What does it really mean to lead from where you are?
How do courage, self-trust, persistence and community shape our careers in moments big and small?
These questions were at the heart of Power in You! Grow, Lead, Inspire — a panel curated by IPWS in partnership with the British Consulate-General in Shanghai on August 27, 2025.
This internal event brought together four diplomats and senior leaders from the British Consulate-General in Shanghai, the British Embassy in Beijing, and IPWS.
We were pleased to welcome 50+ participants, joining both in person in Shanghai and virtually from the Embassy in Beijing, as well as the Consulates in Guangzhou, Chongqing, and Wuhan.
•Panellist: Barbara Amono-Oceng, Deputy Consul General at British Consulate General in Shanghai
•Panellist: Ella Beckett, Diplomat, Agriculture, Food and Drink Counsellor, British Embassy Beijing
•Panellist: Jing Liu, Deputy Director of Education, Creative, Retail and Sport (China), DBT, British Embassy Beijing
•Panellist: Anna Lukina, Senior Consultant, Business Development Director, A&Z Law Firm, Duan & Duan Law Firm, Advisor to the Board at IPWS
•Moderator: Xixi Wang, Founder of CUE, Partnership Executive at IPWS
Weaving the Threads Together
Though each panellist’s career looked different, their stories wove together into a shared fabric of themes:
Courage
•It’s okay to be scared.
•Courage isn’t about waiting until you feel fully ready; it’s about saying yes to the opportunity and trusting you’ll grow into it.
•Taking new responsibilities or stepping into unfamiliar spaces is never wasted: each role builds your influence.
•Courage shows up in smaller, everyday ways, too, like raising your voice in a meeting where it’s not the expected one.
•Courage isn’t fearlessness; it’s acting even when nervous and unsure.
•Taking the first step often unlocks opportunities that fear hides.
Achievement
•You cannot have both 100% readiness and the room to grow; embrace the discomfort of “not good enough.”
•Achievement is about sustaining motivation through both the ordinary and the extraordinary.
•Passion and courage are the cornerstones of reshaping your career.
•Progress often looks less like grand leaps and more like steady, deliberate steps.
•A career path is rarely linear; repeated shifts and resilience shape it.
Credibility
•Own your space with presence.
•Being met with doubts is common, especially if you are young-looking or are the only woman in the room.
•Preparation, confidence, and persistence are your anchors.
•Cross-sector and cross-industry experiences are worth mentioning to highlight the breadth of your work, even if they aren’t the direct focus of the meeting.
•Credibility is built over time.
•Authenticity is a strength; credibility grows when you show up as yourself.
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