The 4 Superpowers Every Leader Needs and How I Learned Them in Childhood

I can still see the scene.

I’m sitting on the back of my grandfather’s old Pampa truck, the red dust of Minas Gerais rising behind us as we drive to the family coffee farm. My grandparents are up front, quietly discussing the day. As we arrive, the whole operation springs to life. Dozens of workers are already in motion, some unloading coffee beans, others giving updates. My grandfather walks the farm slowly. People approach him cautiosly sharing and getting orders. They speak with deference, but also with admiration. You could feel the authority. You could feel the trust.

He didn’t speak much but when he did, everyone listened. He knew everything about the business. He moved like someone who had earned his place, not just through title, but through years of presence, precision, and decision.

That image never left me.

Not long after, in a different backyard, my other grandparents’ home, I was a different kind of general. A commander of GI Joes.

I would spend hours building missions. Sometimes it was about holding a base. Other times, a full-scale operation to take a hill (which was actually a bank on a hill behind their property). Some GI Joes were in tanks, others in planes, others on foot. All working different angles of the same goal. Each one doing their part, often without seeing the others but somehow, always coordinated in my mind.

I didn’t know it then, but I was rehearsing for what I’d do decades later as a CEO.

A Generation Forged Between Instability and Imagination

I grew up in Brazil during a time of dramatic change post-dictatorship transition, economic instability, and hyperinflation. Families had to plan for tomorrow with no guarantee the money in their pockets would still hold value. At the same time, childhood was a mix of improvisation and imagination. I was lucky to have a lot more than many but still didn’t have abundance, but I had creativity. We turned backyards into battlegrounds, sidewalks into soccer stadiums, and simple moments into lasting memories. That contrast between chaos and creativity shaped me. It taught me to be resourceful, to see possibility where others see limits, and to never take stability for granted. It’s why today, I value clarity, adaptability, and the ability to act decisively even when conditions aren’t perfect.

Strategic Execution Begins in the Imagination

As leaders, we often romanticize spreadsheets and frameworks, but execution starts earlier when you can see something that doesn’t exist yet and mobilize others to believe in it too.

Back then, the yard was my battlefield. Today, it’s boardrooms, Teams calls, and execution dashboards. The enemies now are confusion, distraction, and resistance to change.

But the principle remains: Multiple fronts. One mission. Coordination over control. Clarity over chaos.

The Quiet Superpowers That Make the Difference

Over the years, I’ve come to believe that great leaders don’t just carry titles but that they carry quiet superpowers that rarely make it into the headlines. These are the ones I try to practice, even if imperfectly:

• Clarity in Complexity Seeing the bigger picture when others feel overwhelmed by noise or urgency. It’s about connecting the dots before the picture is fully drawn.
• Courage to Decide Making decisions when the data is incomplete, opinions are split, and the stakes are high. Leadership often means moving forward anyway.
• Empathy in Motion Understanding the pressure people are under without lowering expectations. It’s walking with people, not just directing them.
• Resilience in Ambiguity Showing up consistently, even when the path ahead is unclear. It’s about keeping purpose steady while everything else shifts.

I don’t claim to have mastered any of these. But they’re the tools I reach for most when strategy gets muddy, teams feel stretched, or vision needs re-grounding.

The Legacy I Chose to Evolve

My grandfather was a commanding presence. People moved when he arrived. But what struck me most was what they said when he wasn’t around that he had helped them, believed in them, looked after them.

That shaped me.

I don’t think people fear me the way they did him. We lead in different times. He led through quiet strength and decisive action. I lead more through visible compassion and collaboration. But like him, I try to know the field well, trust deeply, and act decisively when it matters.

The AI Hill: Our Modern-Day Mission

Recently, when I introduced our company’s AI transformation strategy, I was transported back to the yard. I could see the troops, each in different corners, preparing.

The R&D team getting certified. Our roadmap being tested with customers and Microsoft. Hiring new talent with deep AI expertise. Embedding AI into every internal process so that it’s not just a product shift, but a mindset shift.

It felt like the same choreography I used to build as a child, except now, the stakes are real. The hill is steeper. But the mission is no less thrilling.

The Quiet Truth About Leadership

Leadership is often romanticized as bold and visible. But I’ve learned it’s also lonely. You see the whole field when others don’t. You hold the threads of strategy, culture, emotion, and timing in your hands, trying to weave something coherent while the pace never slows.

Sometimes, it still feels like those days in the backyard. Except now, the soldiers talk back. They challenge. They contribute. And together, we win not through orders but through alignment.

Why This Matters

If you ever led imaginary troops as a kid, or built forts, or directed entire worlds from the sandbox, maybe that wasn’t just play. Maybe it was training.

And maybe today, when you’re guiding your team through uncertainty, change, or innovation. You’re still that same kid, just with more at stake.

The toy soldiers are gone. But the mission remains: Protect what matters. Take the hill. Leave no one behind.

Curious to hear from other leaders, what childhood memories shaped how you lead today?

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Actual picture of the farm I used to spend time in with my family: