Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for the government to "take responsibility" as he spoke on a panel at the Shaping Us National Symposium event.
Hosted by the Princess of Wales, Princess Kate, the event in aid of the royal's early years charity invited Blair and Lord William Hague to host a panel.
In her keynote speech, Princess Kate called for "action at every level" to help rebalance and restore social and emotional skills in the early years of childhood.
The Princess of Wales added: "Nurturing skills that enable us to know ourselves, manage our emotions, focus our thoughts, communicate with others, foster positive relationships, and explore the world are just as valuable to our long-term success as reading, writing or arithmetic."
Tony Blair said people in leadership and politics 'have to have the right temperament to be able to handle criticism'
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Speaking in praise of the event and the foundation created by Princess Kate, Blair claimed it was a "pleasure" to be invited to the panel.
Blair said: "I really think this subject of how you shape the early years is phenomenally important today for all sorts of reasons that have been traditionally so, but I think some reasons that are to do with the modern world and how it operates, and how young people are going to navigate that world."
Speaking to the crowd at the Design Museum in London, the pair were asked by host Fearne Cotton which skills they have both cultivated over the years "have have helped with leadership".
Blair replied: "In the paper that the foundation's done with your cluster of six different skills, I think remember - self, emotions, thoughts, communication, relationship and imagination.
"All of those are emotional skills are really important. But I think I would add another two that maybe are subsets of that categorisation.
Blair explained: "First of all your your ability to take responsibility. In the end for any of you who are leading organisations, you know the hardest thing about leadership is you have to take responsibility.
"You know you lift the mantle of responsibility onto your own shoulders and that is part of the resilience, part of the equation and resilience is important.
"I think sometimes we under underestimate it."
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Discussing the impact of taking responsibility on the young people of today, Blair said: "Young people need to be resilient and linked to that is to try and have the right temperament when you're dealing with life's difficulties.
"And one of the things that is really important, and this this applies whether you're in politics or in any other walk of life is especially if you're taking on a a leadership role, then you've got to have the right temperament to be able to handle criticism, to be able to have people say things about you that you don't like being said.
"But nonetheless, you've got to just put up with it, and to be able to keep that equilibrium mentally as you're going through life, I think is really a really important skill."