In recent years, especially post-COVID, the word transformation has become a buzzword across various industries. Personal trainers use this word to describe the physical metamorphosis they’ll help you achieve, and organizations use it to outline how they'll leverage technology, particularly in the age of AI. Beyond physical and technological change, transformation takes on new significance in the realm of leadership—specifically, transformational leadership. We often see the term in leadership contexts, but what does it truly mean? The concept of transformational leadership has been around for quite some time, originally coined by sociologist James V. Downton in 1973. Over the years, the defining qualities of a transformational leader have evolved to become, at their core, leaders who focus on the essential needs of their followers. Today, it’s more relevant than ever. My own journey toward becoming a transformational leader was unplanned, and something I only fully recognized in hindsight. It evolved in ways I never anticipated. Around 2003, I was working for a global company as the director of corporate communications. That year, we conducted our first large-scale employee engagement survey. As we analyzed the results, some findings were predictable. Typical areas like pay and benefits ranked in the bottom quartile, representing the lowest-rated aspects of employee satisfaction. However, there was one surprising item in the Bottom 5 for employee satisfaction: a question about whether employees felt good about the company’s contributions to the community. This result was unsettling to our executive team because, truthfully, it uncovered something we had not anticipated. At the time, giving back to the community on a company level was not a priority. Somehow, I was tasked with finding a solution, and at first, I didn’t know where to start.

With the recent surge in attacks against companies with prominent DEI initiatives and the SCOTUS decision to overturn affirmative action in university admissions, many companies and their leaders are grappling with a significant dilemma: Do we fold or do we hold the DEI line?