LinkedIn Top Voices 2019: United Kingdom

Today we’re unveiling our annual Top Voices list, highlighting professionals in a variety of industries and regions who are building communities and starting thoughtful conversations on LinkedIn through their articles, posts, videos and comments. These are the people you should be following to get inspired and stay informed.

To find standout voices, we used a combination of quantitative and qualitative signals, starting with a custom algorithm from our LinkedIn Data Science team and then curated by our LinkedIn Editors. You can learn more about how we compiled the list at the bottom of this article and can check out Top Voices around the world and across industries – from finance to education – here.

I dug into the data to find standout voices in the UK and we've ended up with a fantastic mix that includes a crane operator, university professor, TV presenter and a flexible working campaigner. The topics our honourees have covered in the past year range from artificial intelligence, HR best practice and halal marketing to the benefits of being obsessive, business transformation and returning to work from maternity leave.

Here are this year’s 20 #LinkedInTopVoices in the UK.

What she talks about: Arian posts and vlogs about consumer behaviour, the future of work and the impact of technology on businesses. Want to know how to market to millennials or build a millennial-friendly company culture? Arian's your woman.

Productivity hack: Arian meditates twice a day for 20 minutes at a time. At first she wondered how to fit the practice into her busy schedule, but she managed and it's paid off. "2019 has been my most productive year to date, and yet I managed to meditate about 40 minutes a day."

Follow Somi Arian

What he talks about: An oracle on all things strategy, leadership and the future of work, Atsmon has penned many a thought-provoking article on unconscious bias, the new era of automation and plugging skills gaps. He hopes to inspire leaders from all backgrounds and career stages, helping them to "thrive in high-performing environments with confidence and humility".

Where he finds inspiration: Atsmon draws inspiration from the books he reads – the titles Educated (Tara Westover), Exit West (Mohsin Hamid) and Between the World and Me (Ta-Nehisi Coates) encouraged him to write about diversity and inclusion.

Follow Yuval Atsmon

What he talks about: Awojide shares personal and professional development-related content to "help young professionals become more proactive, reflective and to advance their careers". He shares tips designed to help people get an edge over competitors in today's tough job market. 

New opportunities: Through sharing content on LinkedIn, Awojide has been invited by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the African Development Bank to make presentations about job creation and youth development.

Follow Dr. Dipo Awojide

What she talks about: Branson (Richard’s daughter) works with Virgin companies across the world and writes about the projects she spearheads. She also interviews authors such as Jeremy Heimans, June Sarpong and Simon Sinek, giving insights into what drives these inspirational people to do what they do. On top of this, Branson is a mum of three and likes to share some family moments, too.

Conversation starter: Her article about Virgin StartUp’s commitment to fund an equal number of businesses founded by women as men by the end of 2020 led to a great discussion about the challenges that women face starting up a business and how these can be overcome.

Follow Holly Branson

What she talks about: As Chair of the 30% Club and Financial Alliance for Women, Cairns focuses on a few key topics: women in business, women in finance and STEM, and women’s empowerment. She also posts about banking, payments and financial inclusion, plus emerging technologies and artificial intelligence.

The news story she found most interesting in 2019: Cairns enjoyed reading about Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg's carbon-neutral transatlantic crossing to the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. "Her topic is serious and she tells it as it is," says Cairns.

Follow Ann Cairns

What he talks about: When he was just 15, Edwards set up the SBTV YouTube channel, which exploded in popularity and morphed into a multi-faceted media company. Edwards posts about his experiences as a young entrepreneur, while also sharing photos and videos of awards ceremonies and speaking events. More recently, he's been discussing Jamal Edwards Delve, a project aimed at refurbishing and reopening youth centres.

A life lesson: Edwards recently visited Brixton Prison and was interviewed on the prison's radio station, which is run by inmates, for inmates. "The biggest lesson I took away from the experience is the fact that your best teacher is your last mistake," he says.

Follow Jamal Edwards

What she talks about: Ehsan gives advice about entrepreneurship from an investor’s viewpoint. She's talked about the unfortunate truths of entrepreneurship and has given untraditional pitching advice and productivity tips – she's a firm believer that long work days don't lend themselves to increased productivity.

A productivity life hack: "Fill stagnant moments with doing something that you love." Ehsan's up to two-hour commute used to be her most-hated time of day – until she decided to use that time to write. "Every single one of my LinkedIn posts [is] written on my commute. Once I replaced a daily frustrating situation, with my love for sharing knowledge with the world, my life turned around."

Follow Farah Ehsan

What he talks about: Jones gives a glimpse into his work, but not just glamorous front-of-camera moments; he also shares the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. His aim? "To inspire the next generation of young talent regardless of their creed, colour or background."

Advice for sharing on LinkedIn: "Try not to reproduce the work or words of others. Be original, be yourself and show humility always."

Follow David Jones

What she talks about: Kelleher operates cranes on building sites and is, as you can imagine, one of very few women working in this field. On LinkedIn, she shares her experiences as a female working in construction, the benefits of apprenticeships, the problems the industry faces and the changes required in order to make the sector more diverse and better for all.

Professional advice she'd like to share: "Always say yes, always try new things and never shy away from learning something new," Kelleher tells LinkedIn. "You only regret the chances you didn't take."

Follow Katie Kelleher

What she talks about: A mixture of marketing news, business and personal advice. Her post about a Starbucks coffee cup being left in shot in an episode of Game of Thrones generated hundreds of comments and her article calling for an end to the infantilisation of women ruffled plenty of feathers, too.

Fighting taboos: In October, Leeson posted about the latest episode of her podcast I Shouldn't Say This, But …, in which she spoke openly about her personal experience of miscarriage. "I was terrified to post the content on LinkedIn because it's such a taboo subject," she says, but she was overwhelmed – in a positive way – by the response she received. She still gets messages every day from people all over the world saying how much her honesty has helped them. 

Follow Katy Leeson

What she talks about: As head of HR at a FTSE 100 firm, it's no surprise that Nair shares a lot about HR best practice, but she also posts inspiring stories, leadership advice and her experiences of growing up as a woman in India. She writes passionately about diversity and inclusion, how businesses can make the world a better place, the future of work and how to keep people at the heart of business.

Favourite life hack: "Take your mental wellbeing seriously," Nair tells LinkedIn. "Understand who you are and respect your needs just as you would respect others’ needs. If you’re an introvert and find being around people too much exhausting, recognise that in yourself and make time in the day to refuel with a walk or quiet reading."

Follow Leena Nair

What he talks about: Ex-police officer Sadiq focuses on diversity, inclusion and belonging. He likes to challenge traditional views and explores innovative thinking, with some of his past posts and articles featuring personal anecdotes and tackling the likes of harmful stereotyping and the relevance of role models.

Something not on his LinkedIn profile: He used to be a professional rally co-driver until an unfortunate car accident resulted in him having to hang up his racing helmet for good.

Follow Asif Sadiq MBE

What he talks about: Artificial intelligence, blockchain and robo-advisors are particular areas of interest for Sokolin. In his weekly newsletter Future of Finance, he also likes to dig into the finer details of how "neobanks" and other fintech startups are changing and challenging the financial services industry.

The 2019 news stories he found most interesting: Facebook launching Libra and Uber launching a bank account. "They crowd out the banks, the fintechs, and the governments," he says.

Follow Lex Sokolin

What she talks about: Stewart focuses on helping introverted women overcome challenges in the workplace to progress in their careers. She also posts thought-provoking content on diversity, inclusion, and gender and racial inequality.

The best book she read this year: Becoming by Michelle Obama. "It was very inspirational and encouraging to read about her journey as a black girl from a working class background becoming the First Lady of the United States of America, but still carving out a name in her own right and making a positive impact in the world."

Follow Carol Stewart

What she talks about: Unwin writes passionately about career breaks, flexible working and the way women's careers rarely follow straight lines. She shares examples of women achieving career success during their "second act" and encourages people to think long-term about their ambitions. It's not all about women, though; in a recent article she interviewed a dad as he came to the end of his six-month shared parental leave.

The trend she'll be watching in 2020: "The move towards being more responsible and to live in a more sustainable way. From what we eat to how we travel, what we wear and how we live. So much is changing so quickly. It's fascinating to see."

Follow Lisa Unwin

What he talks about: Corporate innovation is Viki's main area of focus. He explores how large companies can innovate while continuing to run their core business, touching upon the evolving role of a leader, examples of successful business transformations and trends that are driving the future of innovation. 

Favourite book of 2019: Rita McGrath's Seeing Around Corners. McGrath writes about inflection points (paradigmatic shifts in the business landscape) and how they can create new, entrepreneurial opportunities (à la Amazon and Netflix) or lead to devastating consequences (Blockbuster).

Follow Tendayi Viki

What she talks about: As the founder of Flex Appeal, a campaign to fight for flexible working, it's no surprise that Whitehouse posts often, and passionately, about how companies and individuals can move towards a less restrictive world of work. Her post about Flex Appeal making it into parliament generated hundreds of comments and sparked plenty of interesting conversation.

Her advice for creating content on LinkedIn: Whitehouse thinks part of the reason her content performs well is because she does away with the formal and the stuffy. "Be human. Show the human side of business," she urges.

Follow Anna Whitehouse

What he talks about: Williams-Grut reports the biggest business and economic stories of the day, posting his articles on LinkedIn along with sharp commentary on the underlying trends or stories behind the headlines.

The news story of 2019 he found most interesting: WeWork’s descent. "In a lot of ways, it's an allegory for the last decade – cheap money, fast growth, loose checks on the underlying model, and now the chickens coming home to roost. It capped a year full of scepticism around unicorns and felt like a natural follow on from the 'techlash' we saw against the likes of Facebook and Twitter."

Follow Oscar Williams-Grut

What he talks about: As well as commenting on thought-provoking topics, Wilson shares behind-the-scenes videos and posts from when he's teaching in the classroom, travelling abroad for work or speaking at conferences. Topics he's raised on LinkedIn include ethnicity pay gaps, halal marketing and the ever-evolving world of branding.

The best piece of career advice he's received: While on a minibus travelling through Azerbaijan, Patrick Jephson, private secretary to Diana, Princess of Wales said: "Ask yourself these three questions and if the answer is 'yes' to at least two of them, then do it: Is it worth doing? Is it fun? Does it pay well?"

Follow Jonathan A.J. Wilson

What he talks about: Having served as head coach to the England rugby team through their victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, Woodward has plenty to say about sporting excellence. He also applies what he learned on the sports field and in the locker room to the boardroom, sharing tips on coaching teams to perform under pressure, the benefits of being obsessive and why innovation is central to long term success.

His top professional hack: "Study why you win, not just why you lose." When teams lose a big deal, a debrief usually takes place to discuss in finer detail what went wrong, Woodward tells LinkedIn. However, victories should be about more than just celebration. "The key is learning why you win, documenting it and then creating a list of key points as to why you won so you are able to replicate it."

Follow Sir Clive Woodward

You’ve read about the Top Voices in the UK this year. Now, check out the UK Influencers who have also been named #LinkedInTopVoices this year.

How we compiled the Top Voices list

First, our editors partnered with the LinkedIn Data Science team to measure the actions a member is able to generate when they engage on the platform. Specifically, we looked at the volume of responses a person’s contributions sparked and the secondary spread of those responses. These signals are proxies for conversation and community development. That said, engagement metrics aren’t enough. Our next filter was qualitative. Editors in each market and for specific industries refined the list by looking at each member’s body of work: Are the contributions insightful, conversational and timely? Do they seek to give and get help vs being self-promotional? Finally, does this list reflect the world in which we work today?

All sharing activity measured took place over a 12-month period, from September 2018 to September 2019. As with all LinkedIn Lists, we excluded LinkedIn and Microsoft employees from consideration.