In a time of significant transformation and change in the health sector, both in Catalonia and globally, the Chair of Leadership in Values at UManresa and Unió Consorci Formació (Catalan Union of Hospitals and Health and Social Consortium of Catalonia) have sought to take a joint perspective to identify the values that health organizations are incorporating as key elements in their leadership and strategic plans.

In fact, with the periodic updates of the organizations’ strategic lines and plans, including the revision of their vision and mission, it is also natural to review the values that should guide them in facing and overcoming the challenges ahead. These redefinition processes are generally collaborative and participatory with the entire organization and serve to jointly chart the course, as well as the whys and hows to get there.

Having analyzed the values currently published by more than 100 hospitals and health organizations in Catalonia, following the 4 levels of the conceptual framework of the Chair of Leadership in Values, we identify:

At the personal level: references to ethics, integrity, honesty, adaptability, responsibility, etc. This dimension is directly linked to the personal, ethical, and moral values of each individual, understanding them as a personal foundation connected to professionalism and commitment to vocation, profession, and the code of ethics, which inspires and guides conduct and practice.

At the team and people level: respect, dignity, empathy, assertiveness, humanity, recognition, teamwork, trust, human treatment, proximity, multidisciplinary work, etc. This is a set of ethical, social, relational values that start from oneself (initiative, flexibility, perseverance…) and connect, integrate, and make us part of a shared team project.

The values in health system organizations are therefore aligned with the conceptual framework of the Chair of Leadership in Values at UManresa. At the same time, they also correspond with the Quadruple Aim of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, which establishes a global framework to achieve quality care and value-based health through four interrelated objectives and strategies: (1) improving population health with equity; efficiency, sustainability, and cost reduction of organizations and the system; enhancing patient experience and empowering them in their active role; increasing professional satisfaction and caring for their well-being.

We will not dwell much on opening debates about whether leaders are born or made. So far, the decoding of the human genome has not identified the “leadership chromosome,” and therefore, it must be the environment, it must be the surroundings, that foster these effects. Or… can anyone who thinks of a certain Royal House conclude otherwise? Either way, it is certain that lived experiences and frequented environments play an important role in this role we call “leader.”

To further emphasize this point, we refer to the authors of the study on “The Sources of Social Leadership” (CANTÓ, N; CASTIÑEIRA, A; FONT, A) published in 2009 under the auspices of the Bofill Foundation. In this study, based on 25 interviews with people perceived as social leaders within the Catalan sphere, it is concluded that the most relevant aspect to begin assuming social consciousness is “lived values, that is, the immersion of people in actions or vital examples that will shape their way of positioning themselves in the world.” (“The Sources of Social Leadership,” p. 121)

Forgive us for the “hype” touch we will add, but the answer can only be affirmative, having already pointed out the importance of lived values and experiences. Our immediate environment is full of organizations that facilitate “ethical leadership in and with social values.” Both formal and non-formal institutions can facilitate this background. For example, consider something basic within “Leadership” such as “learning to participate.” Can one learn to participate? As stated by the Working Group of CASC_CAT (Coordinator for Sociocultural Animation of Catalonia), “knowing how to participate can only be learned by participating: from the first educational institutions and childhood to other social circles. The experiential learning of participation is carried out more significantly in high participation models, such as associations.” (“Socioeducational Intervention in Youth,” 2017). And here we fully enter the specificity of a framework like Leisure Education institutions to identify them as schools of participation and ethical leadership in and with social values.

Moreover, thanks to the enormous effort of social researchers like Txus Morata, who with reliable data allow us to affirm that Leisure Education institutions transform communities and individuals by increasing levels of citizen participation, promoting horizontal leadership, and building social support networks. All this results in a higher degree of cohesion and social commitment in the territories where these institutions are present (“Educational Leisure, and Sociocultural Action, Promoters of Participation and Social Cohesion,” Morata, T.; ALONSO, I; PALASÍ, E; BERASATEGUI, N_2023).

We have tried to start from an obvious question, such as whether we can learn to be leaders, to end up noting the lack of support that institutions with this function have: proposing platforms for learning social values.

Educational leisure institutions must be and feel supported within the broader framework of educational policies with a social background. And that is why we want to end the article by highlighting the importance of programs like “Educació 360,” which focuses on promoting policies and actions that facilitate access to activities outside compulsory educational institutions. A more global sense of education and a special focus on educational leisure institutions will allow us to have leaderships much more aligned with Sustainable Development Goals, ethical leaderships.

In all circles of human activity (politics, sports, religion, family, education,…) conditions for “ethical” leadership can arise, but we have sufficient evidence to think that Educational Leisure, due to its proximity to certain ethical values, provides an “extra” when it comes to ensuring commitment and social cohesion.

And now, to conclude, if you allow me the license to exchange some words from the wonderful song by “Radio Futura,” we might be closer to what we wanted to argue: it takes warmth, come to the school of values. (Although it is better not to misinterpret it and for climate change deniers to take it as a banner).

At the end of 2021, UManresa began discussions with Pep Guardiola and Manel Estiarte to create a Chair of Leadership in Values, an initiative that finally came to fruition during the first half of 2023. This path was undertaken with the awareness of facing a significant challenge, as leadership and values are very complex subjects to define and set boundaries for.

The inspiring capacity of Guardiola and Estiarte’s professional and sporting careers, both in terms of leadership and values, and especially the combination of both elements, was key in asking them to lead the Chair, an offer they gladly accepted. Albert Estiarte, the project’s promoter, has also closely linked himself to it by assuming the role of deputy director.

Albert Estiarte: Everyone says he is a leader, but there aren’t many leaders with values. Pep and Manel are among the few I know. Their leadership of the Chair of Leadership in Values should allow us to show examples of how to lead in a clean and noble way, as we were taught when we were children. There are many values, but for me, the ones that count and the ones I use in my daily life are those that were instilled in me as a child. What I am as an adult is what I was taught in my childhood. The example of Pep and Manel, as the good people they are, is a great asset for the Chair, and the challenge is to know how to transmit it to people who want to lead companies, institutions, schools, or teams.

Manel Estiarte: Talking about leadership makes me a bit uncomfortable. It can become toxic because it dictates how people should be and act. From my experience, from everything I’ve lived, from all the mistakes I’ve made, from everything I’ve learned, I take away one lesson about leadership that Pep shared with me some time ago: make those around you feel comfortable; make those who work with you, who admire you, who follow you, able to do their job well because you help them. A good leader is not the one who speaks the best, who does the best… Better, better, that word makes me tremble a bit.

Pep Guardiola: Leadership is often associated with success, but there are people who lead very well and do not achieve success (at least as it is commonly understood). It is important to understand that sometimes you simply win by chance. It seems that, even if you have done the job well, if you win, you are successful, but if you lose, you are a failure. We should redirect this tendency to go to extremes for the sake of younger generations.

We should not only mirror those who win to copy them. There are so many circumstances tied to winning, many of which do not depend on you! Everyone is as they are, and you cannot copy the winner thinking that you will also win. There are many elements at play behind a victory. No one can say that good leadership is this.

I believe a lot in the day-to-day. I arrive in the morning, open the door, and ask myself: what is there, what problems do we have, how do we approach today’s training session, how do we see ourselves… and from there, move forward.

Valentí Martínez: Which person influenced you the most in your childhood in shaping your value system?

Pep Guardiola: My first two coaches at Gimnàstic de Manresa. They would pick me up, then take me home, go to Súria to pick up another kid, and then another to Puig-reig…

Manel Estiarte: I had it easier. I slept in the bed next to him. It was my brother Albert. I didn’t like water and didn’t want to be a swimmer or a water polo player, but I did want to be like him.

Albert Estiarte: My mother. Whether I did well or not so well, she was always there to say: “Very good, my son, you did everything you could. You fought hard. You did very well.”

Pep Guardiola: This gives you much more in the long run. In the end, we all seek kindness, to be loved and to love.

Valentí Martínez: In fact, these kinds of messages are not so frequent today. There is a lot of concern in youth football about the unexemplary role of parents at the fields, whether arguing among themselves or disputing the coach’s decisions…

Manel Estiarte: Parents want their children to be like the players who constantly fill the screens…

Pep Guardiola: …instead of letting them be what they want to be.

This conversation took place in Manchester on July 18, 2023, with Albert Estiarte present via videoconference from Japan.

Talking with people from different fields, Xavier López builds, in “Lideratges Valents,” a broad reflection on what it means to lead. He shares with the reader this perspective which, although external to the educational world, provides very useful lessons and conclusions for everyone involved in education.

The book is highly engaging and makes it clear, through the example of the interviewed individuals, how personal decisions influence the environment, just as the decisions (and actions and attitudes) of teachers have a great impact on children and young people, an impact that can have significant consequences in their lives.

Antoni Llobet Mercadé
General Director of the Fundació Universitària del Bages