The third and last block of the specialized water seminar, AQUASeminar, held on March 25 and 26, focused on new skills. The pandemic has reshaped several aspects of our lives: interpersonal relationships, work, communication, economics, studies, etc. And in this long list of changes we also find leadership. Leadership is fundamental to the effectiveness of work teams and the organizations of which they are a part. The challenges facing organizations today require a comprehensive review of the strategic role of leadership. In this endeavor, new forms of leadership need to be explored to respond effectively to new work needs, such as design for change and innovation, cultural diversity, complexity, knowledge-based work and virtual organizations.

The first presentation, People management and leadership in the post-covid era by Xavier Escales, founder of AlwaysPeopleFirst, made us reflect on concepts such as softskills, employee engagement or burnout. The value of the human being in society, that the future is about people and technology and that people will always be key. The need to have these people committed to the company and the projects, and what good leaders should be like. Next, the round table of the first session titled New forms of leadership, we had the participation of Alejandra Martínez, Managing Director of BICG, Belén Badia, Director of People and Communication of URIACH and Sandra Tobías, Director of Organization and HR of AGBAR.

On the second and last day, David Sagristà, Director of Uptitude, gave us the presentation: Key competencies in the virtual environment. The virtual world is here to stay. As we have moved deeper into the pandemic of remote work, we have discovered the new challenges facing organizations, leaders and collaborators. Virtual teaming offers many benefits, but presents an increased risk of misalignment and lack of collaboration that can affect trust, cohesion and performance. We have the opportunity to take virtual leadership to the next level and learn how to generate a different impact. These skills will continue to be relevant in our increasingly digital world where there will be teams working remotely, more autonomously and with more divergent schedules. Securing the skills needed for this virtual environment is essential, not only now, but probably for the future ahead.

In the round table entitled “The challenges of companies in the virtual world” we had the presence of Anna Fornés Director of Fundació Factor Humà, Jordi Arrufí, Digital Trasformation Project Director MOBILE WORLD CAPITAL Barcelona, and Lluc Pejó Director of Talent and the AGBAR Water School.

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