Good leaders are not born ready. They need to be trained and developed as soon as possible so that, in the future, they are prepared to take on such a responsibility. The inspiration for running a successful business should come from above, teaching how to inspire and develop people so that they connect with this purpose and work together for this cause. With that in mind, FI Group, a consultancy specialized in managing tax and financial incentives for R&D, is heavily investing in its Leadership Development Program (LDP) in a strategic partnership with Pande, a company renowned for the process of creating value for brands that consider organizational culture as a key part of their strategy.
With its first edition organized in 2020, the need to develop this program arose from the exponential growth that the consultancy had been experiencing in recent years. "Investing in leadership has always been a priority for us, and beyond developing them, we knew the importance of caring for these talents so they could assume these positions. That is why we decided to dedicate ourselves to this partnership so that we could have greater security and accuracy in preparing future leaders," explains Vanessa de Lima Pereira Montagnoli, human resources manager.
Under the command of the Organizational Human Development area of FI Group, the PDL was built based on three pillars: understand, develop, and inspire. First, there is a thorough analysis of which professionals are suited to become excellent leaders in the short and medium term. Based on this study, the second stage of development begins, where these 'candidates' are coordinated and supervised through intensive preparation in this regard. To reinforce this process, the inspiration pillar is introduced, which fosters this care from the company's managers and directors so that, together, they take care of the people to help them adapt to routines and become true leaders.
In this journey, Pande's support was extremely important, especially in the last two pillars. "We conduct a thorough and detailed diagnosis to understand the profile and skills of the talents at FI Group, and with that, together with their HR department and feedback from the leaders themselves on this matter, we are able to identify each individual's current stage and how to guide them through these steps in the best way," says Luciane Lamour, consulting director at Pande..
This proactive listening was one of the most important points for the success of the PDL. This is because, according to Luciane, there was a significant internal challenge regarding the management of teams from different generations, as each had different purposes, goals, and ambitions. The identification of this need was a key point in gaining greater clarity about the individual moment of the talents and how to develop them strategically in this regard.
According to Vanessa, one of the biggest challenges faced in this program involved Generation Z professionals. With little ambition to be leaders, it was necessary to provide more in-depth and humanized care to change the image that many of them had about this position – which many associated with a tiring, stressful and dysfunctional position – to a position where they could connect with people, inspire them and transform their careers.
More prone to higher levels of stress and anxiety at work, leadership is a position that typically falls outside of their interest. Reversing this idea is not simple, and it depends on a strongly organizational culture based on this individual understanding of expectations and ambitions and, above all, on integrating them with other generations, so that they are inspired to learn from each other in order to develop this purpose in each one.
Fortunately, there were no shortage of success stories in this transformation. Laís Leoncini, who has a degree in chemical engineering, joined FI as an intern 10 years ago and has always reported that her managers have consistently emphasized the importance of expertise in the products and invested in that knowledge for her development. "They have always dedicated themselves to teaching and preparing me to be a leader in the future. I experienced quite rapid growth there, encountering opportunities that helped me develop and, today, inspire my team and future leaders so that, together, we can achieve increasingly better results," she highlights.
For Laís, one of the biggest challenges she faces today as a leader is also related to Generation Z, encouraging them to motivate and engage in this cause. However, there are those who have already embarked on this journey.
Giovanna Moraes, also trained in chemical engineering, is a member of this generation and, today, a leader in the company. "I joined FI Group as an intern and noticed early on their strong focus on development. It is true that many millennials value freedom and flexibility, and here, these factors have always been provided through a more flexible structure that allowed me to develop the skills of a good leader, focused on humanized management, empathy, and positive impact on each individual's personal and professional growth," she recalls.
Guilherme Augusto shares the same opinion. Graduated in systems analysis, he joined as an intern three years ago and recently took on the role of leader. When you started in this position, you admit that you were afraid you wouldn't be ready, lacking confidence in the face of such responsibility.
But, over time, the company's actions in involving him in the clients' routines and with people of different thoughts and views caused him to change his perspective and see that he was capable of being there. "The program helped me see my strengths and improve what was necessary, learning to communicate assertively and make decisions so I could lead others. They have always been here for me, helping me develop emotional intelligence and empathy, and I am extremely grateful for this opportunity," he celebrates.
A good leader is someone who inspires and transforms. Someone who does not perform these functions merely in a bureaucratic sense, but who truly engages in the cause, connecting emotionally with these professionals, creating and fostering this career growth. After all, without people, no business works.
Working with leadership is complex, and many companies do not give proper importance to this development. This should be a continuous and proactive development, closely monitoring each person's work, looking at results and improvement trends in relation to alifelong learning. It is a dynamic process, where uncertainty is the only certainty, and flexibility and dynamics are essential tools for building excellent leaders.
