“Do you see yourselves as leaders or as bosses?” Miriam González Durántez, founder of España Mejor, asks José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, president of CaixaBank, and Pablo Isla, president of the International Council of IE University, protagonists of the Leadership in Times of Transformation dialogue at the V INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION FORUM. “I don’t like to talk about myself, but I would prefer that the people who have worked with me see me better as a leader than as a boss,” says Isla. “What a good leader can never inspire is fear or terror. Respect, yes, for Of course. And I love it when someone from my team calls me, almost with the decision made, to ask for my opinion, because they think it can add value,” he says.
Goirigolzarri indicates that he does not believe “too much in charismatic leaders, who in a specific moment or crisis can work, but, for the sustainability of the projects in the long term, I trust much more in institutional leadership, in the development of multiple leaders local, especially from the point of view of motivation. Nobody is encouraged by the CEO’s brilliant speech every three months, but by his direct manager. And I trust them because in today’s world of great changes you can only react if you. “That local leadership works and has decision-making capacity.”
Isla highlights the key word at this point in the dialogue between “two great references” in senior management, as the moderator defined them. “This motivation is essential. Whoever is in charge of an organization or a team is very important to put a lot of emphasis on ensuring that environment in which everyone can develop with total freedom and grow. It is the duty of the person in charge to ensure that environment, which is what makes the company great.”
From the executive manual to reality: is there a pool of great business leaders in Spain? “The generation of the last 20 years is absolutely extraordinary,” emphasizes the president of CaixaBank. “I see a phenomenal development. It is notable in the evolution of the Spanish economy its ability to conquer foreign markets and behind this is a series of great businessmen and managers.” Something that Isla shares. “I consider that the good business schools in Spain, such as IE, IESE, Esade, are also contributing a lot.” The names that stand out are those of the top executives “of listed companies, but in Spain many medium-sized companies and entrepreneurs with strength and ambition also stand out. We have very good business leadership and as a country we can feel very proud,” emphasizes the former CEO of Inditex. “There is a large pool of people with desire, because, to be a leader, you have to want to be one, regardless, of course, of whether you have the ability. And I see in Spain many people with drive and strength to assume roles” of responsibility.
Regarding the great challenges of management roles, the two point out that “the main problem is talent, people.” For Goirigolzarri, “its management is complex: new skills are required in all sectors and there are constant changes in the utility curve of young people. In companies like Caixabank it poses two questions: a cultural modification so that these people are comfortable and the skills that you need to incorporate into 90% of your staff. And this requires training, which, in addition to being an obligation for the sustainability of the project, is a moral obligation for those of us who manage organizations.” To attract the best, “it is important that they feel proud of working in a certain place, that they tell their friends and that they consider them lucky. And working on this intangible element is important.”
In this sense, Isla insists on “excitement” as the key to retaining talent: “If the project is attractive, there is talent, in general terms. Yes, society evolves and businesses have to do it at their own pace, but to a company “We are going to work and we have to look for results. We cannot lose sight of the objective.” Isla added that it is vital to be able to “operate freely, where you do not feel undervalued, in an organization where the employee believes that the company acts, let’s put it this way, with justice, that those who are promoted deserve it.”
As top executives, they emphasize that “only example legitimizes leadership. It is a principle. You cannot ask people for things that you are not willing to do. Exemplarity is a necessary condition, which has, of course, ethical connotations. The strategy has to be based on values; they are not limitations but are an essential part of the definition of the strategy. Let’s not confuse ethics with reputational risk,” Goirigolzarri emphasizes.