“Kapable built my understanding that leadership impact comes from how you communicate, read the room, and manage your emotions.”

I have spent most of my career in HR, working across different functions before moving into Talent Acquisition. Today, I lead Talent Acquisition for Société Générale, where I manage recruitment initiatives for the organisation and work with a large team to meet hiring requirements across the business. My role involves working with everyone from candidates and recruiters to senior leaders, so creating impact through communication has always been an important part of my work.
I have always been comfortable speaking when I know my subject. If I understand the topic and have prepared for it, I can communicate confidently. The challenge appeared when I was put into unfamiliar or unprepared situations. I could fumble, speak too quickly, use fillers and sometimes let my emotions show through my words and facial expressions.
I joined Kapable because I wanted to understand where those gaps were and become more effective when I spoke in front of different audiences. I wasn’t looking for a complete change in who I was. I wanted to understand what was getting in the way of the impact I wanted to create.
One of the biggest eye-openers was hearing myself on a recording. I realised how often I was using certain filler words, something I had never noticed while speaking naturally. That made the problem tangible. I began slowing down, becoming more conscious of my pauses and paying attention to how I structured my responses.
I also started looking at communication through three lenses: awareness of what a situation requires, structuring my thoughts and managing my emotions. That combination has made a difference in my meetings. I am more conscious of what I want to achieve from a conversation, what I need to communicate and how I want the other person to receive it.
Emotion has been another important part of this journey. I have always been an expressive person, and earlier, when I was angry, I was angry. When I was excited, it showed. Today, I don’t see emotions as something that needs to be removed from leadership. I see them as something I need to understand and manage.
This is especially important in my role because I regularly interact with CXOs, managing directors and other senior stakeholders. Sometimes I have to push back or say no, and I have realised that doing so effectively requires more than simply having the right answer. I need to understand the situation, make my point clearly and give people a reason to listen.
The journey also made me recognise the importance of continuous practice. I have started recording myself and listening back to understand what I can improve. I also want to go back to something I did earlier in my career: training others. Explaining an idea to someone forces me to understand it deeply, anticipate questions and communicate it more clearly.
I don’t see this as something I have mastered. For me, leadership development is an ongoing process. What Kapable gave me was the awareness to recognise what was happening when I communicated and the tools to work on it deliberately. I now think before I speak, structure my responses, manage my emotions and focus more consciously on the impact I want to create.