The importance of shared histories and guiding values in organizations

In complex and uncertain business environments organizations have to face becoming viable and adaptive while keeping an identity based on its essence and shared values. In complexity leadership is a balancing act between transformation and stability.  

- A personal reflection on my engagement with Esade

Complexity and change have always been core aspects of leadership in organizations. Our knowledge of complex systems gives clues as to how to catalyse and shape them in management. The complex systems perspective in management understands leadership as emergent events or creative adaptive spaces. This suggests a conception of leadership as distributed, collective and shared, which means that an organization continuously renews itself in a process of co-creation between the members.  

Changes in complex systems do not develop in a straight line, but occur turbulently, unpredictably, in loops, circles, spirals or crazy leaps. On one hand organizations need agility and transformational power to cope with complexity and uncertainty in their business environment. One the other hand, organizations need stability to provide quality and safety to its members and achieve results to invest in the future.  

The mission is usually stable, the strategic vision on the future is more adaptive

In the mission of organizations, the energy focuses on generating appealing ideas of what a desirable future could be and taking initiatives to realize these ideas. The mission is usually stable, the strategic vision on the future is more adaptive. If the organization’s mission and vision doesn't match its current capabilities, disbelief and uncertainty ensues. The essence is creating a challenging and at the same time realistic vision that people want to work on with energy to bring that future a step closer.  

For more than 24 years I have contributed to the future of responsible leaders at Esade who are able to realize positive transformations in organizations and society. Now it is time to create space and encourage creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and new ideas in the career of new generations of committed scholars and young professors. 

The importance of histories and values in adaptive change

To cope with future challenges, organizations have to face becoming viable and adaptive while keeping an identity based on its essence and shared values. It is a balancing act between transformation and stability. Stability is based on a clear mission and shared values.  

The mission, or purpose of an organization, is a statement of why the organization exists, its contribution to society, the value that the organization creates for its customers and the values that guide the behaviour of people within the organization. The mission of an organization is usually an expression of the ambition with which the entrepreneurs founded the organization. Sharing the history of an organization is valuable to understand where the organization stands for and goes for.  

In purpose-driven organizations the members collaborate for a purpose. Organizations need agility and transformational power to adapt to their business environment and at the same time need stability to reserve dedicated time to reflect on what contributes to success and what is feasible in the future. Clear purposes and values define the identity of organizations and are essential to finding the balance between innovation and stability. Only if there is a strong identity, organizations are able to innovate, evolve and transform themselves while at the same time keeping their purpose and essence without losing their identity. This means that maintenance of the mission and values is an important task for all members. 

Esade as a purpose and value-driven community

Esade was founded as a business and law school in 1958 to address the need to drive a collective transformation of the country, its economy and companies. It was time to prepare the country for democracy and prosperity for all. The founders were progressive Jesuits, Spanish entrepreneurs and committed scholars with a democratic mindset. From the outset, the founders knew that this change had to be based on social commitment and society’s most valuable asset: respect and collaboration between people.  

Significant change is only possible when innovation and social commitment go hand in hand

The elaboration of the mission combined ethical values and academic rigor. Consequently, the mission has always been to guide and train new generations of committed leaders to have a positive impact and create a better future and a fairer, more diverse and egalitarian society. Nowadays the aim is still to train leaders with a global vision, dedicated to creating a more sustainable and developed world and with a clear idea that new technologies need to be based on values and serve as a means to improve people’s lives.  

This mission is rooted in the belief that significant change is only possible when innovation and social commitment go hand in hand. The focus on the human dimension is rooted in the values of Esade and seen as essential because firms consist primarily of human potential. Their leaders are the ones who will be capable of provoking the transformation that global reality demands today, including the key challenge of sustainability. 

The core values of Esade reflect the mission and is part of Esade’s identity. These values are: 

• Excellence: Striving for the highest standards in education, research, and professional practice. 
• Integrity: Upholding ethical principles and transparency in all actions and decisions. 
• Innovation: Encouraging creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and the development of new ideas and solutions. 
• Diversity: Valuing and promoting diversity in perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. 
• Social responsibility: Committing to social justice, sustainability, and contributing positively to society. 
• Global perspective: Embracing a global outlook in teaching, research, and engagement with the international community. 
• Collaboration: Fostering teamwork and cooperative relationships among students, faculty, alumni, and partners. 

Esade can be seen as a purpose- and value-driven community with a strong identity based on a meaningful history with a clear mission and strong guiding values. At the same time Esade is considered as one of the best and most innovative business schools in the world. It is a great example of how members within the community know how to balance respect for history and identity (which creates stability) while striving for innovation and doing better. 

For more than 24 years, I was a proud member of this community, feeling inspired by the founders and their ambition. Based on my youth, life experiences, my own identity and my own basic values, I feel committed to the Esade values as they exist today. The mission and values offered guidance in my work all these years and inspired me to be innovative in my practice as a scholar in preparing transformational leaders. 

Transformational leadership

Leadership is about activities that people undertake together. About ambitions they share, goals they want to realize and dreams they want to make come true. Leadership is therefore also about giving sense to events, sharing stories and histories, creating meaning, building common values and celebrating success. It is about an interplay between leaders and followers. No leader acts autonomously. Good leaders know how to follow, and they are committed to turning followers into leaders as well. Collaborative activities and teamwork are aimed at achieving results.  

Transformational leadership means realizing transformational changes. The change is not enforced but focuses on creating a desirable future without disqualifying the past. It is about maintaining identity and what is valuable and shaping innovation. In conclusion, transformational leadership is a balancing act between stability and transformation as a social process in which an individual member of a group gives meaning to events, share common values and together with others create a vision of the future, maintains relationships, and organizes cooperation to jointly shape a desirable future. 

As a scholar and transformational leader, it is time for me to step aside and give space to followers and young talent, with gratitude for all these inspiring years at Esade as a value-driven community of professionals contributing to a better world.