Last week we closed a 5-month Program with a group of senior leaders from Heineken´s Americas Export Team. A great treat and an opportunity to discuss what it takes to be great leader these days. An in-depth itinerary starting at leading self and progressing towards redefining the ways we lead our teams and how do we renew our value proposition towards the organization. We also discussed how to live from influence, establishing a different relationship with our environment

I spent most of last week discussing the art of influencing within this very complex context with people from different worlds. Fun and timely. I learned some significant lessons and reviewed some assumptions which were in need of update. One of my highlights was a panel on social cohesion that I hosted with a group of young people who definitively hold a piece of the puzzle of the future. Some of them, particularly Luc Loren are “real influencers”. 22,000 people were watc

El viernes pasé una tarde hermosa con los alumnos de la XI Edición del Programa. A pesar de vivir en el "Año del Señor del Coronavirus" como lo llaman mis alumnos, la tecnología y el coraje nos permitieron el encuentro. No sé qué pensáis, pero yo creo que son tiempos donde es más importante que nunca buscar espacios de reflexión, conversación y acción para crear nuevos futuros mejores para todos. Solo así será posible que lo sean de verdad. Gracias a la Fundación Botín por d

Two missions, two programs, two countries... two completely different realities.

Coming back from a weekend with my Fundación Marcelino Botín scholars.   They are part of a Program which aims at promoting Latin America´s development through strengthening its institutions, and specifically through creating a network of future leaders and change-makers who are highly qualified and truly committed to public service understood in a broad sense.  Since the Program began, every year about 30-40 young leaders “pass through my hands” -and especially through my

Just back… (why does it feel like a long time already) from my first Women in the World Conference in NYC at the beginning of the month.  Still on my first stage of digestion.  Two and a half days of intellectual stimulation, powerful testimonies from all over the world and many bodies of knowledge, enlightening debates… and profound questions for which I -we- don´t have an answer and with which we might have to live for a very long time. Feeling strongly that dreaming of a b

Sometimes I have the privilege of working with leaders who, after a while being "supporting actors" in their organisations, one day they are promoted to executive positions. This means playing the lead... and for many it represents a "quantum leap" and it requires a change of paradigm that they have a hard time making. In fact, after a certain point, we don't get the "grade" for being " at the top of the class", and learning how to "play the game " becomes truly differential.

When I look among the "usual suspects", I often find it difficult to find role-models.  Am I the only one who feels this way or is this a trend worth analyzing? Part of this feeling probably comes from the fact that many times, too many lately, the "microphone" seems to be in the hands of people who hardly deserve to be considered as a reference by anyone. On the other hand, these “messy” times force us to find different ways to manage our organizations, our economies and our

Now you know what I was doing in Dominican Republic for 10 days... changing the world through some great leaders who are contributing to redefining Education in Latin America and in Spain. It was incredibly powerful... and I am proud of them and grateful for the opportunity to be surrounded by people who actually gave me hope. Also grateful to Fundación SM for trusting me to design and direct the Program. These guys were so worth all the time and effort put towards it... It w

Education plays a fundamental role in the creation of new futures and is a key element in the social, economic and cultural development of our countries. Fundación SM launches the Second Edition of the Program for Innovative Education Leaders in Latin America and Spain. The Program is aimed at courageous men and women who are trying to contribute to creating a better world knowing that nothing changes if we do not change. The Program is a laboratory where we discuss ideas, an

Vuelvo de pasar una semana con un equipo de directivos de la ONU, un grupo de personas con una marcada vocación… de aquellos que quieren “cambiar el mundo”.  Y sin embargo ha sido una semana compleja y por momentos he tenido la sensación de que algunos tenían tanta necesidad de reconocimiento que se les había olvidado por qué estaban ahí. Entiendo, es la naturaleza humana, que la vocación de tener un impacto vaya unida a la esperanza –no siempre confesada pero no por ello men

Let me open up this reflection using the exact words that Fatima, the main character, uses in the movie: “My soul bends over”… and confess that in my case my soul does actually bend over those who come from a world with scarce opportunities and devote their lives to creating those opportunities for others, even if often their lives become like a race and sometimes they almost loose themselves in the process. In  Philippe Faucon’s movie “Fatima,” the winner of this year’s Césa

La primera vez que cruzó con un coyote a Estados Unidos lo deportaron a las pocas semanas de llegar.  La segunda vez volvió a cruzar con el mismo coyote, que solo le cobró solo la mitad porque se sentía como en deuda con él.  Ahí si se pudo quedar más de un año trabajando en una granja de pollos y mandando dinero a la familia todos los meses.  Con ese dinero terminaron de construir la casa en su aldea de y su mujer pudo montar una tiendita, aunque después la tuviera que cerra

...No trabajamos para hacer bascular el mundo, sino para cambiarlo con dulzura y sentido común¨. En su libro, “Hombres Buenos”, Arturo Pérez-Reverte pone estas palabras en boca de D´Alembert, principal editor, junto a Diderot, de “L'Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers”, la famosa Enciclopedia Francesa, editada entre los años 1751 y 1772. El libro y los protagonistas, dos “hombres buenos”, son una delicia, y el argumento, en su esencia,

I have recently attended a two-day global meeting for Human Resources Directors from the main United Nations Agencies. I left the Conference feeling divided... hopeful for some of the conversations and reactions I heard and experienced as well as feeling a bit "blue"... The core issue: how to contribute to the necessary reform of the United Nations from the Departments of Human Resources (HR). The part which made me hopeful: their genuine interest on making a substantial cont