Perceiving leadership in practice

One of the reasons why I always worked for entrepreneurial and small organisations was because I never believed a big company - with its uncountable processes, hierarchical levels and selfish motivations - could truly engage the individuals to do something bigger than themselves, driven by values and ideals.

Luckily, I was proved wrong. I've been working for ABN AMRO for the last 2 months and, although I keep various critical opinions against the way banks operate and the impact they generate, I've been experiencing an environment of smart, idealistic and hands-on people, who talk and act about systems thinking and sustainability, backed by the president of the company.

The president in this case is Fabio Barbosa. He led the merging of Banco Real and ABN AMRO years ago and was confirmed this week as the president of the Santander Group in Brazil. The unprecedented decision of keeping the leader of an acquired company has a lot to do with Fabio's impressive style of leadership, which is extremely visionary (he was the starter and is the main representative of the sustainability initiative), focused on relationships and, as a result, very effective (the bank's results grew 45% last year). The unanimous positive opinion about him from employees, shareholders and society is almost freaky.

Wanna know why? Below you can read a part of the message he wrote to the employees about being the new president of Santander Group in Brazil (free translation) and will understand his coherent, engaging approach.

"I want to use this moment and thank you for the support that I have received during all these years. To quote Isaac Newton, 'if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants'. More than 32,000 [employees]...
[...] It is also good to see the recognition of our proposal to work with transparency and respect, driven by values, focusing on the customer and building a positive internal atmosphere. Or, as we say, a proposal win-win-win.
It's going to be cool (it has been and... is being)! Let's go!"

One of the many immediate comments from the employees said:

"Congratulations! This is nothing more than the fair recognition of serious work.

Wish you lots of success in this new challenge and be sure you can count on us to build a better bank for a better society."