My hidden gems #2

?? Life update: My hidden gems

Take a second before you continue reading. What do you think of when I say leadership? What comes into your mind? Whom do you picture??Comment your thoughts below.

?? Conventional wisdom has always directed us to think that leadership is found only at the top. Consequently, it is often attached to certain positions and ranks.?

?? But during the last few months in the Commission, I realised that true leaders are at all levels of the organisation - irrelevant to their seniority level. I found leaders in policy officers (not managers) but also among juniors, trainees, friends. They are my hidden gems. AKA the hidden leaders.?

?? It took me some time to come across these colleagues. In their presence, I became more proactive and was inspired to excel and produce my best work. Our exchanges give me room to grow and blossom. So what, you say? In the long run,?these employees drive performance and organisational success.

?? But what makes hidden leaders different? In my view, they can spot and encourage potential young stars. Sadly,?seeing value in developing young talents is often an overlooked leadership skill.

?? What's coming up?

Smart Cities Masterclass. How to develop a good smart city strategy that will sustain your work beyond the first experiments and pilots and form the resilient backbone of future projects? 8 March, 9.30 am CET. Online.

Webinar - Fighting climate change in court: Reporting on cases against governments. Let's shed more light on the totally underestimated effectiveness of litigation as a tool for holding governments and companies accountable for their carbon emissions. 15 March, 4 pm CET. Online.

Public Consultation - Renewables: Permitting processes & power-purchase agreements. Have your say and provide your views on the policy proposal on renewables permitting and power purchase agreements. Available in all official ???? languages. Deadline: 12 April.

?? What I loved this month

?? Don't even think about it - Why our brains are wired to ignore climate change by George Marshall. Very insightful when it comes to climate communication - . The chapters are structured in questions, so pick and read.

?? What really matters: Lifting the world’s bottom billion out of poverty would add little to carbon emissions. And glancing at the charts below, maybe we should ask the privileged 10% for some lifestyle changes. E.g. no more private jets?