Transforming the Leaders of the Future

Words can be like X-rays, if used properly: they go through everything.

• Aldous Huxley

Brave New World is just a few years away from its first century in publication and is still considered a book with a strong philosophical foundation, current thoughts, and a highly significant ideology. Of course, although we are talking about a science fiction novel, it has a premise that varies according to the eyes of the person reading it.

How do you imagine your own brave new world? Surely, many will think: one free of diseases, wars, with equality and opportunities for all. I dare to admit that it is a future that we would like for future generations but how many of us are willing to risk or rebel to make this happen, especially in the professional environment?

In just two years, our generation has been part of a series of changes that the workforce years ago likely would not have even imagined. Today, we are facing new job roles, new ways of evaluating our associates and, much more importantly, a new management style with a focus on the future, also called, “transformational leadership.”

Although it is not a new term, we can say that transformational leadership has been key to improving work initiatives, innovation and corporate culture, all under a simple premise: trust employees to take ownership of their own decisions.

Perhaps not all of us knew it at the beginning but companies trusting remote work was one of the first steps toward the transformation of work schemes. Just imagine how managers back in the ‘50s would feel about letting employees work from home (or anywhere around the world) without face-to-face interaction.

Today, not only has productivity increased but, statistically, eight out of 10 workers prefer to work remotely, with teleworking being one of the new parameters to consider when looking through job offers.

In terms of fintech, startups, or ventures that use technology as the core for their operations, transformational leadership allows them to create spaces for any worker to awaken their creative side but, above all, it gives them the vision they need to find solution to problems, even for those that have not yet arisen, while at the same time preparing to become transformational leaders in an infinite cycle.

Being a leader is not about putting our ideas above everything but letting people be free to propose new ideas and generate better development processes within

companies. Teamwork has never been more important and crucial for building long-lasting, life-changing solutions.

If you were to ask me how I imagine my brave new world, it would be one in which as leaders, we transform the lives of our teams, where we dare to take risks to learn but, much more importantly, where we allow the flourishing of new leaders who continue to help the next generations.