Unmask your inner leader: Identity, influence & impact

Leadership can feel like a performance. Titles, formalities, carefully crafted LinkedIn bios... sometimes it’s hard to tell where the job ends and you begin.

At his recent talk at IHR Leaders Conference, London 2025, Rassam Yaghmaei, Talent & Culture Director of a major European telecoms giant, Free, brought two decades of TA experience to the stage, and left us rethinking what it really means to lead. He broke down leadership into something real, raw, and refreshingly human.

Here's what we've learned:

Leadership isn’t just “being yourself”, it’s managing how others see you. Great leaders shape their narrative, they don’t just hope people get it.

You don’t need a fancy title to lead. Influence comes from your presence, communication, and ability to move people, not your spot on the org chart.

Being authentic doesn’t mean oversharing or unmasking too soon. Rassam’s advice? Earn trust first, then reveal your unique self when it will land with impact.

Perfect alignment between your values and company culture is rare. True leaders stick around to challenge, improve, and transform... especially when it’s tough.

Want buy-in? Combine solid data with stories that resonate. Facts tell; stories sell. That’s how you create real change.

Leadership means guiding how you’re perceived, knowing people will always have opinions. Be intentional, strategic, and authentic, in the right moments.

The bottom line is, leadership isn’t about being loud, perfect, or in charge. It’s about being real, intentional, and ready to influence. So... when the moment’s right, unmask and lead.

Watch the full session below.