It was in the summer of 2020, during the pandemia, engaged in a session of the Instituto IDeIA Academy Appreciative Leadership course, when Maria Marcela Diaz Alvarado deeply looked in the mirror: her Connective Leadership profile showed a lot of dominance in red and blue. “That day it became clear that my core beliefs about leadership didn’t align with my current position.”
Marcela has been in logistics for all of her impressive career. After having been located in Panama since 2014, she longed to be back in her beloved Costa Rica, also to be closer to her mother, who needed more care. Marcela is very honest when she shares: “My senior position gave me power and wealth, and the company culture actually asked me to be red and blue. It was not so easy to leave that behind. A good friend and client, who knew my aspirations, invited me to set up a new branch for his company. It took a while to take the step, he had to push me. Now he is my boss, and I am so grateful, to him and to myself. So, in 2022, I started from scratch, decorating the walls of the small office myself, and by now we are a flourishing team of seven, proud to be part of Masterline and its slogan Logistica Más Humana.”
Marcela: “I love the CLMirror! It is so helpful in creating more understanding about, and between my team members. Being a painter myself, I like colors and the visual aspects of the CLM profile. The value systems theory is quite sophisticated and perhaps somewhat complex, but over time my co-workers are really getting into it. They also see it as a valuable tool for development and better cooperation. Wow, time flies. If I compare my CLM profile with the present version, it really feels like my being and my doing have become one. More turquoise, same level of yellow, more green and moreover: significantly less red and blue. As a team we can really speak of a We-culture. And my increase in orange definitely reflects my entrepreneurial qualities to build the Costa Rica branch successfully.”
About the future: “Leadership is an emotional intelligence issue. I can only hope to keep grounded myself, and to stay open, because I feel that creates the openness and authenticity in the team. Thank you for inviting me to do my own CLM again, and see what can happen in four years of time.”
