We need to have a vision, to have the courage to throw off what is familiar and systematised in order to achieve a goal. With this thought we started the 2nd meeting of the 9th edition of the Freedom Institute’s Leadership School. The theme of the meetings was change. Our listeners, current and future leaders, should be prepared for it in order to create not only the foundations, but also a structure ready to play at the first table. Entrepreneurs, social activists, trainers and witnesses of Poland’s transformation into a modern, modernised state spoke about the challenges, opportunities and risks.
Only by working together will we reach our goal
The first guest was Adam Kruszewski – Health Care Expert at Orphinic Scientific. During his presentation of Poland’s achievements in biotechnology, he stressed the importance of leaders who are often in competition with each other working together. According to an old African proverb: If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. Thanks to such action, Polish companies and institutions are playing an increasingly important role in the biotechnology sector and are well on their way to developing an innovative drug for the international market.
Social activist and co-founder of the City Is Ours association Jan Śpiewak showed us that grassroots change is possible. In his opinion, it is necessary to rely on trade unions and workers. If the leader is not backed by people who believe in his idea, the goal will remain unattained.
We ended the day with a workshop with Joanna Czarnecka, which allowed us to take a conscious look at our colleagues and their needs. It is identifying the expectations, priorities and challenges of team members that becomes the basis for building trust. In turn, the realisation of any goal depends on it. By knowing how to give feedback and enforce quality, we can get to where we want to be despite turbulence.
Sound like climbing Mount Everest? During the evening meeting at the Paper Mill Club, we were able to listen to the story of Piotr Cieszewski, who climbed this peak literally and figuratively. A good boss-employee relationship leads to the unleashing of the team’s potential. The role of the leader, on the other hand, is to create an environment in which everyone can say what they think.
A sense of security in the change process
We understand 15% of how the human brain works, and we claim to have built a copy of it 100%. This thought accompanied us during the meeting with Maciej Witucki – President of the Lewiatan Confederation. He stressed that artificial intelligence will never replace humans in the leadership role. Why? What counts in managerial positions is the CV, not only professional but also life experience, and above all personality.
Our next guest was Adam Eberhardt – Vice President of the Warsaw Enterprise Institute, with whom we talked about international relations and Poland’s role in the strategy of other countries. We asked ourselves what should be the further attitude of Poland and the EU towards the Russia-USA-China triangle. We must remember that the international situation is not a picture, but a film in which the action is constantly changing.
Finally, we met with Wiktor Janicki – President of AstraZeneca, who talked about what gaps should be filled in Polish healthcare. During the conversation, we looked for answers to the question of how to improve the system to provide a sense of security for the public.
At the next meeting, which will take place on the first weekend of March, we will talk about the role of strategy and information, among other things.
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