Stop playing small: 3 leadership lessons for young women in business
Published on the 01 August 2025 by ʹڲƱ Business School EDI Team
Take the risk, find yourself and reframe failure. That is Azure Antionette’s, CEO of Teller Ventures Ltd, advice for young women as they begin to build their careers.
For someone who says she’s failed more times than she’s succeeded as a global inclusivity thought leader, entrepreneur and business owner, Azure has some simple advice for the next generation of female business leaders.
"Keep going. Do the hard thing. Consider what you want to do and just say yes. Even if it's uncomfortable, or you're nervous, take the risk and go for it."
Why? Because our world wouldn’t be where it is today if everybody played it safe.
Faced with complex problems, Azure wants more young women to find their authentic voice and build the career and life they want with confidence.
It's a message that aligns perfectly with 2025 International Women's Day theme of 'Accelerate Action'—moving beyond conversation to break down systemic barriers and create real change.
Here are three fundamental lessons Azure wants to encourage every aspiring female leader to master.
1) Communicate clearly
Differences in definition and understanding are a universal source of conflict in the workplace and beyond. Working in HR and in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) space for decades, Azure has seen this first-hand.
But you can often avoid conflict by leading with genuine openness and seeking clarity.
“If you aren't clear in what you are putting forward, what you need, what you want, how can anyone else be there to facilitate, help, collaborate, champion, celebrate and critique?”
This doesn’t mean there isn’t space for differences of opinion. Being a leader doesn’t mean being right all the time — it's about creating understanding that supports collaboration and progress.
“Having a different opinion on something does not need to be a breeding ground for conflict. It can actually allow us to grow, to see the other side of the agreement,” Azure says.
If you are presenting an idea, it's not your job to change everyone's mind. But if you want to avoid miscommunication that leads to conflict, it is your responsibility to be clear and set and manage expectations.
To make sure you’re heard and understood:
- Be explicit about your intentions and needs
- Don't assume others understand your perspective
- Create space for clarification and questions
Azure says this simple measure unlocks success for everybody around you. Because you’re not only permitting those around you to challenge your perspective, but you’re also inviting them to set boundaries and expectations, too.
2) Reframe failure
The way women approach failure is one of the biggest barriers they create for themselves, according to Azure.
Her solution? Reframe how you think about setbacks entirely.
What if you stopped calling them failures altogether?
"You are not a failure. The action failed," Azure says. "The idea that you had didn't work the way you expected. In science, they would call that an experiment."
Scientists don't give up when a hypothesis doesn't work out. They evaluate what happened and move forward with new knowledge. Azure also discussed the importance of this perspective shift at ʹڲƱ Business School’s ‘So, Now What?!’ event in May. It’s an urgent message that she wants more young women to hear.
“The only time I want you to self-reflect is if you haven't given your best. And even in that, I want you to give yourself grace.”
That grace extends to knowing your own worth, which is key to growing confidence. Confidence to put yourself forward, to speak up, to be your authentic self. Especially when being true to yourself feels like the biggest risk to take.
“Stop setting yourself up to be a replica. Think about what you want to do, how you feel, what you think and the mark you want to leave. That's what we need more of in our leaders.”
3) Set up a support network
Confidence can also thrive with the right support systems. Highly driven women often think success is their burden to carry alone. Azure says that’s the biggest mistake they can make.
"Women are notorious for suffering, they just go and go and then completely flat line."
A good way to avoid this? Have the right support system around you. Especially if you’re a high achiever. The answer doesn’t have to be slowing down, but sometimes it’s good to have someone to pass the baton to.
That can be friends, family, colleagues, and career mentors. Mentorship is an important support network that Azure personally puts her hand up for.
“Whatever you want to do, you do not have to do it alone. But you must ask if you need help. If someone offers their guidance, it’s up to you to come and get it."
And similarly to her advice for dealing with failure, Azure wants young women to reframe their attitude toward persistence and being judged for their enthusiasm. Because persistence is identified as a key pillar to sustained success.
"Those are the people I never forget. Those are the people I force myself to make time for. Not because it is an obligation, but because it's an opportunity."
Remember, as a young female leader you can:
- Take up space unapologetically
- Ask for what you need
- Follow up persistently
- Trust your own judgement
Now is the time to #AccelerateAction
In a world full of complex problems, we don’t need more women playing small. It’s time to make space for empowered female leaders with determination, optimism and intelligence.
It’s the message Azure delivered to more than 100 high school students at ʹڲƱ Business School’s 7th annual Girls in Business Camp (GIB) in July.
Designed for female-identifying high school students in years 10 – 12, the GIB camp offers an opportunity for participants to explore the potential of a degree in business. They also took on the challenge of unpacking some of the complex issues holding society back from achieving gender equality.
Listening to their solutions for problems including unbalanced parental leave, the gender pay gap and designing more supportive transitions from study to work, Azure was blown away. She described the final day of the camp as “the most powerful space in the world.”
“I feel so inspired and very hopeful that this generation is thinking not only about problems we still haven't solved, but seeing how they can still dare to dream,” she says.
“Because the best success stories aren’t the people who did everything right, they are the people who kept going.”