Globally, in business as in life, these are turbulent and uncertain times. What is the most valuable contribution a leader can make in today's business climate and what kind of leadership style will make the grade?

We spoke to Susan Willett Bird, CEO and Founder of Wf360, a company that engages women and men around the world in timely conversations about leadership skills and diversity issues in business.

Based in New York, Susan believes that in the wake of the US tragedy, successful leaders need to make a human connection.

Karen: What role should leadership play in today's business? What does it take to lead in this new world?

Susan: Firstly, the key for every person is to live a life that matters - to find work that is satisfying, a job when you end the day, you feel you have left something behind that adds values to others. It's so vital to know who you are, what it is that motivates you, to do what you enjoy in your heart and know what it is that you want. When you know what your passion is, a lot of other things fall into place.

On September 11th, the Mayor of New York who was renowned for his tough macho style of leadership, found himself in a role that was unfamiliar yet his response was inclusive, passionate, empathetic - qualities often associated with a feminine style of leadership and he was marvellous and exactly what was needed at the time.

That 'style' of leadership was legitimised, and it was done by someone with a reputation for a very different leadership style. It says that our whole world has changed and this is what is needed.

The greatest offence was a penknife and our defence was a cell phone, trying to bring some connection with each other. That signals where the world has gone - to one on one relationships. There is an absolute requirement to be connected for your survival and sanity and that has never been more important than now to maintain on a global basis. People were rewarded by being able to reach out to other people. We need to be able to connect and women are pretty good at doing that.

Women are great at making things happen and doing it with a sense of connection with people. Women and men relate to information differently. Women typically multi task and involve everyone, they know how to use the skills of all the people in an organisation. They don't care so much about rank, they can talk easily to a sales manager or a CEO because they're good at managing relationships.

And the flatter organisations get as the economy slims business down, we need to manage the talent that we've got.

With this also comes more family friendly organisations and what's good for women is also good for men. Men want a life too so they'll benefit by having a family friendly organisation.

In the end, we've got each other and if you're going to spend that much time at work then you want it to make a difference and be for good.

Karen: What is the most valuable contribution a leader can make?

Susan: To provide a climate that encourages people to know what drives them so that they can have a life that matters. And then doing that for ourselves. That we can do well for the world·that has us feeling motivated.

At the end of the day, a leader's role is to satisfy the shareholders and the way to do that is to service your client and customer. The key to achieving that is your people. A successful leader should be able to stay highly creative and responsive - to be lean, nimble, take risks and manage diverse talent. The leader that embraces the idea of diversity is at the heart of innovation.

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Attorney, entrepreneur and experienced moderator and facilitator, Ms. Bird is a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship, the formation of business alliances, and business leadership in the new economy.

Ms. Bird founded Wf360 in 1998 to showcase the future of business as seen through the valuable, life-changing insights of extraordinary women leaders, while providing interaction among those leaders and a global audience.

Wf360 organises the 'MainEvent' roadshow (recently staged in Australia for the first time) - a live, interactive global gathering of senior businesswomen and men to discuss a variety of topics facing women and men in business.