.

I do this because I know what it’s like to lose everything and start again.

And I do this because I believe we are not here to survive, but to flourish.

PGMAG: Thank you for sharing your brilliance with us through this interview.

LT: Thank you. It’s been a joy to share. We need more spaces like this to explore the truth behind the titles. The future of leadership depends on it.

PGMAG: Please share your website/links with us.

LT: You can learn more at www.laura-toop.com and follow me on LinkedIn where I share regular reflections, leadership tools, and updates from the #ProjectMe and #TogetherAsALLies initiatives.

If you want to be part of the growing #TogetherAsAllies movement, please sign up at www.togetherasallies.org.

Because to achieve success without compromise - the answer to everything is all of us, and we’re stronger together.

#ProjectMe #LeadershipWithCourage #FlourishInComplexity #TogetherAsALLies