Good leadership comes down to two things: clarity and compassion

Q&A with Sophie Stevenson-Salih, our Director of Compliance

Sophie Stevenson-Salih is Director of Compliance at Liberty Blume, leading the group regulatory function across Blume Pay and Liberty Blume Insurance. She began her career in operations and compliance across financial services, building her foundations at Kreos Capital (now BlackRock) before taking on Head of Compliance roles at a series of high-growth start-ups. Her experience leading in fast-moving, commercially ambitious environments shapes how she thinks about leadership. In this Q&A, she explores what good leadership looks like in practice, and the behaviours she believes will matter most in the years ahead. 

What does leadership mean to you? 

SS-S: For me it comes down to two things: clarity and compassion. Clarity matters because people need to understand what Liberty Blume are trying to achieve, and where they fit into that, especially when things are moving quickly or feel uncertain. Without it, people second-guess themselves or stall. 

Compassion is perhaps a more controversial one, but it matters to me because it’s really about trust. Creating an environment where people feel safe to speak up, take ownership, and operate without fear. When people feel trusted and supported, they perform better. Confidence comes from that consistency, knowing that leadership will back you and not second-guess you. It’s as simple as that. Accountability still plays its role, of course, but for me it’s the outcome of those two things combined. 

How is leadership evolving in response to more complex customer needs and expectations? 

SS-S: Leadership used to be about targets, process, and staying in your lane, often quite removed from the customer. That’s shifting. Within Blume it’s also committing to outcomes, and specifically customer outcomes. Understanding the real impact of decisions beyond just hitting a number or following a process. 

As a result, leaders need to be more data and insight-led than ever and much closer to the customer and customer journey. Being more proactive is part of that too, which is easier said than done in an already busy environment. But I think you have to make that effort. Historically, leaders sat at quite a distance from the customer. I don’t think that works anymore. 

How has technology changed leadership in your industry? 

SS-S: Technology accelerates everything: decision-making, distribution models, how we shape risk appetites, how we communicate. But in the FinTech and InsurTech areas of Blume where I operate, the implications go further. 

Embedded credit and insurance products mean that regulatory leaders now have to think about control frameworks across the entire ecosystem, not just within Blume, but across the partners we work with and their end customers too. 

It also means greater scrutiny. Data, management information, and governance are expected to be real-time and robust. And keeping that data clean and genuinely decision-ready is harder than it sounds. The broader point is that leaders can no longer rely on hindsight. You need forward-looking oversight, and the quality of your data and governance is what makes that possible. 

Talk us through your decision-making process. 

SS-S: I start by understanding the objective, the desired outcome, and the key risks, the latter coming naturally given my regulatory background. Once I have those, even if the picture isn’t fully complete, I can start to assess the regulatory framework, the commercial implications, and the operational feasibility. 

From there I pressure test with the right people, peers, stakeholders, team, asking questions like: what’s the worst case scenario? Can we evidence this decision if challenged? Does it deliver good customer outcomes? 

Perfection isn’t always possible, especially in fast-moving environments, but if you stay focused on the objective and the outcome, and you’ve considered the key risks, you can make a balanced judgment and move forward with confidence. 

Which leadership behaviours do you think will matter most in the years ahead? 

SS-S: Judgment, adaptability, and authenticity. 

Looking ahead, with AI, shifting regulation, and the pace of change in how we access and deliver products, things will keep getting more complex. AI can simplify and accelerate a lot, but it doesn’t anticipate all scenarios, particularly in regulated environments. And there’s no playbook for everything, even if large corporates would sometimes prefer there was. 

Strong, balanced judgment will be essential, knowing how to act decisively on incomplete information without becoming reactive. The ability to adapt quickly and communicate transparently will matter more too, as teams become more diverse and expectations continue to shift. And authenticity underpins all of it. People follow leaders they trust, and trust starts with honesty.