Okay. That goes good news. Thank you. Thank you. So thank you very much for joining. I'm going to speak about human centered leadership for tech transformation.But before we dive in, a few words about who I am and why I actually care about this topic. So my name is Brianna. I'm based in Barcelona, and I spent over twenty years working inside complex, and I must say quite often messy organizations, leading transformation and scale ups across technology. And through my consultancy, I help companies to get operationally ready for digital and AI transformation. So it takes me from strategy all the way to hands on implementation, and sometimes that means stepping in at the c level as interim transformation officer or CEO so that I can lead the change from the inside. So I have seen up close many times what happens when transformation works and, more importantly, why it doesn't. So let me start this presentation by asking you a question.

And think about it. When was the last time that someone told you in your was going through a transformation and you felt genuinely excited about it? If this has happened to you and you felt this excitement, congratulations. You're one of the lucky ones. Most of the people, dread the transformation. And here we are in one of the most innovative industries in the world, leaving our leading transformations, and people dread it. Not because they are resistance to progress, but because nobody has told us why it actually matters. Because change management has been handled in quite a superficial way. So look at what's on the screen. On one side is what organizations say. We will implement new systems, new processes, AI automation, digital transformation, you name it. And on the other side on the screen is what people actually feel when we hear such statements.

Uncertainty, the pressure of more work, and most importantly, no explanation of why that matters or why or who cares how that will affect me. So that gap between that leadership announces and what people experience is where transformations fail. It's not the technology. It's not the budget. It's right there in that space between what was said and what was heard and felt. So everything I'm gonna share with you in this presentation is about that gap. So here's the framework. There are five pillars. And before we go through them, I want to say something about pillar number five. Never stop the conversation. It comes last, but it's not the least important. It is the threat running through all five pillars. It starts on day one, and it never stops. The reason I have it in the end is because I first need to explain the other pillars so that I can communicate the strategy actually behind it.

So keep that in mind as we're progressing. So the first pillar is about the question no one asks, and that question is why. Why are we transforming? Why are we doing this? I ask this question in every organization I work with, and the answer sorry. The first answer is almost always silence. And then eventually comes statements that have been practiced over and over again to stay competitive, to grow revenue, to keep up with the market. However, I keep asking why. Because if we don't, we will lose clients. I keep asking why. Why would you lose clients? You already have clients. Because they will feel that their needs are not met the same way they are met by the competitors. And why is that? So I keep asking why. Because we fail to understand them or we fail to deliver or care for them the way we should. Now we are getting somewhere.

This, by the way, is the five whys. It's borrowed from Lean Manufacturing, but it works just as well on strategy. You keep asking why until you hit a root cause or until you hit something genuinely human in this case. And when you do, it usually sounds something like this. We are doing this transformation because our customers deserve better, and so does the team making it happen. This is why people can get behind. Not the revenue target, not the market position, a purpose. And this is why as leaders, we have to express. I've left transformations across many countries and industries, manufacturing infrastructures, BPO, digital platforms. And the single biggest predictor of whether our transformation succeeds is not the quality of the technology. It's not the size of your budget. It's whether the people doing the work understand what it is all about and why their effort matters.

Without the real why, you can have a project, but with why that people understand you have a movement. And if you want to implement transformation technology, you need movement. So, once your why is clear, the strategy follows. And from the strategy comes the transformation program. This is where most organizations make a critical mistake. They translate strategy into technology. For example, migrate to the cloud, automate the process, implement AI, deploy the new platforms, whatever. And I want to be very direct about this. Technology is a means. It's not the goal. It shouldn't be the goal. The goal should be something that human being can understand, care about, and feel proud when it's achieved. For example, scale so that we can serve 40% more customers without burning out the team that serves them.

Reduce the time our clients wait for an answer from three days to three hours or three up 20% of our people time so they can actually assume more demand. Do you see the difference? These goals have people in them. They have sold that attached. And when you work on definition of the goals, involve your team or the people that indirectly, even your stakeholders in the process. And there is one more thing that I would like to said about goal setting that I've learned the hard way. The goal has to be understood at every level of the organization, not just the leadership team who designed it, not the middle managers who report on it. The person on the front line, the one who talks to customers every day, the one who processes the invoices, the one who handles the complaints, that person or those people need to be able to look at the goal and say, I see where is this going.

I see where I fit in this. If they can't, the goal isn't defined well enough, and the organization will not understand what they're doing and will not follow. So you have the real why. You have the goals. And now your team looks at them and thinks, that's great, but how on earth are we supposed to get there? This is the moment where transformations stop. The goal is right. The intention is good. But the distance between where we are and where we are going feels so large that people freeze. And our job as transformation leaders is to make the impossible feel possible. And the way to do that is by breaking it down. Not in a project management sense, though that matters too. I mean, it down until the person furthers from the sea level can answer two questions.

What is the work I do in the process of transformation, and why does it matter? This is the test. If someone on the ground can answer both questions clearly, you've broken it down enough. If they can't, you haven't. Because breaking things down isn't just about making tasks manageable. It's about building capability. It's about showing people what they can do often before they believe in themselves. There is something else I want to name, when making the impossible possible because it's real and it's often not talked about. It's the tension between the ambition and the reality. We all want to implement great things, the latest technology, the smartest way of working, but innovation is expensive. Transformation is expensive, and organizations have budgets. So you have constraints, and you will have to make choices. You have to prioritize, and you have to sequence.

You have to say not yet to some things. Take into consideration that when you define the goals and the way to achieve them. Okay. So here comes the interesting part. You've done the work. Your why is clear. The goals are set. The plan is broken down, and you launch the transformation. And then it hits the resistance to change. It's not sabotage, though occasionally that too. But mostly, it comes quietly. People who suddenly have very busy calendars, processes that were supposed to change but somehow still work the old way, meetings where everyone knows and nothing moves. This is normal. This is human. And if you understand it, you can work with it. So I would like to introduce you to what we call in change management, the rule of twenty sixty twenty.

Every time you introduce change, your people will split roughly like this. 20% are against it, and they have their reasons. Some are valid. Listen to them because, occasionally, they are seeing something you're not. But don't spend your energy on trying to convince them because you will not. Then you have another 20% that are already with you. They are your followers. They are energized. They are committed. Give them visibility. Assign them tasks. Make them part of the story because they will help you pull the organization forward. And then you have 60% that are in the middle. They are uncertain. They're watching. They're waiting to see what actually happens. They're hesitant. They're open. They're skeptical. They're interested. But they will not move forward without psychological safety. And safety doesn't happen by itself. You have to build it, and you can build it. You do that with every promise you keep, every concern you take seriously because the 60% is your leadership priority.

So before you make any strategy, understand your crowd. And by your crowd, I mean people who report to you, people who use your stakeholders, and people who your bosses. Where are they standing? Where are their pain points? Where are they on board? Are they against it? Are they hesitant? Because when you know that, you will know how to lead them. Now the question is, how do you know where people are standing? Well, I suggest you use the change curve. You have to observe, listen, and use a bit of psychology here. So the origin of the change curve is the grieving curve, actually. It was developed by the psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler Ross from her work with terminally ill patients. The stages, however, might map surprisingly well to how people experience organizational change. The key is this, and I'm repeating myself, but this is important.

Your communication strategy changes at every stage depending where people are. So let me explain briefly. In the stage of denial, which is the first stage, people deny the change. People are against it. You have to not only inform, but also involve. So don't just announce what's going on. Don't broadcast. Invite. Here's what is happening, and here's where you can get involved and make a difference. This builds ownership. In the next stage, anger, you have to listen to people more than ever. You don't defend. You don't push harder. You don't argue. Just listen to the objections. Hear people. They don't need more information. They need to feel understood. In the doubt stage, you have to explain because now people are ready to hear you. Tell the truth, including the uncomfortable parts. Doubt means they are still engaged. Don't waste it. And then we have the acceptance stage. At this stage, you can discuss progress.

You can show evidence of how changes are happening, what results you're receiving, but not just the big milestones, the small wins. And when things don't go to plan, say so. You might have to adapt your action plan if need be, but don't miss the conversation. And the last stage, the the stage of moving on, is usually the stage where the organization is already changing. There is already new ways of working. There is already new systems implemented. So share success, the victories, and the mistakes. Leaders who only talk about wins create cultures where people hide problems. Leaders who talk about both create cultures where problems surface early and can be solved. So when you use this approach, you realize that you have different people with different chain, stages at the same time, and that is normal.

Because our job is to meet each one of them where they are. Usually, the resistant ones, the 20%, are in the stage of denial and anger. And the uncertain ones, the 60% are in the doubt stage. So adapt your message accordingly. And this takes me to the fifth pillar, the one that I mentioned in the beginning that holds it all together, communication. And I don't mean here the weekly update emails. I don't mean the all hands where leadership asks if there are any questions, and there never are because people feel unsafe to speak about it out loud. I mean, the real conversation, the ongoing, uncomfortable sometimes, but it's always necessary. You have to adapt that to the stage of resistance of each group, like I mentioned.

There is something in psychology that is called present bias. This is the human tendency to weight what's happening right now far more heavily than the future benefits. This is why people resist change even when we intellectually agree the outcome will be better. The way we see it is the cost, the effort is now, the benefit is later, and it's not certain. So the now always wins, especially when people have been promised a better future before and never came. So our job as transformation leaders is to close that gap, make the future feel real today. So in the communication strategy, remind people constantly, not just of the launch, but continuously, why this matters, why has what has already changed, what comes next, and what their role in it is.

Because the truth is if you've been through transformation, you you know that, pretty well. The future is never one gigantic leap. It is a small, consistent, subsequent steps that pile up and make a difference in the end. So here I come to the end of the presentation, and let me leave you with a version that sits on one slide. Five pillars. Start with defining the real one the the real why, the human one, not the financial one or not the technical one. Set goals that have people in them, not just numbers. Break it down until everyone can see where they fit and navigate resistance by understanding it, not managing it, not controlling it, trying to understand people, and never ever stop the conversation even if it's uncomfortable.

So these five pillars work for any leader, but I want to say something specific to everyone in this room. The traditional leadership model was not designed with us in mind. It rewards a very specific profile, and most of us don't fit in it exactly. It's not our failure. It's a design flaw. Human centered leadership is not just better way to lead transformation. It is a more inclusive model, one that makes room for more choices, more style, more participation, and it works. When you lead this way, you don't just change your organization. You change what leadership looks like, and you show an example to other people. It's contagious, actually. It might take some time to take off, but it brings surprisingly pros positive results because people don't actually resist change. We are intellectual creature.

We can see the benefit of it. What we resist is being changed without being seen. We resist being invisible. So I really encourage you to consider this approach and see your people. The rest will follow. Thank you very much.