There’s a difference between inspirational leadership and transformational leadership. After years of studying, researching, observing, and advising on digital transformation, I can say this without fear or favour. Leadership that inspires, that moves people, that stirs their emotions and gets them fired up, isn’t necessarily leadership that transforms or that’s able to produce meaningful, measurable, sustainable impact. I’ve also found the opposite is true. Leadership capable of transforming, of delivering on a vision or mission, isn’t necessarily the type of leadership that has mass appeal. But that probably isn’t a popular opinion in this age of social media likes, virtual friends and followers, personal brands, viral posts, and deep reverence for the mastery of optics. I believe what the Caribbean and the world need now is leadership able both to inspire and to transform. But it’s a rare combination and, for me, one that requires a level of truth-telling I haven’t seen nurtured in many Caribbean spaces. Just last week, in Episode #405 of The Lex Fridman Podcast, American billionaire and founder of Amazon and Blue Origin Jeff Bezos spoke about the importance of truth-telling. He believes high performing organisations need to have mechanisms and a culture that support the sharing of important truths that can be awkward and exhausting, can make people uncomfortable, but are vital to success. I launched the 14-part podcast series My Belonging to encourage virtual conversations and empowering action around uncomfortable truths related to the Caribbean’s digital transformation and the national development of Barbados. As I’ve assessed where we are and where I believe we need to be, it hit me that I’ve been doing this work for 25 years! It then occurred to me that My Belonging is a passing of the torch to another, newer generation. As we come to the end of the series, join me for Episode 12, “Impartations: The Blessing of Belonging”. I talk about the importance of truth-telling, knowing when it’s time to move on, and having great leaders capable of producing other great leaders. Thanks for listening!