Interview with Ignacio Gabaldón, former Director of the Leadership Department of the Army War College and Co-Founder of Talentum Evolution
Ignacio Gabaldón is a colonel in the Spanish Army, former director of the Leadership Department of the Army War and Leadership School and co-founder of Talentum Evolution. With an extensive background in the military and solid experience in training management teams in the corporate world, Ignacio has recently designed and delivered leadership training for the PROA Comunicación team. We talked to him about how leadership is understood today, the differences and similarities between the civilian and military models, and what role trust, purpose and communication play in today's organisational culture.
What is leadership for you and how has it evolved in recent years?
Leadership is the art of managing intangibles - such as trust, commitment or purpose - to achieve tangible results. The model has evolved because the environment has changed, it is now faster, more uncertain. Before, the leader was at the top making decisions. Today, leadership is inseparable from the team. It is no longer about being the best in the team, but the best for the team.
What qualities does a leader need in the 21st century?
There are many, but I would say only one, and that is that the leader must have a team. Without a team there is no leadership. Then come others such as humility, technical competence, listening skills, managing emotions, creating healthy environments. But it all starts with building a high-performance team, presided over by a clear purpose.
And how do you build that team, and where do you start?
For something as simple as talking. Having a coffee, listening, taking an interest. Trust starts with small gestures. Then it can be deepened with dynamics such as Belbin, which helps to understand the roles that each member can bring to the team and, consequently, the team's strengths and weaknesses. But without trust, no tool works.
What is the role of communication in all this? It is central. Communication generates trust, cohesion, culture and a sense of belonging. Challenges, problems, achievements... must be communicated, and not only from the institutional level: also in the corridors, asking about the family, calling people by name. This daily communication creates emotional bonds and strengthens leadership. Leaders also communicate purpose with actions; that is also communication. The difference between communication in a small team and in a large organisation is only one of scale: in both cases, communication shapes the climate and sustains meaning.
What is the difference between leading people and managing resources?
They are two different dimensions, with different logics and different times. Managing resources means applying procedures and optimising processes, with visible results in the short term. Leading people involves connecting with emotions, generating commitment and working with intangibles, the effects of which are perceived in the medium and long term.
But there is a third pillar that makes sense of both: that of values and purpose. It is the pillar that aligns management and leadership, linking operational effectiveness with culture and shared meaning. It is the benchmark for our work, decisions and initiative.
How well is the concept of purpose used in business?
Not always. Many exhibit it, but do not live it. Purpose must be the benchmark that guides decisions, behaviours, motivations. It has to be seen in how leaders act. It has to come down from the organisation's frontispiece or the end of the year speech, to live it on a day-to-day basis. When that happens, people trust. Consistency with that purpose communicates more than any slogan.
What is the difference between military and business leadership?
I believe that the differences between military and business leadership are becoming smaller and smaller. Perhaps they lie in the intensity of actions or the consequences of decisions. In the military, we always lead in a combat-oriented way, where a chain of mistakes can end in coffins with the Spanish flag. In the civilian environment, a chain of bad decisions can lead to redundancies, which also profoundly affect people's lives.
I think of the pandemic, for example, and I see that decisions by health workers were just as critical as those made in operational areas. Both leaderships are getting closer and closer, which is why it is so necessary that we get to know each other better and learn from each other.
Is the Spanish business fabric ready for leadership based on trust?
I think it is making progress. You see it mostly in small teams, managers, middle management. But it needs to grow at the organisational level. A culture of trust is key to delegate, innovate and adapt. As we say in the army, first an alignment with the mission and then giving permission to decide and act, without permission.
How do you make decisions in today's uncertain environment?
In the 20th century we had time to search for the perfect decision. Today we do not. We must decide with opportunity, even if it is not the perfect decision. Intuition now plays a fundamental role when you don't have that time, and it is fed by experience, by having hit and missed and, consequently, learned. Intuition is thinking without thinking, I would say.
What is the place of delegation in this leadership model?
To delegate is to trust. It is to give responsibility, to create ownership, to unleash the potential of teams. Micromanagement only makes sense in very few and specific cases. Each person must make decisions within his or her responsibility. They will not be identical to yours, but they will be good enough and they will arrive on time.
And what advice would you give to someone who has just taken over their first team?
Don't be afraid to make mistakes. That he has the support of his boss. Listen to your people. Who dares to show vulnerability. A leader who asks "how can I help you?" is taking a huge step towards trust. And that trust is everything.