Cómo se ve este proceso de excavación, reconstrucción, despliegue e integración en el mundo real? Aquí van unos ejemplos, del trabajo etno-social en el sur de Italia, al coaching y cambio organizacional.
Más que piezas de un portfolio, estos casos son ventanas para ver como el liderazgo puede llegar a cambiar: en los momentos de duda, en la reavivación de la comunidad, en repensar que es realmente el poder. Qué lideres una empresa entera o un equipo de cinco, estos ejemplos te muestran lo que se puede llegar a lograr cuando identidad, integridad y responsabilidad se alinean.
*Todos los hechos relacionados con clientes reales están anonimizados para garantir confidencialidad,
Contexto
Localidad: Marcianise, Campania
Fechas: 2010–2014
Entre 2010 y 2014, co-lideré una iniciativa social en la zona rural-urbana de Marcianise y Caserta (al norte de Nápoles) para recuperar una tradición cultural que muchos creían ya extinguida: una práctica de danza y técnica de tambor únicas y practicadas solamente por mujeres ya muy mayores.
La técnica – rítmica, compleja y entrelazada con la identidad local, había desaparecido prácticamente por completo de la vida social, transmitida casi en secreto en las cocinas y patios, entre susurros, y se consideraba antigua o incluso embarazosa. La transmisión entre generaciones se había roto, y la visibilidad desvanecía.
Excavación, Reconstrucción, Despliegue e Integración
Entre los fundadores de la asociación cultural Radici Marcianise, tuve parte en a diseñar y desplegar un proyecto a largo plazo para documentar, revitalizar y devolver dignidad a esta practica viviente. My role incluyó:
Cooperare con redes como ICHNet, Simbdea, y organizaciones parte de UNESCO para dar visibilidad y existencia al trabajo en un marco más amplio de esfuerzo de preservación cultural
Entrelazar y reforzar relaciones con las depositarias de la tradición
Facilitar el intercambio intergeneracional. creando espacios donde los depositarios pudieran ensenar la practica directamente a las nuevas generaciones
Documentar, con la ayuda profesionales, estructuras rítmicas, pasos y significados de la danza, vocabulario e historia oral antes de que fueran perdidas para siempre
Crear evento culturales y performances para dar visibilidad y renovada dignidad en la percepción pública, de folklore olvidado a patrimonio vivo y vital.
Impacto & Legado
Este trabajo se realizó justo a tiempo. Al momento del fallecimiento de uno de los fundadores, del que era también el último custodio de esta tradición con pleno conocimiento, ya se había recopilado un cuerpo significativo de conocimiento, transmitido y enseñado de primera mano a las nuevas generaciones, grabaciones, videos, pruebas del patrimonio. Al día de hoy, la joven hija de Giovanni lidera la asociación y sigue el trabajo.
En muy pocos años, la practica fue de la casi oscuridad al reconocimiento, incluyendo reconocimiento institucional a nivel regional y estatal. Pero sobre todo, volvió a ocupar su plaza en el panorama cultural vivo de la región Campania, rico y complejo, como un hilo activo, en vez de recuerdo.
Esta experiencia es parte fundamental de como entiendo la identidad, el cuidado de la comunidad y el trabajo decolonial. No solamente como concepto politico, sino como practica encarnada.
Context
M. was promoted during a period of rapid growth. A sharp thinker with clear potential, but hesitant. They often pulled back just as they were stepping into influence. It wasn’t a lack of ability: it was a reluctance to stay visible when it mattered most or things got heated.
What was unearthed
“I never realised I thought I had to earn every inch, even after I’d arrived.”
Through regular check-ins and reflection, we surfaced a recurring belief: that visibility needed to be constantly re-earned. Success didn’t feel like arrival, it felt like exposure. This insight shifted everything.
Reconstruction
They began to recognise and interrupt the pattern in real time:
- Reframed preparation as presence, not protection
- Practised a pause before retreating or downplaying
- Claimed space in meetings without disclaimers or softeners
These weren’t dramatic gestures. But they were steady, and they held.
Deloyment + Impact
- Presented a key initiative to senior leadership with confidence
- Team engagement rose, noted in mid-year feedback
- Their leadership became a constant, not something they stepped in and out of
- They eventually went on to get more promotions
They stopped retreating, and started holding ground.
Context
An experienced lead was aiming for a promotion, but wasn’t sure they looked the part. Their contributions were strong and consistent, but their self-image hadn’t caught up. Confidence lagged behind capability.
What was unearthed
We started by taking inventory, not just of tasks and outcomes, but of who they had become through leading. “I didn’t think that counted, I thought it was just how I work.”
We mapped their invisible leadership:
- Emotional labour
- Informal mentoring
- Creating psychological safety
All of it was shaping the team, invisibly, but unmistakably.
Reconstruction
They began naming their value out loud.
- Rewrote their self-pitch to reflect who they are, not just what they do
- Practiced speaking from ownership, not apology
- Stopped deferring or softening in moments of recognition
Deployment + Impact
- Received the promotion
- Colleagues noticed a more grounded confidence, and reflected it back
- They went on to model this reflection method with peers and new leads
- Reported feeling more aligned between internal identity and external position
They didn’t change themselves. They brought more of themselves to the role.
Context
A. was demotivated. Their department was in flux, and their role had lost clarity. While they weren’t planning to leave, they couldn’t tell if they were still leading with purpose, or simply holding on. They were still showing up. But the spark had dimmed.
What was unearthed
“Maybe I don’t need to lead for the role to make sense, maybe I lead for the people.”
That reframe shifted the story. This wasn’t toxic loyalty, it was agency, reclaimed through care. They didn’t need the system to validate their role to act with purpose. They chose to lead from where they stood.
Reconstruction
A. moved from quiet disengagement to intentional reconnection:
- Asked team members what made them stay
- Initiated informal 1:1s that went beyond performance
- Focused on micro-support, not grand gestures, but steady presence
They let go of leading from position, and started leading through relationship.
Deployment + Impact
- Team morale stabilised, even while broader uncertainty remained
- A. regained a sense of grounded purpose not tied to visibility or recognition
- They chose to stay, not out of inertia, but with clarity and commitment
The shift was subtle. But it was deeply felt, by the team and by A. themselves.
Context
As part of their manager role, C. took over an existing program critical to performance operations. The team was already in place. The structure was fixed. But the purpose behind it had drifted.
It had become efficient, but narrow. The same types of profiles were selected. The same dynamics repeated.
What was unearthed
“Maybe I don’t need to lead for the role to make sense, maybe I lead for the people.”
That reframe shifted the story. This wasn’t toxic loyalty, it was agency, reclaimed through care. They didn’t need the system to validate their role to act with purpose. They chose to lead from where they stood.
Reconstruction
A. moved from quiet disengagement to intentional reconnection:
- Asked team members what made them stay
- Initiated informal 1:1s that went beyond performance
- Focused on micro-support, not grand gestures, but steady presence
They let go of leading from position, and started leading through relationship.
Deployment + Impact
- Team morale stabilised, even while broader uncertainty remained
- A. regained a sense of grounded purpose not tied to visibility or recognition
- They chose to stay, not out of inertia, but with clarity and commitment
The shift was subtle. But it was deeply felt, by the team and by A. themselves.