Leadership With a Human Touch: Secret to Sustainable Performance & Business Growth

Barbara Martin Coppola is a global CEO, board member, and advisor with over 25 years of leadership across five industries and three continents. A purpose-driven leader, she has led major transformations at companies like IKEA and Decathlon, championing sustainability, innovation, and inclusive, values-based growth.

In an insightful interaction with Global Woman Leader Magazine, Barbara shares her leadership insights on helping modern-day organizations and building a culture that is supportive, inclusive, and purpose-driven. She sheds light on how leaders can navigate the intersection of digital transformation, sustainability, and delocalization. Highlighting the power of purpose-driven leadership in driving sustainable performance, Barbara talks about managing cross-cultural teams and building a supportive culture.

For more insights on how Barbara Martin Coppola is imbuing leadership with a human touch, read the article.

In today’s rapidly changing market, how do you see the intersection of digital transformation, sustainability, and delocalization influencing leadership strategies in global companies?

In today’s environment, global companies are navigating three major transformations at once: digital, with AI at the center; sustainability, driven by increasing expectations; and business resilience, as delocalization reshapes global markets. Managing all three simultaneously places enormous pressure on leadership.

It’s no longer enough to deliver short-term results. Leaders must also build a long-term vision that can adapt to rapidly shifting realities. It’s a bit like flying a plane while changing the engine midair—it requires clarity, confidence, and a strong, trusted team.

Success today depends on surrounding yourself with diverse talent and creating an environment where people feel safe to contribute, challenge, and take smart risks. Only then can innovation thrive and real progress happen.

These intersecting shifts demand more than operational excellence—they call for human-centered leadership. Leaders must inspire through purpose, make bold decisions in uncertainty, and shape cultures where resilience and transformation can go hand in hand.

With the growing emphasis on purpose-driven leadership, how do you balance driving financial success with fostering deeper human connections and values within a global team?

In today’s world, a strong and shared purpose is one of the most powerful drivers of connection within a global team. It unites people across cultures, functions, and geographies—giving meaning to the work beyond day-to-day tasks.

But purpose alone isn’t enough. Long-term success comes from balancing three forms of performance. First, financial: companies must remain profitable to continue delivering on their purpose. Second, environmental and social: we must operate with responsibility toward the planet and society. And third, human: creating a culture where people feel valued, engaged, and energized.

When these three are aligned—profit, sustainability, and people—we create a culture where human connection and business success reinforce one another. This isn’t about choosing between performance and purpose. It’s about recognizing that the human element is not separate from success—it’s at the heart of it.

Great leaders don’t just drive results. They build environments where people care, connect, and contribute with meaning. That’s how performance becomes sustainable—and purpose becomes real.

How have your diverse leadership experiences across continents shaped your approach to managing cross-cultural teams in the digital age?

Having worked across five industries and nine countries, I’ve come to value diversity not just as a concept, but as a real asset in leadership. Each experience—whether cultural, linguistic, or business-related—becomes a resource to draw from when navigating the unknown. It builds adaptability, empathy, and the ability to create value in unfamiliar contexts.

Leading cross-cultural teams in the digital age requires clarity and intention. You need to establish a shared sense of purpose, define clear goals, and foster energy across time zones and backgrounds. But cohesion doesn’t happen by chance—it’s built through consistent, intentional communication, both digital and in-person.

Digital tools now enable teams to stay connected and aligned, but they also allow us to measure impact more clearly. This visibility helps ensure teams know whether they’re moving in the right direction—and gives them confidence in their collective progress.

Ultimately, it’s about building trust, creating connection, and empowering people to do their best work—wherever they are in the world.

Navigating three simultaneous transformations—AI, sustainability, and geopolitical shifts—how can leaders best equip their teams to stay agile while ensuring long-term relevance in an uncertain world?

To thrive in the face of AI, sustainability, and geopolitical transformation, teams must learn to create value in the unknown. That requires a mindset of continuous experimentation—testing, learning, and adapting in real time. With tools like AI, the possibilities to innovate are vast, but innovation needs direction.

Leaders must strike a careful balance between empowerment and alignment. Teams need the freedom to act with entrepreneurship, but that energy must be focused around a shared vision. Fragmentation—too many disconnected initiatives—can stall progress. Structure and autonomy must coexist.

That’s why clarity of purpose is critical. The destination should remain stable, even if the path evolves. Progress needs to be tracked with measurable outcomes, and strategies must be agile enough to course-correct as needed—without losing sight of the bigger picture.

In uncertain times, the role of leadership is to anchor teams with clarity, while giving them the confidence and freedom to explore new ways of delivering impact. That’s how organizations stay agile—and relevant—for the long term.

As a leader who champions work-life balance while being a mother of two, what unique challenges and insights do you bring to advocating for more inclusive leadership policies for working parents?

I’ve always believed that people are most productive when they’re fulfilled in their personal lives and can bring their full selves to work. Every individual has different needs to feel balanced and engaged, and inclusive leadership means recognizing and respecting that.

For me, a core pillar of happiness has always been being present for my children. I didn’t want to delegate motherhood. That’s why I chose to work in organizations that gave me the flexibility to be home by 5 PM. I often worked after they went to bed, but on my own terms—organizing my time in a way that allowed me to perform fully while also being the parent I wanted to be.

This experience taught me that flexibility is not a compromise on performance—it’s an enabler of it. When companies trust and support their people, they create loyalty, commitment, and long-term value.

As leaders, we have a responsibility to shape policies that acknowledge the full lives of our teams. Supporting working parents isn’t just about inclusion—it’s about unlocking the best in people.

What can companies do to foster authentic opportunities for women’s advancement, particularly in traditionally male-dominated industries like sports and tech?

The more diverse and inclusive a company is, the stronger its business performance—this has been consistently proven. When the employee base reflects the society it serves, the organization becomes more relevant, resilient, and innovative.

In industries like sports and tech, where leadership remains largely male-dominated, it's critical to recognize that the landscape is changing. In sports, for example, the fastest growing market is the women's one. Representation inside these companies must reflect that reality, across all levels.

To foster authentic opportunities for women, companies must first address unconscious bias in hiring, promotion, and development. But that’s only the beginning. They must also be intentional about creating and opening up roles that allow diverse talent to rise, ensuring that ambition meets opportunity.

Advancing women in leadership isn’t about quotas—it’s about building better companies. It requires courage, consistency, and leadership that sees inclusion not as a “nice to have,” but as a strategic imperative.