When the World Speeds Up, Leaders Must Keep Learning
Charlotte Morgan, IWF UK Member, NED, Audit Chair, & Strategic Advisor Financial Services
“Learning is more than acquiring skills. it’s about expanding perspective, staying curious and growing with the world around us.”
By 2030, nearly 40 % of today’s core skills are expected to change or become obsolete, and an estimated 59% of the global workforce will require reskilling or upskilling to meet evolving job demands. The pace of change in business and society has never been more pronounced. Staying relevant demands not just technical know-how but a mindset of continuous learning and adaptation.
Education has been a defining force in my life.
I grew up at the University of Leeds, where my father taught and served as warden of a residence hall. International students stayed through holidays, and our family gathered around conversations about global events, from civil rights movements to political upheavals. Those early exchanges taught me that learning happens everywhere, and often most profoundly from people whose experiences differ from your own. That insight shaped my career in international business and my ongoing commitment to education.
After university, I qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse (the only woman in my intake) and that foundation has proved indispensable through senior financial and governance roles, including my current work as an Audit Committee Chair. Later, as Head of Corporate Treasury at Standard Chartered, I undertook professional qualifications with the Association of Corporate Treasurers, where I remain an active member and former governing body director. These experiences reinforced that growth comes not only from structured programmes but from the relationships and networks that lifelong learning fosters.
I’ve also gained immense professional satisfaction from governance roles in education. At the Oxford School of Drama, I saw how creative learning builds confidence, communication skills and broader life competencies, all vital for leadership. Board roles in school groups exposed me to the interplay between local heritage and organisational governance, lessons that have enriched my commercial directorships.
Today, as Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee for the Court of the University of Westminster, an institution deeply committed to widening access and inclusion, I see every day how diverse perspectives and equitable opportunities transform students’ lives. Meeting students from contexts where education, especially for women, remains a rare privilege has been a humbling reminder of how far we have come, and how much work remains.
Education, I have come to believe, is not a phase of life but a lifelong dialogue. It is reciprocal: giving back can be as enriching as receiving. And within the IWF UK community, this dynamic is amplified. Yes, our programmes deliver rich content but equally powerful is the learning that happens between us: from the collective wisdom of senior women leaders, from shared experience, challenge, reflection and encouragement. That is a value few organisations can rival and one that sustains us through change.
