1. Congratulations on publishing your book! What inspired you to write about creative leadership, and who is it aimed at?

This book speaks to the dissatisfaction I felt as a 15 year old at school, realising that so many of us were excluded from life and leadership. By age, ability, race and gender. I wanted to do something but I did not know what. My mother told me of a Tagore epigram: What light does Destiny have for her little children stumbling in the dark. And the Heavens responded “A Blind understanding”.

I did not know how design could help, but I carried the Faith in me that it would. Years later, after seeing the way we hurt and exclude each other as humans, I asked how could design help? The answer came back, deep and resounding: redesign leadership. We need more Creatives who are leaders and more leaders who are creative. 

So the book is for the 15 year old me. It is for all of us who are excluded. The first lines begin with: “This is a book for three types of people. Established leaders, emerging leaders and the biggest group of all - those who were never billed to be leaders. I sit firmly in that last group.”

Creative Leadership also arose from my inner search, a desire to align outer action with inner stillness. I wrote it for seekers rather than alpha leaders. I call them leaders disguised as seekers. It is for anyone who wishes to lead not through dominance, but through dharma—right action, rooted in empathy, clarity and creativity.

Leadership needs a human upgrade. So much of what’s out there is cold and hierarchical. I wanted to share a model rooted in empathy, clarity and creativity — qualities that everyone can access. This book is for anyone who wants to lead with heart: from students and teachers, to CEOs and changemakers. It is for empaths and introverts alike!

⸻

2. Can you tell us a bit about your career journey since leaving school — how did you get into the world of design?

The journey was never linear—it unfolded like a mandala, layer by layer. After school, I studied Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London and then Industrial Design Engineering at the Royal College of Art, but the real learning was  more human, more creative. Design found me when I realised it was a way to serve, to uplift, to harmonise the world around us. Like karma yoga—the yoga of action—it became my spiritual practice through work. Creative Leadership is my love letter to the world!

I always had a deep interest in people and creativity - I kept on writing, painting, drawing and studying South Indian Classical Music. At the Royal College of Art, where I spent over two decades working on inclusive design, and eventually became Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. I’ve worked with companies like Samsung, Toyota and the UK government, helping them make the world more human through design.

⸻

3. What does “creative leadership” mean to you, and why do you think it matters now more than ever?

Creative Leadership is the ability to lead from your humanity, not just your job title. It’s about seeing problems with fresh eyes, connecting deeply with others, and acting courageously. In a world facing crises — from AI to inequality — we need leaders who are compassionate and creative. Leadership today is about the three values of empathy, clarity and creativity. And each of these map onto three type of yoga which I did not realise till I created the model. Empathy - Bhakti yoga (Devotion), clarity - gnana yoga (knowledge), creativity - karma yoga (action).

⸻

4. Was there a turning point in your career where you realized the importance of leadership in the design world?

Yes. When I was entrusted with leading a design centre, I realised I was no longer just designing products—I was shaping people, culture, and futures. That moment felt less like a promotion and more like a tapas—a sacred fire that revealed my deeper purpose. I knew then that leadership was not about control, but about surrendering to service.

The key moment for the tripod model (Empathy, Clarity, Creativity) came when I was crying n the shower after spending days trying to design better solutions for older people, disabled people, gender disparity in Central; America, poverty in Asia and the UK, and migrant workers in the Middles East. It was too much for me and I ended up in tears in the shower. I could not take all this hate and hurt. When I managed to fall still and ground myself, I asked what can I as a little designer on this large planet do? And the answer reverberated back: you change leadership and you change everything. I started to think about the components of the model and the three values were defined through self-reflection. Empathy as a human being, Creativity as a designer, and Clarity took longer but came from an ex-girlfriend!

⸻

5. What are some of the key ideas or takeaways you hope readers gain from your book?

Primarily: that EVERYONE can be a leader. It is not for the chosen few.

That true leadership begins not with the mind, but with the heart.

That empathy is a form of spiritual intelligence. It is not a soft skill but a hard necessity in the world today.

That clarity is the light of discernment and the key to understanding and communication.

And that creativity is not a skill, but a state of being—a flow, a rasa.

Above all, I want people to remember that they already carry within them everything they need to lead. It just needs expression.

Service does not make you a servant - it liberates you.

And that all this will help you see the Joy in your human journey, flame your Faith and grow Grace around you.

            1.         Empathy is not weakness — it’s strength.

            2.         Clarity cuts through complexity.

            3.         Creativity belongs to everyone — not just ‘creative people’.

I want people to finish the book believing they can be a leader, and that it is a daily practice, not a platform position.

And start now, even if you have fear or doubt - I wrote this as the start of my next book, a spiritual novel of 9 interwoven stories built around a Teashop.

“The bird’s most important flight is its first

Born from uncertainty and disbelief

But driven by its ancestral memories of touching the sky”

⸻

6. How do you personally stay creative and inspired in your design work, especially when facing challenges?

I return to silence. I walk. I write. I breathe. I do yoga ( I studied in India, not the local gym). I surround myself with beauty, both natural and human. I feed the internal, as well as experience the external. You should fulfil desires but reflect internally on how satisfying they actually were. 

I question more than I answer. I reflect more than I reason. I listen more than I speak. I am happy to meet people and lose myself in the cadence of conversation. I also sit in peace in the solitude of my own silence. I am learning to be more patient: I wrote this to stay with me: Inside the ancient forest of your mind there grows many things - let one of them be patience”.

Inspiration, for me, is less about seeking and more about allowing. When challenges come, I sit with them like I would with a wise teacher, knowing they’ have arrived to refine my practice, and sharpen the blade of my intellect.

I try to love life, even when I do not feel like it. I found how I express my love to the world and it is through words - I know this is something at odds for an introvert to say!

I wrote another book whilst doing this one. People say it is crazy to relax from writing one book by writing another! But they exercised different parts of my creativity. They brought different voices from the same heart - mine!

⸻

7. Looking back, were there any experiences at school — a project, teacher, or activity — that sparked your interest in design or leadership?

Many. The Sanskrit classes, the meditation at the start of each day, the rhythm of recitation—all of these shaped me. They trained my inner ear to listen for the unspoken, my inner eye to see the unseen. That atmosphere of enquiry and stillness gave me the roots from which all my creative work would later grow.

At St James, I was encouraged to think deeply and to care about others. Two things that shaped me profoundly. I remember being inspired by the sense of reflection and dialogue. Even things like calligraphy lessons taught me the power of detail and intention — a definite link to design!

⸻

8. If you could go back and give your school-age self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Be like the river, flow around obstacles, not through them. Trust in your timing. Honour your intuition. And remember: it is enough to simply be. You do not need to prove your worth. You are already whole.

Don’t wait to be chosen, choose yourself. You don’t need permission to follow your calling. Trust your curiosity, follow your weirdness, and be kind to yourself along the way.

The only thing in the world that you can truly change is yourself. Understand this and your inner light will shine to great outer effect. That is how you change the world. Change the inner world first. Start now with the smallest thing you can think of.

  ⸻

10. Are there any exciting projects or next steps you’re working on that you’d like to share with us?

Yes! I I’m bringing Creative Leadership to global communities—through online courses, workshops and conversations through my company INSTILL which stands for Instances of Inclusion, Love and Leadership. I am working in design for organisations and communities across the globe - I have worked in over 40 countries from Canada to China. 

I have also finished my second book that is more poetic, more inward, a companion for those walking the path of inner transformation, inspired by writers like Paolo Coelho, Khalil Goran and Maya Angelou I believe the world is ready for a new kind of leadership, one that begins in the heart and ends in the hands. It is called the Teashop and represents many years of writing. I am now looking for a book agent to bring this into the world!

  ⸻

11. Thank you for joining us to celebrate St James’ 50th Birthday in May. What has stayed with you from your time at school?

The silence. The sacredness. The sense that life is a spiritual journey, no matter where it leads. St James gave me the language  of the inner world, and that continues to be the compass by which I navigate the outer one.

It also enabled a foundation of values that still guide me today — presence, purpose, and a belief that we are all capable of extraordinary things when we lead from the inside out.

Photo Credits to: The Hong Kong Design Centre and Yayasan Hasanah