From a strategic perspective, leaders driving transformation globally and managing remote teams—across different locations, time zones, and hybrid work environments—require precision, cultural intelligence and a deep understanding of human dynamics. Our real-world experience shows that the strongest leaders rely on three key principles: Purpose, Authenticity, and Trust (PAT). These pillars strengthen alignment and resilience, transforming challenges into opportunities in times of rapid change. And they have proven particularly effective in mitigating the impact on teams during the COVID-19 pandemic, where industries were affected to varying degrees.
Leading without borders: the art of remote leadership
Leading without physical presence requires deliberate engagement, emotional intelligence and an inclusive leadership style. Drawing on insights from leaders who have shaped institutions, nations, and businesses, we explore pragmatic approaches that can help strategic decision-makers energise teams, sustain engagement, and navigate complexity – even in round-the-clock global operations – to drive meaningful impact.
A clearly defined ‘Purpose’ of the transformation efforts is the North Star that ensures long-term success, not just short-term wins. Leaders with a strong sense of Purpose are better equipped to align immediate execution with future sustainability, ensuring that transformation efforts are strategic rather than reactionary.
Our real-world experience shows that the strongest leaders rely on three key principles: Purpose, Authenticity, and Trust (PAT). These pillars strengthen alignment and resilience, transforming challenges into opportunities in times of rapid change.
Purpose: leading the way to do what is right
Great leaders don’t just react to change—they drive it. They have a clear understanding of the reason for the very existence of their organisation and make decisions that balance short-term priorities with long-term vision.
Exceptional leaders, particularly those navigating business transformation or leading dispersed teams across the globe, exhibit what Sir Andrew Likierman describes as good judgment—a critical capability that sustains trust and authenticity. This form of judgment reflects a decision-maker’s capacity to remain open to learning, embrace diverse perspectives, and skillfully balance intuition with deliberate analysis. Daniel Kahneman’s insights into intuitive and analytical thinking reinforce how leaders can refine decision-making by stepping back to assess complexity.
Consider Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state. Her leadership reflects Viktor Frankl’s insight: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Faced with domestic violence, exile, and political imprisonment, Sirleaf chose purpose over despair, transforming adversity into a national mission for democratic renewal and institutional reform. Like Frankl, who observed that those who find meaning beyond themselves endure hardship with greater strength, she proved that resilience, values-driven leadership, and conviction can redefine entire institutions and societies.
In a world often captivated by charisma and spectacle, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Indian Minister of External Affairs, exemplifies the power of quiet resolve. His discernment and thoughtful decision-making demonstrate that true leadership is not about seeking attention—it’s about earning trust through sound judgment and principled action.
Authenticity: the foundation of real leadership
Authenticity creates environments where psychological safety, confidence, and collaboration thrive, enabling teams to navigate challenges and deliver meaningful results. When leaders embody their values, they inspire loyalty and engagement. In challenging situations, clear and grounded communication, free from pseudo-profundity – is a powerful expression of authenticity and leadership integrity. At times, fear and ego can weaken resolve, stifling innovation, discouraging risk-taking, and creating a culture of small, cautious improvements rather than bold progress. This stagnation creates blind spots and leaves organisations vulnerable to irrelevance.
Authentic leadership is rooted in a strong personal value system—integrity, honesty, and empathy—reflected in tangible, consistent actions. Sustaining this requires self-awareness, accountability, and a deliberate commitment to building trust. Jacinda Ardern’s empathetic and values-driven response during the Christchurch attacks demonstrated how authenticity builds unity and trust during crises.
Crises expose the difference between real leaders and those who merely occupy leadership positions. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted many real-life heroes in frontline medical care who demonstrated extraordinary leadership, going beyond their call of duty in life-and-death situations. They adapted to unprecedented challenges, provided critical support to patients and helped colleagues navigate overwhelming circumstances with resilience and dedication.
Authentic leaders use their inner compasses to guide their daily actions, and make decisions based on principles rather than short-term success.
For strategic decision-makers navigating multicultural environments and leading remote or globally dispersed teams, success is no longer just about strategy and analytics. It hinges on the ability to operate with a clear sense of ‘Purpose’, act with ‘Authenticity’ and build ‘Trust’ (PAT).
Trust: the hidden engine of long-term success
Trust is a business asset and one that compounds over time. It is built through three critical components: Consistency, Commitment, and Capability which are continuously assessed, both consciously and subconsciously, by those we interact with on an ongoing basis. Leaders who genuinely care about their teams’ growth, encourage a culture of learning and collaboration. For example, Ratan Tata’s ethical decision-making and visionary leadership cemented a legacy of trust and global impact.
Trust requires conscious effort and cannot be replaced by superficial gestures. In major transformations that reshape work practices and impact employees’ professional and personal lives, success depends on the trust a leader earns. Take Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, who fostered a culture of trust that turned his company into an industry icon. Change agents are in a better position to develop long-term confidence when they are not tempted to have recourse to decoys, jargon, and positional authority to induce easy adoption.
Trust is built through consistent actions, ethical decisions and transparency – it serves as a multiplier, enhancing team performance and stakeholder confidence. By encouraging inclusivity and psychological safety, leaders at all levels enhance both decision quality and implementation success. For example, Sanna Marin’s commitment to inclusivity amplified societal trust and engagement. Leaders must proactively create spaces for diverse voices to contribute meaningfully.
Trust is also critical in times of disruption. The Covid-19 pandemic revealed which companies had strong supplier relationships built on trust, and which did not. Long-term, trust-based collaboration between buyers and suppliers enabled win-win solutions, secured critical resources, and strengthened resilience in volatile markets. It is clear that trust between companies and their suppliers is a cornerstone of supply chain resilience.
The ‘Grounded Visionary’: a new model for leadership
For strategic decision-makers navigating multicultural environments and leading remote or globally dispersed teams, success is no longer just about strategy and analytics. It hinges on the ability to operate with a clear sense of ‘Purpose’, act with ‘Authenticity’ and build ‘Trust’ (PAT).
Drawing on two decades of field observations, we developed the ‘Strategic Decision-making Focus vs. Time Horizon Model’ to look at types of leaders. This model is informed by insights from over 150 strategic decision-makers operating across multiple fields, hierarchical levels and cultural contexts – many of whom lead without formal authority.
Through this model, we identified four leadership tendencies: Tactical Fixer, Deep Specialist, Reactive Multitasker, and Proactive Visionary. Through conscious efforts to cultivate constancy of Purpose, Authenticity and Trust (PAT), particularly when navigating uncertainty, strategic decision-makers can progressively develop a more dynamic and adaptive balance of these traits, a state we define as the ‘Grounded Visionary’.
The ‘Grounded Visionary’ ensures that an organisation remains agile, purpose-driven and resilient in an era of continuous change by:
- Aligning short-term execution with medium/long-term transformation.
- Connecting an organisation’s vision with individuals to create meaningful work.
- Cutting across time horizons to ensure sustained impact beyond immediate goals.
Purpose, Authenticity and Trust: timeless pillars for driving transformation
Long-term impact is driven by leadership that instils Purpose, Authenticity and Trust, enabling a deep-rooted shift in habits, thinking patterns, and culture. Transformation is not just about adapting to disruption – it is about shaping a future rooted in integrity and meaningful impact.
Consider sustainability: while some organisations treat it as a compliance exercise, those that integrate it into their core strategy do so because leaders drive it with character and conviction. When trust and authenticity guide leadership, sustainability becomes more than a mandate—it becomes a shared commitment that reshapes culture and decision-making.
As organisations stretch across borders and time zones, and AI and instant access to information reshape the business landscape, one question remains: Will tomorrow’s leaders rise above short-term pressures to embed purpose, authenticity and trust into the way we work?
Vishal Babajee is a seasoned executive with 20+ years of experience across diverse corporate roles in Aviation, complemented by a background in economic and financial research within Banking and as Economist in the Ministry of Economic Development & Financial Services in Mauritius. He holds a Specialised Master degree in Strategy & Organisation Consulting from ESCP Business School and a BSc (Hons) in Economics from the University of Hertfordshire. Vishal has been a guest speaker at ESCP Business School for the Masters programmes in Hospitality & Tourism Management, Strategy & Organisation Consulting, and Big Data & Business Analytics. He is passionate about bridging the practitioner-academic gap in the areas of Strategy, Transformation, Neuroscience, Customer Experience, Technology, Sustainability and Economic Development.
Vikash Keetharuth is a consultant in strategy, international operations, and training, with 30+ years of experience in the aviation industry. He has led global teams round the clock, managed outsourced partners and suppliers, and overseen operations across multiple locations and time zones. His expertise spans strategic leadership, customer experience, and service excellence. He specialises in aligning strategy with execution, ensuring teams remain agile in complex operational environments. Vikash has worked on large-scale transformation projects, helping organisations enhance performance while fostering collaboration across borders. A strong advocate for learning and development, he draws from his experience managing diverse teams. As a long-standing yoga practitioner and trainer, he integrates principles of self-awareness, resilience, and balance into leadership, reinforcing the connection with purpose, adaptability and long-term success.
Professor Javier Tafur is Dean of ESCP Business School’s Madrid Campus and a member of the European Executive Committee, overseeing its strategic growth and digital transformation. He holds a PhD in Innovation Management and Economics, an MBA from IE Business School, and has completed postdoctoral research at Harvard University. With over 25 years of experience in strategy, business transformation and innovation management, he has worked with multinational firms and led executive education programmes. His expertise spans strategic leadership, technology innovation, and international business, contributing to ESCP’s first fully online Master’s programme. Javier has published research on digital platforms and value creation (Technological Forecasting and Social Changes), critical success factors in large-scale projects (Journal of Business Research), and performance metrics at UK airports (Journal of Business Research). His work focuses on aligning strategy, digital transformation and leadership development to navigate global business challenges.
License and Republishing
The Choice - Republishing rules
We publish under a Creative Commons license with the following characteristics Attribution/Sharealike.
- You may not make any changes to the articles published on our site, except for dates, locations (according to the news, if necessary), and your editorial policy. The content must be reproduced and represented by the licensee as published by The Choice, without any cuts, additions, insertions, reductions, alterations or any other modifications.If changes are planned in the text, they must be made in agreement with the author before publication.
- Please make sure to cite the authors of the articles, ideally at the beginning of your republication.
- It is mandatory to cite The Choice and include a link to its homepage or the URL of thearticle. Insertion of The Choice’s logo is highly recommended.
- The sale of our articles in a separate way, in their entirety or in extracts, is not allowed , but you can publish them on pages including advertisements.
- Please request permission before republishing any of the images or pictures contained in our articles. Some of them are not available for republishing without authorization and payment. Please check the terms available in the image caption. However, it is possible to remove images or pictures used by The Choice or replace them with your own.
- Systematic and/or complete republication of the articles and content available on The Choice is prohibited.
- Republishing The Choice articles on a site whose access is entirely available by payment or by subscription is prohibited.
- For websites where access to digital content is restricted by a paywall, republication of The Choice articles, in their entirety, must be on the open access portion of those sites.
- The Choice reserves the right to enter into separate written agreements for the republication of its articles, under the non-exclusive Creative Commons licenses and with the permission of the authors. Please contact The Choice if you are interested at contact@the-choice.org.
Individual cases
Extracts: It is recommended that after republishing the first few lines or a paragraph of an article, you indicate "The entire article is available on ESCP’s media, The Choice" with a link to the article.
Citations: Citations of articles written by authors from The Choice should include a link to the URL of the authors’ article.
Translations: Translations may be considered modifications under The Choice's Creative Commons license, therefore these are not permitted without the approval of the article's author.
Modifications: Modifications are not permitted under the Creative Commons license of The Choice. However, authors may be contacted for authorization, prior to any publication, where a modification is planned. Without express consent, The Choice is not bound by any changes made to its content when republished.
Authorized connections / copyright assignment forms: Their use is not necessary as long as the republishing rules of this article are respected.
Print: The Choice articles can be republished according to the rules mentioned above, without the need to include the view counter and links in a printed version.
If you choose this option, please send an image of the republished article to The Choice team so that the author can review it.
Podcasts and videos: Videos and podcasts whose copyrights belong to The Choice are also under a Creative Commons license. Therefore, the same republishing rules apply to them.
