María Angelica Latorre
Andrés Neira [1]
In the past year at impACTivist, we have taken the role of an additional persona in our life. We have become scientists in a quest to explore the leaders that are changing the world. These leaders, let’s call them Impact Leaders, are working towards achieving one or more of the 17 global sustainability goals set forth by the United Nations.
Why did they choose the hard path? What are their leader traits? What shaped them? What influenced them? What has been challenging?
These and other deeper questions have been part of our reflections.
I have always been very curious about leadership and what makes an effective, inspirational leader. I have read a lot about the different types of leadership, the skills one needs to succeed and frankly I have never learned so much as listening to these trailblazers’ stories. There is courage, passion, perseverance, cohesiveness of their cause and alignment to who they really are.
Research has shown us that even if a leader has a high IQ, technical skills, an analytical mind, smart ideas or even the best education they still fail to lead.
It inspires me how passionate and determined impact leaders are to contribute to building a fairer more inclusive society as well as protecting the planet. Their passion is contagious and so strong that goes beyond money or status.
One of them, at age 35 went back to live with her parents after having put all her money on a cause she believed but had failed. This was due to lack of investors on a circular economy project that was too revolutionary at the time. Nonetheless, she was able to bounce back with energy and persistence to continue to achieve a goal that was important for humanity.
I would hypothesize that what made this possible was the uncontrolled need to serve the others, the connection to mother earth, the strong drive to achieve and make change but most importantly optimism, even in the face of failure. I was able to identify this trait in almost all of them.
Risk taking is part of their DNA, they can live managing the unknown and are comfortable with ambiguity. Not having the visibility or control is part of their journey.
One of them had a “comfortable” life while also empowering the poor by giving them access to glasses. He was of course creating an impact in those communities but that was not enough. He wanted to create a bigger impact, so took a totally different and new direction to bring solar electricity to forgotten communities.
How do they manage to take such risks that can even impact their family’s wellbeing? I believe they trust their decisions because they are taken with integrity.
I am amazed how open they are to change, how they embrace it and how they lead it.
Another important trait is that they are very proficient in managing relationships and building networks. For their projects to scale, they need to know how to manage all these complicated and challenging multiparty relationships between their communities, who most of the time have a lot of trauma for many different reasons. They also manage relationships with the government, the private sector, global organizations… One can see their ability to find common ground and build rapport.
One of our impACTivist is working to regenerate the Amazon rainforest while empowering the local people to become green business entrepreneurs. He has been working for years managing these complex multilateral relationships and we can see how that expertise makes him a strong leader, persuading for his cause but also educating, building, and leading a team of volunteers that are inspired by him. That foundation also makes him better serve his customers.
“A social entrepreneur has the ability to move in different worlds, speak different languages, understand different feelings and interpret different emotions.”
This quote is from one of those leaders and it’s a man. They are successful because impact leaders, women or men, understand the emotional makeup of others and have the skill of treating people according to their emotional reactions. I found these traits in all the leaders we have spoken to.
I also identified their learning mindset; they speak very naturally about their failures with no shame or fear of vulnerability.
Lastly and most importantly they have self-awareness. This enables them to regulate and control their internal world. Knowing themselves enables them to better understand others.
I am starting to see more impact leaders emerge in the corporate world. Engaging on Diversity Equity and Inclusion work while keeping their current roles for example or innovating new products to help the poor, a segment they had never addressed, or participating on the Race to Zero emissions helping to bring a stronger purpose driven culture.
- I wonder how we could bring more of this impact leader mindset to our corporate world and how we can help them light that candle within, so they have the courage to start where they are.
- How could we bring more humanity to our systems?
- How could we as employees think of ourselves in different identities while in our current role bringing new ways to build a better world?
- How could we have the courage to propose new projects in our organizations that contribute to building a more equal world?
We continue our learning journey discovering leaders that are changing the world with humility and perseverance. Our hope is to inspire and democratize the Impact Leader mindset because what we lack right now in every sector is courageous, purposeful leadership. An impact leader can teach us a lot about leadership and how we can all help to accelerate the global goals.
You can connect with me at [email protected]
1- María Angélica Latorre y Andrés Neira are students of the Executive Master in Change at INSEAD.
Image: Kiana Bosman – unsplash.com