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“The moment I decided what my real purpose was the stepping stone to greater things,” she explained. “I realised my purpose was to help leaders achieve organisational transformation, and that is why I put all my energy and time to make it happen, and I made it happen. I had a vision to create happy and healthy workplaces for everybody, and especially for the young generation, and there is still a lot of work to be done on this.“I tell my students, when you pursue your purpose, then success will pursue you.”

Leading with purpose and passion

All her years of interdisciplinary research have led to the development of The Management Shift, a system which has enabled many organisations to evolve from the “command and control” system of leadership, with rigid hierarchies and a lack of employee contribution, to collaborative, engaging, purposeful, conscious, healthier ecosystems that harness the power of human potential, listen to ideas and are innovative and powerful.The Management Shift adopts a practical and systemic approach to diagnose leadership issues, help leaders shift their mindset and enable them to make changes that will lift their organisational culture to better levels of thinking, performance, and bottom-line efficiencies and productivity.Her message is that change is not only important, but necessarily, if organisations are to growth and thrive. Stale businesses with rigid hierarchies and inflexible rules are not going to attractive to the top talent in a world where highly skilled workers are difficult to recruit. Nor is such a structure going to be attractive to the new generation of Gen Z workers who are starting to join the workforce and who expect organisations to be progressive, flexible and open to contributions from all employees.The Management Shift has the power to shift the mindset of the leaders and build better places to work.“Organisations should be the force for good in society,” Professor Hlupic says. “Think about what you can do as a leader to make the world a better place. By challenging yourself to think this way you can start to make the ripples that will spread out beyond your own organisation and start to be a force for change in the world. By being part of the transformation, you will also see the benefits in your personal and professional life.”

Empowering people to make a real impact

Asked about her leadership style, she describes it as “Level 4 leadership… empowering, supporting, being a servant leader.” This framework is part of the broader model she developed, mapping the five levels of organisational consciousness. Beyond that, she has also created 36 additional models mapping those five levels to areas such as gratitude, leadership, psychological safety, and even AI adoption. Clients often return to say her training changed not only their work life but their personal life.“I transitioned from being just an academic because I wanted to see real impact in businesses and organisations,” she explains, “I collect both quantitative and qualitative data so that we have real figures on how and why the programmes works.”The results of her programme are profound, on many levels. Companies regularly see increased revenue and reduced absenteeism, which could be described as the concrete results. But they also report a rise in the softer side of the workplace - people baking cakes for communal activities, more of a workplace community, and social media posts with fun and creativity.She is happy to share a striking example of a public sector organisation, where the Management Shift approach reduced start up grant processing time from sixty to four days, an incredible transformation in terms of efficiency and customer service. Another client, a private company, was an SME business in the United States which doubled in size within eighteen months and increased revenue by 500 per cent. Her global experience, crossing cultures and countries, has taught her a lot about community and open-mindedness.“At the end of the day, we are all humans, looking for meaning and connections,” she says. “Everybody wants to be part of a healthy, happy workplace, but not every culture supports these ideas equally.”She advises clients not to focus on ‘managing up’ but to “speak Level 4 language and form your own network… and changes will happen.” One such story came from a woman in a pharmaceutical company who felt limited by a non-diverse board. She emailed the CEO, and although he didn’t reply immediately, the message went viral internally. “Eventually, the CEO responded and gave her a new role. She is now an independent consultant and author. Change can happen, and sometimes the ripples take time to be visible, but you can create a shift.”To sceptics who think soft skills don’t drive performance, she has data to prove otherwise.“I share hard data—not just from my clients, but from other researchers too.  For example, research was published showing that a 1 per cent increase in engagement can increase profit by 0.5 per cent. These are not just soft skills—they are essential.”

Hybrid and flexible working – should organisations allow it?

In every example, her message is clear: human-centred leadership is essential for thriving organisations and healthier societies. So is human creativity, and the genius of the human, which is why she believes that AI can be a complement to human thought, but people’s creativity and connections can never be replaced.“Level 4 leadership represents the future,” she explains. “With it comes not just innovation, but also integrity, compassion, and a genuine commitment to being a force for good in society.”She believes that integrity, in particular, is becoming the main currency of the future. Companies that believe they can continue with unethical practices will simply not survive in the long term. Awareness is rising globally, and consumers are becoming more conscious and are increasingly choosing to buy from ethical, transparent organisations. The reputation of a company matters now more than ever, and change has to be real and meaningful if it is to be credible and long-lasting, she says.“This is why I often talk about 'company health.' For years, I’ve used the 6 Box Leadership Diagnostic Tool to identify strengths and weaknesses across six key dimensions of organisational culture,” she says. “It has been instrumental in helping companies shift toward Level 4 leadership and organisational culture”.“We have recently redeveloped the tool and are preparing to launch it as the Organizational Health Scan. It uses the same core model and questions but is now supported by updated software. Importantly, it blends AI insights with human intelligence to generate strategies based on each organisation’s unique profile.”Organisations will receive an organisational health index score and a certificate, allowing them to publicly demonstrate their commitment to healthy, ethical, and Level 4 aligned practices. She says that it is a powerful way to signal that they take Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seriously and that they are truly future-ready.On hybrid working practices, something of a controversial issue at present, she says flexibility is crucial.“Forcing people back into the office is control-based management,” she explains. “We know when you micromanage from Level 3, performance declines, whereas giving people responsibility instead of tasks is a hallmark of Level 4 in the Management Shift.”

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Meet Vlatka at our Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner on 4 June 2025 in London

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