Cherry Ward
Author | Executive coach | Facilitator and Speaker | founder of Bluebird Labs
Cherry Ward is an executive coach, facilitator and speaker, and the founder of Bluebird Labs. Drawing on senior HR and executive experience across the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, she combines research and evidence-based approaches with practical wisdom to help leaders, teams and organisations navigate change through coaching, workshops and leadership programs. A recipient of the 2026 Lord Mayor's Women in Business grant, Cherry lives in Brisbane, Australia. Lead with Kokoro is her first book. cherryward.co
BOOKS AUTHORED BY CHERRY
"Leaders do not require heavier manuals or more inflexible doctrines. They require an internal compass. Cherry Ward's Lead with Kokoro is precisely that compass."
- Dr Aya Matsuyama, from the foreword
"What legacy will you leave behind?"
After twenty years of leadership roles, global assignments, complex transformations, teams of a hundred, Cherry Ward couldn't answer that question. The titles were there. The results were there. But the direction wasn't.
Lead with Kokoro is the compass she built in answer. Drawing on eight Japanese philosophies – Ikigai, Ma, Shoshin, Wabi-sabi, Kintsugi, Wa, Kaizen and the integrating practice of Keiko – the Kokoro no Michi Compass is a complete navigation system for leaders, teams and organisations.
Unlike one-time leadership models, this compass is repeatable: a system you'll return to every time you face change, transition or uncertainty. It's scalable: the same principles that guide you personally become tools for developing your team and transforming culture. And it's authentic: ancient Japanese wisdom, respectfully translated for contemporary leadership.
The rigid corporate maps of yesterday are obsolete. What leaders need now is an internal compass.
The world has enough mediocre leadership. We need more wayfinders.
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