Senior Executives Archives - IESE Standout

Data strategy for AI success: Winning the race against time

IESE Standout — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 12:46:34 +0000

Want to champion AI? Start with your data

How can you win the race against time to mine your companies’ data resources and translate them into higher efficiency and productivity?

That is one of the defining challenges facing executives as they seek to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) for business growth. While AI promises to transform industries, its power ultimately depends on the quality of the data that fuels it.

“Data is the gasoline of artificial intelligence,” explains IESE Professor Luis Ferrándiz. “If you incorporate into your algorithms data that isn’t good enough, the outputs won’t be good enough either.”

Why data quality matters

Investments in digital tools will fall short if the underlying information is inconsistent, incomplete, or poorly structured.

When AI models are trained on flawed data, the resulting decisions are fundamentally compromised. That’s why your company must not only review the quality of its existing data sets but also examine the robustness of the processes it uses to collect and administer information.

“High-quality, consistent, and well-governed data is the essential foundation for building reliable and scalable AI models that can deliver real business value,” says Ainhoa Alonso, an IESE Executive MBA holder who is now Chief Data and AI Officer at PagoNxt, a payments firm.

Five steps to put your data plan on track

Here are some steps that managers like you can take to align your organization with a strong data strategy:

1. Create a data-driven culture

Cultivating a corporate culture that recognizes the importance of reliable data is critically important, says Ferrándiz. That means making sure data is accessible on a company-wide basis and making sure employees are properly incentivized to use it. Only then can firms plan investments with confidence and take the bold decisions needed to execute a long-term digital strategy.

2. Educate and empower staff

Companies need to move beyond pilots and embed AI into business processes and work practices, according to a team including IESE Professor Evgeny Káganer at MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research. Creating AI-ready teams means providing opportunities and resources for reskilling. Breaking down silos between departments and ensuring data sources are seamlessly linked is also key.

3. Deploy the right systems

Take care to put in place the right modular, interoperable platforms and data ecosystems to enable a free flow of intelligence across the organization, urges Káganer. Choosing the right architecture is a strategic decision that will shape the flow and reliability of data.

4. Establish consistent definitions

Make sure to put in place and maintain a common semantic framework that standardizes data definitions across all business units, says Alonso of PagoNxt. This will enable consistency, interoperability, and a shared understanding of key business and operational concepts across the company.

5. Strengthen data governance and quality

Reinforce the data governance framework to guarantee accuracy, lineage, and trust in the information that powers decision-making and AI models, says Alonso. Governance and ownership of data administration should be in the hands of Chief Data Officer, with a clear mandate to implement rules and oversee levels of access, urges Ferrándiz.

From strategy to competitive advantage

For business leaders, the data challenge is both technical and cultural. Winning organizations will be those that invest in robust processes, empower employees to value data, and act decisively before competitors outpace them.

In today’s environment, where AI is reshaping competitive advantage, the question is not whether to act, but how quickly you can turn your company’s data into a catalyst for productivity and growth.

Hungry to know more about the AI transformation, or prepare to take your career to the next stage? IESE’s Artificial Intelligence for Executives focused program, held at our Munich, Madrid, New York and Barcelona campuses, will help you sharpen your skills and learn how to become a more effective leader in the age of AI.

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How teams can flourish by harnessing the skills of different generations

IESE Standout — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:18:09 +0000

How do you manage the dynamic between younger and older team members to build stronger and more productive collaboration?

It’s a challenge that leaders like you have always faced – but now the task becomes trickier. With AI advancing rapidly, many of the roles once filled by junior staff are being automated. And that shift comes with a hidden cost.

If those early-career roles disappear, so does a vital learning channel—the transfer of experience and know-how from senior professionals to the next generation. Without it, you risk losing not just technical continuity, but the very culture and identity that make your organization unique.

“Having that range of ages helps you pass on institutional knowledge – if you don’t maintain this flow, there are clear downsides,” says IESE Prof. Sebastian Reiche. “The only way to survive and develop as an organization is to have new junior staff learning the culture and adapting it – that’s how you keep the culture alive and dynamic.”

The transformations wrought by AI mean companies face challenges that can’t be solved with software alone. As firms confront the urgent need to redefine skills for a new era, they face a challenge that goes beyond adopting new technologies, according to a new study by IESE’s María Luisa Blázquez, Mireia Las Heras, and Jordi Canals.

Here are some of the steps you and your company can take to make sure teams work effectively as you tackle the disruptions, and grasp the opportunities brought by AI:

1. Rethinking the role of teams

If firms have teams fully staffed by juniors doing technical work, it’s time to rethink that model, says Reiche. Managers should look at opportunities to ensure teams include junior and more experienced staff to ensure that the learning and mentoring process works in both directions.

2. Reverse mentoring

Pairing tech-savvy novices with expert staff who may have less knowledge of how to apply AI is a way to make sure that new ideas get circulated and experience is shared, says IESE Prof. Evgeny Kaganer. Firms may want to look at pairing up younger and more seasoned staff in a formal “buddy system” so that knowledge can circulate, says Reiche.

3. Reimagining work design

The traditional model in many firms has been for junior staff to carry out simpler, more technical roles of the kind that can be done by AI, but it doesn’t have to be that way, says Reiche. One solution could be to encourage more opportunities for juniors to carry out more project-based work that enables them to broaden their contacts and develop a broader set of skills more quickly.

4. More flexible career paths

Companies and employees need to be more flexible as they consider future career paths, says Reiche. Those in the early stage of their careers can try to build up their skills with project-based work in different companies that they can later transfer to larger organizations. Under this more patchwork model, younger workers can build up a portfolio of skills to take with them into new corporate roles.

5. A sense of adventure

More experienced staff members should ask themselves how they can explore the potential of technologies like AI by thinking of new ways of doing their job with the powerful new tools at their disposal, says Reiche. This means encouraging a more experimental mindset where older workers are encouraged to see AI not as a threat but as an opportunity to be exploited in a creative and fruitful way.

Here are some tips for people at different stages of their careers trying to navigate the evolving landscape of work:

Leverage your AI and digital skills
Become fluent in AI and think hard about how you can use it in a work setting. “Try to bridge the gap between how things are currently done and your knowledge of the way they could be done if they could be infused with the new ways,” says IESE Prof. Sebastian Hafenbrädl.
Take a hard look at your skill set
The question everyone needs to ask themselves is are they going be a complement to AI or will they get substituted by it, says Kaganer. One aspect to consider is that AI is effective at comprehending knowledge and applying it to solve problems and even carrying out creative tasks – but is less competent when it comes to using judgement to evaluate challenges and solutions.
Develop your soft skills
Amid the focus on AI, develop your capacity for critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, adaptability and teamwork – soft skills such as these will always be valued by employers, says Reiche.
Think creatively
Younger staff can deploy their AI skills to deploy business-linked projects while they scout for a formal position. “Potential entry-level employees have huge resources they can use to showcase themselves to organizations,” says Hafenbrädl.

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Elevator pitch for a job interview: how to condense 20+ years into 3 minutes

IESE Standout — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 11:26:02 +0000

You walk into an important job interview after two decades of experience, and you need to deliver an elevator pitch—a concise speech that sums up who you are and sells yourself. What a challenge! It can be a double-edged sword: while you have a wealth of achievements and lessons that set you apart, condensing them into a three-minute speech is no easy task.

This elevator pitch exercise is crucial for capturing your interviewer’s attention from the start and maximizing your chances of success. In this article, we’ll explore how to design a powerful three-minute pitch that clearly and effectively summarizes your 20+ years of experience.

1. What is an elevator pitch and why does it matter in an interview?

An elevator pitch is a brief, direct presentation that summarizes your professional value in the time it takes for an elevator ride. In an interview, a strong elevator pitch can help you:

Make a positive first impression.
Steer the conversation toward your strengths and experience.
Highlight what sets you apart from other candidates with similar backgrounds.

This approach is particularly valuable for executives and professionals with long careers, as it allows you to present your most relevant accomplishments without overwhelming your interviewer with details.

2. Identify your value proposition: what makes you unique?

With over 20 years of experience, it’s easy to fall into the trap of listing multiple roles, achievements, and projects. However, the key is to identify your central value proposition: What can you contribute that few others can? Ask yourself:

What has been the overarching theme of your career? Think of a skill or focus that has been a cornerstone of your trajectory: crisis leadership, digital transformation, resource optimization, etc.
Which achievements or projects had the most impact? Highlight accomplishments that exemplify your unique skills and knowledge.
Which skills are most relevant to the role? Tailor your pitch to emphasize the skills and experiences that are most valuable for the position you’re seeking.

Example: “I’ve dedicated my career to leading operational transformations that deliver a positive impact on financial results and organizational culture. In my last role, I spearheaded a restructuring initiative that increased profitability by 30% without impacting headcount.”

3. Key structure for your elevator pitch in the interview

An effective elevator pitch follows a structure that organizes your narrative and keeps your audience engaged. Here’s a guide to structuring it in three main parts:

a. Opening: introduction and positioning

Start with a brief introduction that highlights your current role or specialization. Be clear and direct to grab attention. Avoid long titles or detailed descriptions of past positions; instead, use a powerful phrase that establishes your expertise.

Example: “I’m an executive with over 20 years of experience leading teams in [specific industry], where I’ve honed a unique ability to transform processes and improve organizational efficiency.”

b. Key achievements: showcase your results

This is your opportunity to present one or two specific accomplishments that demonstrate your capabilities and align with the position. Whenever possible, include metrics or measurable outcomes to emphasize the impact of your work.

Example: “In my previous role, I led a digital transformation project that reduced key process execution time by 40% and generated annual savings of $1 million for the company.”

c. Closing: connect your experience to the future

Conclude by explaining how your experience has prepared you for the role. Draw a clear connection between your abilities and the company’s challenges or goals, demonstrating alignment with their vision.

Example: “I believe my expertise in [specific relevant skill, like organizational change management] will allow me to bring immediate value to [company name] in its efforts to [mention a relevant company goal].”

4. Practice and refine: the importance of brevity

Once your content is defined, the next step is to practice—and practice again. Remember, the key to a great elevator pitch is fluency, which only comes with rehearsal. Here are some tips to perfect your presentation:

Be concise: Keep your speech to 2-3 minutes and avoid technical jargon or unnecessary details.
Use clear and confident language: Confidence in your message is just as important as its content.
Practice in front of a mirror or record yourself: This allows you to analyze your expression, pacing, and clarity.

5. Adapt your speech to your interviewer

Every interviewer and company has different priorities and cultures. Before the interview, research the company and the profile of the person who will interview you. Tailor your message to their interests and needs to show that you’re the missing piece for their team.

Tip: If the company emphasizes innovation, highlight your experience leading transformation projects or adapting traditional processes to new technologies.

6. Avoid common elevator pitch mistakes

In an interview, there are frequent pitfalls that can weaken your pitch. Avoid these missteps to ensure your presentation is clear and memorable:

Being too vague: Use specific examples to illustrate your skills.
Overusing jargon: Simplify your language so your message is clear and understandable.
Trying to cover everything without depth: Focus on two or three specific achievements relevant to the role. Less is more.

7. Prepare for follow-up questions

A strong elevator pitch will spark your interviewer’s interest and likely lead to additional questions. Be ready to expand on specific aspects of your accomplishments or skills. Have three or four additional examples prepared to complement what you’ve already shared, which you can elaborate on if asked.

Follow-up example: “In addition to the digitalization project I mentioned, I also led the implementation of a digital skills training program that accelerated the adoption of new tools within the team.”

Summarizing 20+ years of experience into three minutes is a complex task for a job interview, but not impossible. A well-structured elevator pitch that highlights your value proposition and key achievements can open the door to a deeper conversation about your capabilities and vision. Throughout the process, remember that clarity, confidence, and relevance are your greatest allies in standing out.

Are you ready to take the next step in your career? IESE’s executive programs can help you sharpen your skills and consolidate your leadership. Learn more about strengthening your professional profile in a global, transformative environment.

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Senior talent: tips for making the last stage in your career the best it can be

IESE Standout — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 11:34:13 +0000

It is often said that everyone wants to live longer, but no-one wants to be old. In the business world, as in life, the passage of time inevitably has an effect on all of us. And when we enter the so-called senior stage – from ages 50 to 69 – a series of contradictions appears, which can be hard to manage.

On the one hand, we have lots of knowledge and experience, which gives us a unique perspective and more opportunities to add value and enjoy our work. On the other hand, it is also a time when tiredness and saturation can begin to take their toll after a long career. Furthermore, although this is often the era of recognition, and achieving roles that have greater responsibility and a greater impact, it is a relatively short era. Retirement is approaching, and the generational changeover is really beginning to rear its head.

In spite of all this, the dream of being useful to society can be difficult to shake. Some studies confirm that 75% of senior talent would like to keep working after retirement age. Other data show that, since 2008, senior employment is growing in all European countries, and that the majority of EU member states have more senior workers with higher education qualifications than with basic education – which is essential for avoiding unemployment in this stage.

But, are we prepared to continue working in this last phase of our careers at any cost? According to an IESE study, the answer is categorically no. There are at least three deciding factors that lead us to remain committed to our profession beyond the age of 50:

Feeling that we are adding value.
Receiving recognition for our labor.
Having a dream for the work we are doing.

Although the vast majority of the population is in salaried employment nowadays, continuing to work throughout the senior stage will involve, in many cases, being prepared to adapt to significant changes: whether that be devoting oneself to a different type of work, seeking employment in another company, being an entrepreneur, or even choosing to pursue unremunerated collaborations.

In any case, having a suitable plan is key to extending and relaunching the working lives of senior talent, even before retirement age. However, according to the same IESE survey, 75% of professionals do not know what steps to take, or are not adequately preparing for this next phase.

Debunking the myths that present the greatest obstacles in the senior stage

One of the greatest difficulties when it comes to entering the senior stage is how best to question and eliminate the prejudices that shape the general opinion on age that exists in companies. Perspectives which are widely accepted, and which reduce options and hinder the expectations of those who want to continue progressing after the age of 50. The most common are:

Retirement age. This seems to be an obligation, and even an aspiration for many workers, but for many others, it is not. It is simply a reference point.
Technological changes. This does not mean expecting older people to be experts in the latest applications and technologies, but with appropriate training, they can adapt very well.
Idea of happiness. It is a concept that has been widely debated throughout history, but for many people, happiness is more closely linked to making a contribution than to leisure or rest.
Reinventing oneself. You must not be afraid to transform yourself if you want to enter the senior stage with your best foot forward. Inertia will lead directly to retirement.

In this sense, the IESE professor Guido Stein makes the case that the vitality, satisfaction and motivation of the talent is not dependent on age, but rather on how we arrived at that age. And he states that, nowadays, “in general, we arrive at retirement age in better health than ever”. Therefore, some studies maintain that we should redefine our vision of aging and chronological age, as statistically, in countries like Japan, people who are 75 years old now have the same physical and mental capabilities as someone who was 65 two decades ago.

How to relaunch a senior professional’s career

In an analysis of the importance acquired by senior employees in organizations, the consultancy firm Bain examined how the interests and needs of workers evolve over the years, identifying the two profiles that are most dominant within senior talent, based on their motivations and priorities. We are talking about:

Artisans. Professionals whose main focus is their passion for mastering their trade. They want to do work that interests them, and they value autonomy above all.
Benefactors. Employees who identify with the idea of service. They feel rewarded when they see their actions having a positive impact on the lives of others.

According to the IESE professor José Ramón Pin, the long process of preparing for the senior stage should start with a step that is tricky, realistic and sometimes painful: considering your position, your identity and your role in the company, and in the world of work. “We need to honestly ask ourselves who we are, who we want to be, and who we can be in this new phase. In order to do so, it is necessary to take a strong step forward, with an emotional reset which convinces us that we can adapt to another professional life that will make us feel fulfilled”, points out Pin. For the professor, a good adaptation process should include these three points:

Being aware. Reconsidering what and who we want to be. Because, most likely, in a few years, we won’t want to, or we won’t be able to, continue doing the same old thing we had been doing. In seniority, there is continuity, but also a break. In some ways, it’s like starting over again.
Taking one step forward. Embracing the future with hope and energy. It is not enough to let yourself be carried along until you suddenly find yourself at retirement age. The future senior has been working on this since before the age of 50, hoping to be in good shape for at least 20 more years.
Designing a detailed plan. Tracing a route that connects our current location with where we want to be in the next 10 to 15 years. In order to move forward with this plan, we will probably need to extend our network of contacts, get training in specific areas, or negotiate the reorientation of our career with the company.

But the responsibility is not only in the hands of the professionals themselves. Companies also have a fundamental role to play when it comes to facilitating the transition of talent into the senior stage. Among other measures, organizations can apply the following:

Strategies for retaining and recruiting senior professionals: identifying what motivates them, according to their different profiles, and what positions they can occupy within the company.
Refresher programs: so that the senior employees’ skills respond to the needs of the business for the next 10-15 years.
Plans that are adapted to the strengths and priorities of the senior talent: with personalized suggestions. BMW, for example, offers senior employees part time roles guiding young people in their careers.

Compromise, planning, strategy, adapting, mentality, training… There are many other elements that are required in order to successfully overcome the challenges that confront both senior talent, as part of their transition, and the organizations that don’t want to lose the value that these workers provide. The IESE program Relanzamiento del talento sénior: nuevos horizontes profesionales helps senior leaders and professionals keep moving forward along their career path at a time where they have optimal experience and knowledge.

Senior talent management according to ATOS

The way older people adapt to new technologies does not depend on their age as much as it does on the willingness of professionals and companies to design and implement training and refresher programs. There have already been some success cases.

In 2021, ATOS, the global technology company, launched a program to close the skills gaps for the 21,000 of its workers who were over 50 years old. Since then, it is the employees themselves who need to find out what gaps they have and choose the courses and certifications they need to refresh their skills. ATOS also invites them to participate in training programs as teachers.

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Fernanda Lopes Larsen, planting seeds for a better world. Success Stories

IESE Standout — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 07:25:39 +0000

Fernanda Lopes Larsen (IESE Global Executive MBA 2023) is Executive Vice President Africa & Asia of Yara, whose mission is to feed the world and protect the planet. She received the WIN Inspiring Women Worldwide Award.

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When Fernanda Lopes Larsen moved to Norway in 2012, she wasn’t expecting to have that much trouble fitting in. After all, this was the fifth country for the Brazil-born civil engineering graduate, after studying in Austria and working in Germany and the United Kingdom. How hard could it be?

“It was the biggest culture shock of my life,” she says. She recalls feeling out of place, both professionally, in a traditional company with a corporate culture very different from the ones she had worked in before, and personally, as a self-described “loud, extroverted Brazilian woman.”

Even so, since landing a job at the Norwegian fertilizer company Yara, she has quickly moved up the ranks to become a member of the senior management team. She is now based in Singapore, as Yara’s Executive Vice President for the African, Asian and Oceanian markets.

“I credit the struggle and hardship of the early days with making me the leader I am today,” she says. It taught her to stick her neck out for causes she believes in. Today, as a diversity and inclusion campaigner, she is on the front line of conversations about sustainability and social equality.

Rethinking the system

“If I’m still at Yara, it’s because of its strong mission,” she says. “We’re here to feed the world and protect the planet.”

The company has a strong commitment to decarbonizing fertilizer production and supporting an agricultural transition to being carbon-neutral and nature positive. Fertilizers are essential if we are going to feed a growing global population, particularly under the added stress of climate change. But food production is a heavily polluting industry, responsible for an estimated quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

What does an agricultural transition look like? “It’s recognizing we have to find a new way to farm,” she says, explaining that Yara’s approach is built on three pillars.

First, as ammonia is the foundational ingredient of most fertilizers, it starts by producing ammonia in a cleaner way — decarbonizing its production by using renewables instead of natural gas. There’s also what’s called blue ammonia, which captures and stores the CO2 generated during ammonia production, making the process virtually carbon neutral.

Beyond cleaning up production, the other two pillars are embracing regenerative agriculture and promoting farmer prosperity. Regenerative agriculture involves practices that enable farmers to increase yield and nutrient efficiency, reduce water consumption, and protect the soil. Prosperity is also key, because making progress on emissions should not have to come at the expense of smallholder farmers, some of the poorest people in the world, and responsible for at least a third of the world’s food production. It also means addressing the 30% of food that goes to waste, often because of the difficulty in accessing marketplaces. “Improving systems that will help farmers access knowledge and offtake markets can help lift them out of poverty,” she says.

Lopes Larsen has seen the global conversation on sustainability evolve greatly over the years she has been with Yara. What’s the view from Asia, where a Green Deal akin to that of Europe is starting to be discussed. “It’s not a solid, unified voice yet,” she says. But those voices are growing louder, particularly at recent ASEAN summits.

Regarding Singapore, “I always say that many of the solutions to transition the food system to something more consistently sustainable may, ironically, come from a country that doesn’t grow much itself: currently 90% of its food is imported. But what Singapore does is invest massive amounts of money in science, technology, agritech and sustainable agriculture: the government has a strategy to produce 30% of its food by 2030.”

Although there’s still much work to be done, Lopes Larsen believes overhauling the food system and reducing its effects on the planet is possible — but it requires radical change. And advocating for change, on a personal as well as professional level, is something she feels passionate about.

Using her platform for good

Another area where she has been working for change is in diverse representation in management. Despite Brazil’s reputation as a racial democracy, she recalls being one of a small minority of Black students at her university. Moving to Europe raised her consciousness, and she began to develop the vocabulary to describe the systemic racism that she witnessed and experienced.

“Being a Black woman in the corporate world has really increased my awareness of these issues,” she says. “Because being Black is not something that I can (or want to) switch off in the morning when I go to work, in order to fit into the environments that I am part of. I want to bring my full self to work — and that includes my culture, my ancestry and my Brazilian upbringing.”

Her activism in this space was galvanized by the shocking death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in the United States in 2020. “It’s a little embarrassing for me to admit that it took an American dying on camera, when Brazilian kids die in favelas every single day, but there was something about an innocent Black man killed for the entire world to see that was transformational for me.”

Together with a colleague, she went to her CEO to demand action on improving the corporate world for young Black leaders. “I thought I would get fired, but I figured, what is the point of being in a leadership position if I cannot use this platform?”

Instead, her CEO responded with his full support, and a program for Black leaders was established to help them navigate the corporate world better, something Lopes Larsen says she wishes she had had when she was starting out.

“I’m proud of how my company responded,” she says, “and I wish more people would speak up and use their platform. Ultimately, the goal is that we can all go to work being ourselves and have equal access to opportunities.”

Speaking up and moving the conversation forward is important, because so much still needs to be done. “Look at the composition of the boards of the world’s top companies,” she says, pointing to their general lack of diversity. “And so many companies are still not taking the climate emergency seriously.”

In this sense, she cites as inspiration two Brazilian compatriots, Luana Genot and Adriana Barbosa, “who through their relentless advocacy work have empowered and opened the doors of opportunities to countless Black Brazilians” in the corporate world. She met them at the Davos summit, which she attended for the second time in 2022.

“For those who think the World Economic Forum event is just an elite gathering, they couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve met fantastic CEOs, entrepreneurs, public officials and third sector leaders who are humble, purpose-driven and committed to resolving the most urgent issues we face as a planet today: food security and climate change. I’ve had the privilege to meet some of the most amazing minds, particularly women, who are at the forefront of the fight for racial equality, social justice and prosperity.” She also connected with African presidents, business leaders and entrepreneurs “who share a passion for Africa that is worth emulating. I have never felt so much pride in my African ancestry and so much sense of belonging.”

Lopes Larsen remains ever hopeful: “I think the corporate world is a major actor. We have the intellectual competence, and we employ a lot of people. So when the corporate world moves, other parts of the world will as well. Nothing will deter me from continuing to advocate with the tools I have at my disposal.”

And though she may never see the fruits of her labor in her or her daughter’s lifetime, she says, “Honestly, I don’t need the flowers, I just want to make sure I am helping to plant the seeds.”

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Emotional salary: essential for your team’s wellbeing

IESE Standout — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 14:44:03 +0000

It isn’t clear exactly when the term “emotional salary” was coined, referring to the non-economic satisfaction that work gives us, which has a decisive influence on your team’s wellbeing. However, it is increasingly evident that, as executives, it is extremely important to bear in mind how powerful this concept can be, both in attracting and retaining talent.

What exactly is emotional salary?

It may be, as IESE professor Mike Rosenberg points out, that talking about “emotional salary” is rather reductive, as many of us – himself included – have, at times, found ourselves clocking into an office that has a terrible atmosphere, even though we were looking to the future and wanted to learn.

Within a company, wellbeing is like placing weights on a scale: on the one hand, there is the salary, and on the other, a complex network of intangible assets, with infinite connections that are entirely subjective, but which may prove decisive when it comes to accepting or rejecting a job offer.

“Your relationship with a company is multifaceted,” emphasizes Rosenberg. He continues, “There is one critical factor, which is feeling that we belong to something greater than ourselves”.

Emotional salary is a such a complex concept. It is not just about what we receive or feel in a company, but also how we perceive this company, and whether or not we believe that “being a part of that organization aligns with our life’s purpose,” he explains.

In this respect, 96% of those surveyed in the Randstad Employer Brand Research report state that feeling in harmony with the values of the company is fundamental to their satisfaction, so much so that half the participants also maintained that they would never work for a firm that had a bad reputation, even for a higher salary.

“If you want to hire the most talented people, you need to be environmentally conscious, or you won’t succeed. Sustainability has become an imperative for any type of company,” points out Rosenberg.

How can executives consider emotional salary?

As emotional salary is subjective, and closely tied to emotions, the key elements that you need to consider change over time. For example, “nowadays, equality of opportunity between women and men is very important. It always has been, but previously people didn’t pay as much attention to it,” indicates Rosenberg.

IESE professor Núria Chinchilla is exploring the importance of harmony between company and personal purpose. “After the pandemic, people want a job that has meaning, with a why that makes it worthwhile,” she explains.

More than emotional salary, Chinchilla talks about climate and human ecology within the company. “Because that climate helps us be better people, both at work and in our family lives. In addition to climate change, we also have to assess the climate within companies to see whether it is toxic or refreshing,” she adds.

However, above all, for Chinchilla, the most relevant concept when it comes to team wellbeing is the promotion of loyalty, not retention. Meaning, helping employees define their professional and personal mission, and trying to align it with the company’s mission. “For example, IESE’s mission is to ensure that its participants become leaders who have a spirit of service, and excellent professionals. As a professor, in my work, I am using my abilities to contribute to the achievement of this objective. And this aligns perfectly with my mission, which is to help students think, and be better professionals,” explains Chinchilla.

“More and more studies are in agreement, showing that the majority of workers who leave their jobs – more than 60% – do so because of an executive style that does not take them into account as people: being mistreated either in relation to schedules, conflicts, or not being allowed to have an opinion when it comes to decision-making,” concludes the professor.

In the end, the leaders of a company are the ones who have an impact on people’s daily experience. For this reason, as an executive, it is essential that you learn to be a good leader, and that you are prepared to listen to those who you are responsible for, and do everything you can to ensure that they are happy with the development of their role and their career.

8 tips for implementing emotional salary in your company

Cultivate a culture of recognition: implement programs or practices that promote recognition and appreciation of your employees’ achievements and efforts.
Provide constructive feedback: offer feedback on the performance of employees regularly, highlighting their strengths and areas for improvement.
Balance work and personal life: support policies and practices that enable employees to maintain a healthy balance between their work and personal lives, such as flexible schedules, or remote working
Facilitate opportunities for development: offer options for professional growth and development through training, mentoring programs, or assigning challenging projects.
Encourage a positive work environment: create a work environment in which respect, collaboration and effective communication between team members is promoted.
Establish clear, achievable goals: define specific, realistic objectives, ensuring that they are aligned with the organization’s vision and values.
Boost participation and autonomy: allow your employees to have a voice in decision-making, promoting participation and authorizing a certain degree of autonomy in carrying out tasks.
Promote emotional well-being: offer resources and programs that promote the emotional wellbeing of the employees, such as psychological support services, wellbeing activities, or flexibility to deal with difficult personal circumstances.

IESE’s programs for executives will help you to progress in your career, and to become the impactful leader that your company needs, putting the wellbeing of all those who are part of the organization at the center.

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How much time should an executive invest in training?

IESE Standout — Fri, 26 May 2023 14:50:51 +0000

Good handling of the management agenda is paramount to lead any company towards great success.

And within this planning, investment in training should be a fundamental part of the weekly distribution of CEOs’ tasks in order to achieve the proposed goals. And even more so in a world that, in the coming years, will take a considerable turn towards the automation of many tasks that today are still done by people.

Some studies suggest that managers should devote at least 5% of their time to training and learning. In concrete terms, this could mean around 100 hours per year, which is equivalent to two hours per week. Other studies recommend doubling this figure for maximum results.

It is worth noting that training does not necessarily have to be face-to-face or during working hours. We are also talking about books, podcasts, online conferences, and blogs such as StandOut or IESE’s Insight portal. These formats are much more adaptable to different needs and schedules while simultaneously being extremely relevant and completely focused on the professional and personal development of the manager.

Where does a CEO find the time for training?

To be a good leader, it is important to know how to delegate and motivate the team so that it can function autonomously and execute the planned strategy efficiently. It is precisely thanks to this type of intelligent team management that top managers and CEOs can focus on other tasks such as training, which in turn will allow them to gain more time in the long run and learn how to develop new strategies that successfully adapt to different business paradigms.

In fact, if we consider that a manager should spend an average of 30% of his or her time defining the strategy and the remaining 70% implementing it, training should be included in this first 30%.

Other tips for investing more time in management training

The list of benefits of continuous learning is long, but the reality is that day-to-day business often takes over the manager’s agenda and, because it is not considered urgent, training is often put on the back burner.

Here, we share some additional tips that can help senior managers set aside more time for training:

1. Set clear objectives for growth in key areas

For example, if you set a goal to improve communication or leadership skills, it will be easier to seek out and justify the need for specific management training in those areas.

2. Include training in your agenda

Including management training in the weekly or monthly agenda and establishing a set schedule can help ensure that sufficient time is devoted to this activity.

3. Attend events where you can continue to learn

Participating in conferences, seminars and workshops can be an excellent way to continue to progress as a leader by gaining new ideas and expert perspectives.

4. Integrate training into the company culture

Encouraging continuous learning as a key element of the company culture also helps motivate the entire organization to invest more time in training. This makes it easier to get more resources to help employees develop their skills and knowledge.

5. Boost networking

Humans learn more, both in quantity and quality when we interact with each other. Therefore, a fundamental factor to ensure the continuous evolution of the executive is to have access to specialized networking groups: a place where top-level business leaders can create positive and lasting relationships with other CEOs, collaborators or stakeholders.

In IESE’s Executive Education programs you will find different types of training with formats carefully designed to adapt to the complicated agenda of executives, at any stage of their development by focusing on the areas in which they need to improve.

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Elena Betés. From dreaming of a different culture to founding Rastreator. Success stories

IESE Standout — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 17:05:32 +0000

Elena Betés is CEO of Dide.org, Vice President of Education at Red Ventures, founder of Rastreator, and holder of an IESE MBA. She has two children.

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Elena Betés, founder of the insurance comparison platform and broker Rastreator, believes that, in her career, the “failures have been much more important than the successes.” “The reason for this is that I have learned a lot from them. Above all, I’ve learned how to endure,” she clarifies.

But something very important happened prior to those failures: she realized that the environment of a major international consulting firm like Arthur Andersen was not for her. She had experienced the glass ceilings and confirmed that was not her world. “I wanted to live in an environment where I was the one making the rules,” she recalls.

It was at that point that she decided to do an MBA at IESE, because she thought that was the best way to learn how to start a business or, at the very least, to clarify her ideas about what it meant to set up a business. Betés’ first company, PuntoSeguro, was created with funds from her friends, family, and classmates from her master’s degree. It was the first online insurance comparison platform and broker created in Spain.

“The business did not scale as quickly as we were expecting and, in addition, I linked it to another identical company that I started in Germany, backed by a European conglomerate, and it went bankrupt,” explains Betés. It was a moment that caused her to reflect and wonder “whether I really wanted to keep trying.”

Once she had decided, however, she changed her mentality. “I stopped being afraid of failing and started to feel as though I didn’t have anything left to lose.” The way in which other people were betting their money on the projects that she wanted to lead also began to fill her with confidence: the best part was just around the corner.

Founding Rastreator

And then came Rastreator, or rather, Betés founded it, at arguably the most difficult moment. It was 2008, and the international financial crisis was spreading everywhere like a giant tsunami. The British multinational Admiral partnered with her in a venture which, at the start, relied on two major milestones: strong growth in Spain and a technological center in New Delhi, which Betés herself created. Mapfre invested in Rastreator in less than a year.

“It really was the opportunity that we had been looking for,” confirms the director, “to develop a unique culture in which both employees and clients were treated as authentic individuals.” It wasn’t enough to offer excellent service, or to focus on the consumer. Betés wanted to go one step further.

Based on the success of Rastreator, Admiral entrusted her with the development of similar platforms in the United Kingdom and France, and committed to financing the international expansion of Rastreator, matching the investment that she was able to get from other investors. “I was able to get €20 million, and they contributed another €20 million,” she points out. Later on, in 2020, the platforms that the director had founded and developed were sold for €500 million.

But not all these ventures were victories. In 2015, Admiral joined forces with Mapfre to move into major markets such as China, Turkey, India and Mexico. “And in all of these markets,” recalls Betés, “we were only really successful in Mexico. China, for example, became one of the failures that I have learned the most from in my career.”

“Failures have been much more important than successes in my career, because I have learned a lot from them. Above all, I’ve learned how to endure.”

Elena Betés, CEO of Dide.org, Vice President of Education at Red Ventures, founder of Rastreator, and IESE MBA.

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Failure as fuel

Betés believes that failing has been one of her biggest “sources of inspiration.” And these ideas helped her convert her defeats into major drivers to continue moving forward:

1) Failures help me understand the future of the business. They are necessary.

2) Nothing starts or ends with a defeat. The game goes on until you concede.

3) Failures are the challenge life has given me. A challenge that I know I can and will overcome.

4) Defeats only weaken you when you don’t learn from them. Or when you believe you have nothing to learn.

This is real leadership. Real people, sharing valuable experiences and lessons learned from mistakes they’ve made.

A culture of people, for people

Betés recalls that, for her, it was not enough to launch a successful business, or to learn from her mistakes. She was just as passionate about creating a culture that respected “the authenticity of who you really are, promoting a flexible work-life balance, the conviction that obstacles are just challenges that can always be overcome, and the importance of attitude over aptitude.”

When the moment came to launch and expand Rastreator, she knew for sure: “I wanted a culture where we were all obsessed with excellence, and with being the best, but where we also knew why we were doing what we were doing, and everyone was doing it in their own way, not necessarily being uniform.” No one needed to be the same as anyone else, or dress like soldiers, or sleep in a dorm in order to feel like they were part of a winning organization that shared their dreams.

And these dreams came through in a shared culture that not only encouraged talent, but also a very concrete customer concept. And this is where Betés opted to put herself on the front line: “I decided to get stuck in, speaking directly with some of our users, offering them a telephone conversation with the CEO of Rastreator, during which I asked them to tell me what they expected from us and how we could help them more.”

But what about the leadership culture? What example did Betés want to set for her own staff, for the other directors, and for thousands of women beyond her company, whether they were directors or not?

In this sense, Betés has her priorities straight, “demonstrating that you can be both a good mother, although you sometimes miss some first teeth, and a groundbreaking leader of a multinational company that launches successful products onto the market at the same time.”

“The Elon Musk model of sleeping in the office is not only unnecessary in a world where you can work remotely and automate processes, it also isn’t sustainable for anyone,” she adds.

Betés spends her time seeking to find the best way to develop talent. As Vice President of Education at Red Ventures in the United States, she became ever more aware of “the need for diversity in companies,” in addition to the role women play in “making the difference, and creating new worlds and cultures in environments that were, until recently, exclusively male.” Due to her support of this cause, Betés won the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) award in November 2022.

Recently, Betés became CEO of Dide.org, an edtech tool with the mission of becoming a global leader in educational inclusion. The tool detects a child’s strengths and weaknesses, allowing learning problems to be identified in a holistic way and facilitating actions that can be taken according to individual needs.

All these objectives and concerns are shared by IESE, which has developed a wide range of courses and activities through the Women Win platform to support women like Betés in their personal and professional development and aspirations to lead.

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Reinventing yourself: Revolutionize your professional life

IESE Standout — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 15:15:17 +0000

The complicated events of recent years have caused millions of professionals to drastically reconsider their priorities and career plans.

Employee turnover in European and American companies is exploding, and the primary cause — according to a recent Randstad study — is the search for better opportunities in other companies or sectors.

Among these employees, many executives no longer see themselves as they used to or, at the very minimum, are no longer sure they want to see themselves the same way five or ten years from now. For some of them, incremental change is no longer enough and they feel they need to shake up their lives and their careers. If all this sounds familiar, perhaps your time has come too.

To make such a big career change and ensure it will be successful, it’s important to understand how an executive training program can help you. You’ll also need to know what’s involved in changing sectors midway through your professional life.

Reinventing yourself means adding a spectacular twist to all these transformation processes — in the middle of the game. It means making a 180 degree turn where you had only expected to turn 90 degrees and continuing to make progress towards your goals while maintaining your balance and calm.

Reinventing yourself means, ultimately, asking yourself what you want to be when you grow up and wanting to be someone completely different; it means permanently decoupling your life plan from the plan of the company that has given you nearly all your opportunities thus far; and it means rejecting any argument standing in your way that is rooted in fear or inertia. Nobody has to stay the same way forever, and if you’re not currently satisfied, neither do you.

4 steps to successfully reinvent your career

So pay attention because these are the steps you’ll need to take to successfully reinvent your professional career:

1. Learn to identify your moment

Bettina Semmel, Career Management and Counseling Manager at IESE, thinks that before you began any process of this kind, it’s essential to figure out how and when you should reinvent yourself. The signal can be received, as they say, in three different ways:

You may have already determined the perfect moment to take the leap and have everything ready to go beforehand.
Or, perhaps you are feeling stuck or frustrated, or are out of work and want to change that.
Or maybe you body has just said “enough” to your current profession, and it’s time to go.

Whatever the case, Semmel advises you to “be very attentive to that need, think it through well, and design a good plan of action”.

2. Know yourself (deeply)

Semmel knows what she’s talking about, because she works in an IESE department with 60 coaches and advisors who help current and former students identify what they’re really passionate about and the areas where they can develop their full potential. That experience has taught her that “deep self-awareness” is a key requirement for anyone looking to reinvent themselves.

You have to stop, take a breath, and think. And, she says, ask yourself “where the dissatisfaction is coming from and to what extent it can be solved without turning your entire professional life upside down”. Change is an option — and sometimes highly recommendable — but it’s not an obligation and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Change doesn’t mean escape. It means building, and doing so patiently.

If reinvention ultimately emerges as the best alternative, according to the expert, “the time has come to reconsider what you want to be when you grow up and what sets you apart from the other candidates who want the same”. At this point, she adds, it’s best to get a coach who can “be your mirror and encourage you without giving you false hope”. An objective analysis of your strengths and weaknesses is fundamental.

3. Look for a change, not a job

“If you want to give your career a complete 180, chances are you won’t just jump from your boring or frustrating job to the job of your dreams in an ideal position and sector. That’s primarily because you’re probably missing basic elements like experience, training or contacts”, Semmel says. And this is where it’s particularly important to develop a “plan of action or professional transformation”.

Specifically, you need a “flexible strategy that helps you identify and define the job you want, how you’re going to turn your weaknesses into strengths to get it, and the resources you’ll use to expand your contact network in that direction, so you can take advantage not just of public job offers or headhunters, but of the positions available in the hidden market”.

Scrupulously hitting the financial sustainability goals and the milestones of that plan of action is just as essential as adapting to the unforeseen events that may occur. Reality is dynamic and the reinvention you find might be even better that what you had imagined. Don’t let it get away.

4. Manage your anxiety and be patient

Intense emotions tend to prevail in deep processes like a professional reinvention. Some are positive and healthy like the passion and excitement of something new. But other emotions are more difficult to manage and can often drive us to haste or impatience.

Cultivating the former and trying to channel the latter toward more constructive goals isn’t easy, but there are ways to do it. According to Semmel, “anxiety and distress can be mitigated with a good plan of action and achieving milestones, with the help of a coach or an advisor, and, of course, by choosing healthy habits like sport, a good diet, and stopping to take a breather once in a while”. Looking for a job is hard work. So is reinventing yourself.

If you want to reinvent yourself — and do so successfully — IESE offers executive programs as well as a Career Management department with dozens of professionals with years of experience in big sector and career changes who are there to assist current and former students. If all this still sounds familiar, are you ready to take the leap?

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How good executives make difficult decisions

IESE Standout — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 11:54:42 +0000

With simple problems, if everything is going well, they will never get as far as the executives. They are solved before they get to that point. What does end up reaching the executives is what Miguel Ángel Ariño, professor of IESE’s Decision Analysis department, calls “difficult decisions”. These are the decisions that “have an impact on important variables and conflicting interests for the organization”.

The expert offers an example: “Central banks are facing a difficult decision, as they are considering raising interest rates in order to fight the incredibly high inflation that is so damaging to homes and businesses”. So, what’s the problem? It’s that they know, clarifies Ariño, that “this rise could trigger a recession, which would endanger those same homes and businesses that they are intending to help”.

Following the example, there is a silent guest who is the real elephant in the room: this uncertain, high-speed world of ours, in which it always seems that we are one step behind events that we see on our screens in real time.

In such a world, central banks, according to Ariño, “cannot remain paralyzed. They must act quickly and forcefully, or else risk even higher inflation, which would require that they take even harsher measures.” And harsher means more devastating for economic growth, for the population and for businesses,

Examples of difficult decisions at work

That’s right: most difficult decisions aren’t pleasant. Not by a long shot. For this reason, when the wind turns against businesses due to the cooling of the economy, it is the executives’ responsibility to make complicated decisions, such as:

Reducing debt, so as to not be dependent on the instability of interest rates, and to project strength in the market.
Reducing costs, to have a greater cushion of liquidity.
Adapting products or services to meet customers’ needs for savings and efficiency.
Re-stabilize presence in markets and segments in order to focus on the most stable or promising.

Executives need to tackle these decisions by using, according to the IESE professor, “their knowledge and experience to identify the changes and consequences that are going to lead to the decision”.

And then, as an executive, you always need to leave room in these reflections, not only for calculating the financial impact, but also for intuition. The author Isabel García-Méndez has developed a method for making the most of this intuition, in which she recommends:

Clearing your mind.
Getting detailed information and documentation.
Allowing your unconscious mind to work.

Who makes difficult decisions? Not just executives

The line between major individual and group decisions in an organization is always thinner than it seems. Although ultimate responsibility falls on you as the executive, Ariño thinks that you should also include the following groups in your process for making difficult decisions:

The experts who are providing you with key information on each alternative and its consequences.
CAREFUL: in an IESE e-book, we reviewed three of the eight traps that an executive needs to avoid when making decisions – the excessive influence of the environment, information saturation and irrelevant information – which are, in large part, dependent on the quality of the data you select.
The members of staff who will implement your decisions.
The departments who will be most affected.

Include your employees when making difficult decisions

As Ariño warns, forging consensuses and winning over major participants in a difficult decision is a priority for an executive. This is due to the following reasons:

The more support is cultivated at this stage, the easier the subsequent implementation will be.
Any decisions that need to be corrected will be much easier to reverse on the fly.
The teams will understand and appreciate the harshest of the decisions, which cannot be reversed.

In any case, as the IESE professor points out, “sometimes the expected support does not materialize, even in a crisis, because management has not earned the trust of their employees in the previous years”. This trust, he concludes, “is an essential asset for an organization”.

IESE programs for executives can help you discover new ways of developing this trust over the long term, and it can also help you respond to the immense challenge that is involved in difficult decisions, both in prosperous times and when the economy is cooling. The world is spinning increasingly quickly. You are the one who sets your own pace.

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