25 MAGAZINE When my friends at LLYC invited me to write an opinion piece about new leadership, I admit I felt the stirrings of anxiety. This was in part because I still find it difficult to view myself as a “leader,” but mostly it was due to the current transitional period we are all going through, in which ideas of leadership are being constantly redefined. When I started my career some 20 years ago, popular ideas of leadership reflected the world in which that leadership was exercised. Generally speaking, global power was much more concentrated, access to information more limited, and leaders relatively uniform. As a casual person with her heart on her sleeve, I had a lot of difficulty identifying with any of the visible leaders at the time. Nowadays, we are seeing the emergence of a different kind of leader. These new leaders are the product of an exponentially changing world, in which adaptability is a non-negotiable skill. We are beginning to see a much more diverse range of leadership styles in the upper echelons. The leaders I personally identify with display high levels of humility and empathy and act as agents of change. Likewise, I do my best to incorporate these characteristics into my own day-to-day. It is a constant learning experience. These concepts are fairly abstract, so allow me to provide some concrete reference points. To me, humility stems from self-awareness. A great leader I was fortunate enough to work with in Brazil, Helio Magalhaes taught me the importance of “knowing what we don’t know.” I use this as somewhat of a mantra, making sure to evaluate my blind spots for every new challenge I face. I form teams with people whose skills complement mine and each other’s. I ask necessary questions without fear of being judged. I often think about a favorite article of mine from the Harvard Business Review (“In Praise of the Incomplete Leader”) which describes in very practical terms how personal and collective self-awareness give us a clear idea of our weaknesses, subsequently enabling us to compensate for and counteract them. Tools such as the Birkman Method provide foundations on which to develop strengths, behaviors, motivations, and interests at both the team and individual levels. Currently, I am participating in a Positive Intelligence program to help me familiarize myself with my internal “saboteurs,” trust in my internal “sage” Rocío Velarde General Manager & Head of Corporate and Investment Banking, Citibank / Ecuador Nowadays, we are seeing the emergence of a different kind of leader. These new leaders are the product of an exponentially changing world, in which adaptability is a non-negotiable skill