By Ammar Mirza CBE
There is a moment in leadership that rarely gets spoken about. It is not the big stage or the public speech. It is quieter than that.
It is the moment where you know something is not quite right, and you have a choice to make. Say something or let it pass. Step in or stay out of it. Do what is right or do what keeps things comfortable.
That is what to be or not to be really feels like in the real world.
If I am honest, I have had my fair share of those moments, and I have not always leaned into them. There have been times where I have held back, telling myself it is better not to “upset the apple cart.” It sounds sensible, almost wise. But when you actually unpack it, the phrase comes from market traders carefully stacking fruit, knowing that if someone knocked the cart, everything would spill and cause disruption.
Over time, it has come to mean do not interfere, do not challenge, keep things steady.
But here is the thing. That only works if what is being protected is right in the first place.
And often, it is not.
Some of the most powerful examples of leadership are not the ones we read about in textbooks. They are quieter, closer to home, and often overlooked.
Take Grace Darling, from our own North East coast. In 1838, she rowed out into a violent storm to rescue survivors from a shipwreck off the Farne Islands. No grand plan. No committee. Just a decision in the moment that something needed to be done, and she was willing to do it.
Or Mary Ann Macham, whose work in local communities never made headlines but changed lives in ways that statistics never capture. Quiet leadership. Consistent leadership. The kind that does not seek recognition but earns respect.
These are not stories of perfection or heroics in the way we often frame them. They are stories of people who chose to act when it would have been easier not to.
That is the thread.
And I see that same thread running right through the North East today. It is in the business owner who gives someone a chance when others will not. It is in the teacher who goes the extra mile without being asked. It is in the community volunteer who shows up week after week because they care.
There is a grounded honesty about this region. A sense that people will do the right thing, not because it is easy, but because it matters.
That is leadership.
Not a title. Not a position. A choice.
And yet, even with that, the hesitation is real. The voice that says, maybe this is not the moment. Maybe it is better to leave it. Maybe it is not worth the disruption.
I still hear it.
But I am learning that those are exactly the moments that define us. Because leadership is not about being fearless. It is about recognising the moment for what it is and stepping into it anyway.
Not dramatically. Not perfectly. Just honestly.
Because when we choose to stay silent, we are still making a choice. When we choose to look the other way, we are still shaping the outcome.
So, the question is not abstract. It is not Shakespearean. It is practical and it is personal.
When the moment comes, will we step forward or will we stay still?
In this region, we know what it means to look out for one another. We know what it means to stand together when it counts. The opportunity now is to carry that same mindset into every space we occupy, whether that is business, public life or our communities.
Not to create noise, but to create impact.
Because the future will not be shaped by those who kept everything neatly in place. It will be shaped by those who were willing to act when it mattered.
So, when that moment finds you, and it will, do not overcomplicate it.
Choose to be.
Ammar Mirza CBE is Chair & Founder of Asian Business Connexions, Executive Chair of the AmmarM Group, Honorary Colonel of 101 Regiment RA and holds various positions across the public and private sectors with a deep interest in Inclusion, Innovation and Internationalisation.