“Trust is good but control is better”. Every time I hear this from a leader, irrespective if it is a C-Level executive or a line supervisor, I become disengaged. I feel annoyed, disappointed and sad because I realize that many organizations prefer this type of leader. The transactional one who seem to be on top and in control of everything. The truth is that in the short term, this type of leader may produce results but in the end, he/she leaves behind a soulless company.

A company that has lost its purpose. An organization in survival mode where market shares, growth rates, and other critical quantitative metrics determine success or failure, separating the important from the insignificant. Of course, no one can question their usefulness, but their predominant position in today’s management system is something to think about.

In a world that is changing at a high speed, the majority of leaders follow a management style that aims to quantify the requirements and thus quantitatively evaluate the results. I believe that this approach marginalizes the quality of leadership and supports the adoption of an outdated leadership system that focuses on growth-oriented initiatives, regardless of the quality of the decisions or the outcomes.

In the soulless company, employees are treated like numbers and viewed as worker bees not as valued human beings. At the same time, the leaders become addicted to highly passive strategies or bold tactics that lack intelligence, innovation and creativity. They base their decisions on childish arguments, unjustified assumptions with one aim: to make an impression.

Nowadays, we cannot leave crucial issues and necessary reforms in the hands of transactional leaders who through the prosperity of the numbers seek the recognition of the shareholders, employees and associates.

It is more than ever necessary to find and trust authentic, transformational leaders who can give substance to numbers and words. Leaders who can inspire their people by offering their vision and align them around a shared purpose.

A compelling vision and a meaningful mission give reasons for existence. Authentic leaders understand this and they breathe life into the company. They know that the best way to mobilize people and create value is to infuse the soul back into the organization. Those are the architects of the future.