Most Transformational Leader Making An Impact In 2026 January2026

MOST TRANSFORMATIONAL

LEADER MAKING AN IMPACT

IN 2025

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Leadership A er Automa on What Remains When Systems Think for Us INDUSTRY INSIGHTS Turning Intelligence into Influence How Leaders Convert AI into Compe ve Power

Founder Amica Mea Blog

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Who is Amica Mea –

“Let’s Explore Possibilities in the Timeless Impossibilities of Our Lives”

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Editorial

Leadership Rooted in Meaning

I

n today’s constantly evolving world, transformational leadership is no longer defined solely by professional success or strategic influence. It is measured by the depth of impact one creates—on people, on communities, and on the human spirit. The Most Transformational Leader Making an Impact in 2026 recognizes an individual who lead with empathy, resilience, and an unwavering sense of purpose. Stands Julia Corotan, whose journey reflects a rare blend of vulnerability, conviction, and quiet strength.

For Julia, leadership is not rooted in the pursuit of perfection, but in compassion and sustained passion. She believes that meaningful impact is born when one remains deeply human while striving to uplift others. Her work is driven by a profound awareness that countless individuals navigate life feeling unseen, unheard, and uncertain. While she acknowledges that reaching everyone may be an impossible dream, her philosophy is refreshingly grounded: if her story reaches even one person a day, it matters.

This belief was the foundation upon which she built Amica Mea—a venture inspired not by theory, but by lived experience. Julia’s life, as she candidly shares, has been a continuous journey of highs and lows, shaping her perspective on resilience and purpose. Over time, she has learned to embrace uncertainty, understanding that life rarely unfolds according to plan. What once felt unsettling has become a source of growth, acceptance, and inner calm.

-Alaya Brown

Julia’s leadership is defined by this mindset. She leads by example, reminding us that life is not about controlling outcomes, but about honoring the journey. The destination may serve as a milestone, but it is the journey that creates memories, meaning, and transformation.

As we look ahead to 2026, Julia Corotan represents a new paradigm of leadership—one that inspires not through authority, but through authenticity, compassion, and the courage to turn personal experience into collective hope.

CONTENTS 08 18 22

THE SIGNATURE STORY

Who is Amica Mea –

Julia Corotan

“Let’s Explore Possibilities in the Timeless Impossibilities of Our Lives”

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Leadership After Automation What Remains When Systems Think for Us

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Turning Intelligence into Influence How Leaders Convert AI into Competitive Power

Editor-in-Chief

Merry D'Souza

Managing Editor

Alaya Brown

Executive Editor

Eva Miller

Visualizer

Michael Warner

Art & Design Head

Donna Claus

Co-designer

Yasmin Nasser

Business Development Manager

Sherin Rodricks

Marketing Manager Business Development Executives Digital Marketing Manager

Jenny Jordan Reem Almasoud, Sheldon Miller Isabel Barnes

Technical Head

Phil Simon

Research Analyst

Helena Smith

Circulation Manager

Finn Wilson

sales@insightssuccess.com

January, 2026 Corporate Office Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-859-2600 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccessmagazine.com

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THE SIGNATURE STORY

Who is Amica Mea –

“Let’s Explore Possibilities in the Timeless Impossibilities of Our Lives” Founder Amica Mea Blog

M o s t T r a n s f o r m at i o n a l L e a d e r M a k i n g a n I m pa c t i n 2 0 2 6

Always remind yourself to slow down from time to time and really live the moment because life really is full of surprises.

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I

n today’s constantly changing times, life, for the majority of the transformational leaders, means making a positive impact both professionally and personally.

Instead of a pursuit of perfection, one must strive for compassion along with keeping alive one’s own passion to make that impact long-lasting, feels Julia Corotan. That passion drives her. “The thought that there are people out there going through something every single day, and feeling alone, lost, and not knowing what to do. I know that it is the impossible dream to have my story reach every single person out there in the world.”

But the thought—the same thought she had when she first started Amica Mea, was just reaching one person every day is all that matters. Julia is someone who is driven by her own story and her own journey in life. To the question of what drives her, Julia knows that this is not a conventional answer. But through the 30 years that she has lived so far, her life has been one big roller coaster ride, and she knows that it does not stop there. “Life is full of surprises.” She used to be someone who hated surprises, but through the years learned that life is full of surprises, and “honestly, no matter how hard we plan for life, something will always not go as planned.” So, she has learned just to relax, sit back, and enjoy life, no matter how stressful, surprising, or challenging it can be. Because life is really about the journey, not the destination. The destination is only the reward; the journey is the memories no one can ever replace.

A Safe Platform for People to Come and Go That same passion explains her appetite for business. Every time the question of passion arises, Julia goes back to her WHY. “Why did I start my blog in the first place?” Because that reason is her drive and her appetite for her own business. “I know Amica Mea Blog can be seen as a company. But in all honesty, I personally just see it as a platform, a safe space for people to come to, to go to when they are trying to find a place, a community that understands them, who will be there for each other in moments where we think we are alone.”

Amica Mea started as a passion project. Julia had just ended her term as the Country Director for Digital Marketing in AIESEC in Malawi, a non-profit youth leadership organization she was a part of. When that role ended, Julia wanted to continue helping and mentoring, but this time not just focused on the youth, but on anyone who would relate to her story, message, and lessons.

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Over the last decade, life hadn’t been smooth sailing, a lot of ups and downs had taken place, a lot of lessons learned, and a lot of new experiences had been gained.

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The idea started from her experiences of being burned out, lost, and finding her way and purpose in life. “When I ended my term in AIESEC, I wanted to continue doing something similar, to help people, to continue my work in AIESEC, but this time through something different.” And through this, she decided to share her story, her letters, in hopes that maybe it could be of help to others. To let anyone out there who may be or may have gone through something similar to know that they are not alone. “Because when I was going through everything, I felt like I was alone in this battle that was only happening in my head.” So Julia wanted to create a space where people can feel safe and a place to know that you aren’t alone in this journey, that there are people out there who understand what they are going through.

Discover Your Passion and Pursue It to the End Another secret to balancing personal and professional life is Julia’s personal philosophy. “What I always tell everyone.

Find something you truly enjoy and would always look forward to. Life always throws unexpected obstacles our way. And honestly, sometimes it is hard to find the balance between the two.” So, over the years, she has found that finding something to look forward to at the end of every workday helps her balance both her personal and professional lives. She always has to remind herself that both her personal and professional lives are two separate lives. The moment she steps out of the office, she is no longer ‘Office Julia.’ “I am just now “Regular Julia.” It’s hard, honestly, to separate them, especially on those busy days at work, but having something to look forward to doing when going home helps a lot when it comes to balancing the challenges of both her professional and personal lives. Also, treating yourself at least once or twice a year makes a big difference. “For me, I love to travel, I love going to new places and discovering new cultures, so every year I make it a point to travel not for work but for pleasure. This helps me look forward to something that helps elevate the stress of work.”

“A Pandemic That Revealed Our Limits” Sometimes the challenges are global, like the recent pandemic. Reflecting on it, Julia says that actually, Amica Mea Blog was launched during the pandemic. “It was during this time that I had left my role as the Country Director for Marketing and Communications in AIESEC Malawi.” She was feeling burnt out, lost, and in all honesty, hopeless. Her mental health had taken a turn, and towards the end of 2020. “I sat down and thought to myself, ‘I can’t

do this anymore. ‘I wanted to keep working, to keep doing what I was doing in AIESEC by coaching and mentoring people.” She remembers sitting down and rereading her old letters to herself. “I love to write letters to myself and to my future significant other as a way to rant, or release any frustrations, emotions, or feelings I may have had at that moment.” And while rereading her letters, Julia realized she did not want anyone to feel what she had felt – the feeling of being alone, the feeling of thinking that you are the only person who understands the battle that is happening in your head. “I wanted to put it out there that there are others who understand your struggles and you are not alone.’ – And it was during COVID-19 when she realized it was the perfect time to launch Amica Mea, “Because it was a time that many of us felt lonely, many of us had battled with our own mental health.” And she wanted to create a platform where people seek and meet like-minded people, a place where they can feel safe, and know that someone is walking beside them. “That there are people out there, too, who understand our struggles.”

“Let’s Find Out Amica Mea” When asked to go back to the point where her real journey began, Julia smiles, “Where do I even begin?” She is a Filipino born and raised in the South-Pacific island of Papua New Guinea, in a small town in the Eastern Highlands called Goroka. Her family came from humble beginnings; they weren’t really well off. ‘So to give each of my aunts and uncles a good life, my grandmother moved to PNG in 1986 to Madang to become a professor at the University there, which was the start of our story in PNG.” Papua New Guinea is a country rich in culture, and a country not many people are familiar with. Surprisingly, though, PNG has a strong influence of many other cultures, such as Australia, the US, and the Philippines; “this exposure played a huge role in my strengths of being culturally aware.”

Gaining A New Perspective After high school, when Julia was eighteen, she moved to Manila, Philippines, for University. Her career in Personal Development began while she was at University. She worked for a non-profit called AIESEC that focused on leadership Development through cross-cultural exchange.

“While in AIESEC, this opened my eyes to a whole new perspective of the world compared to my small-town upbringing in PNG.” Due to her background and the origins of her family, Julia has gained an appreciation for various cultures and an understanding of the world around us.

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Understanding that different cultures have different traditions, understandings, and acceptances is vital, both on a global platform and even in everyday life.

“Being culturally aware is a strength we should all have. It ties into communication—understanding one’s culture can help us better communicate with different nationalities, to be understanding, and to be more empathetic.” Communication is a strength that Julia has also gained through her experiences, which has helped with leading teams and mentoring the youth.

A Lot of Lessons Learned However, while in AIESEC and balancing her university career, her mental health took a turn. “I was burnt out and feeling lost with my direction in life and in my career. It was during this time that I went back to my love for letter writing; through my letters, I poured out my frustrations, emotions, and problems—anything that I could not voice out to anyone at that time.” It became a way for her to relieve stress and to also understand her own emotions and her own mind. Over the last decade, life hadn’t been smooth sailing; a lot of ups and downs had taken place, a lot of lessons had been learned, and a lot of new experiences had been gained. It was through all of this that Julia had gained a much deeper appreciation for personal development, and with this, she wanted to share it with the world, which became the start of Amica Mea and then Becoming You. Slowing Down Once in a While A weakness of her own, of which Julia is well aware, is that she likes to rush into things; sometimes she forgets to enjoy the moment. “I rush into trying to finish a task to see the results.”

This has taught her to slow down and appreciate the moment. “Just like in life, when we rush and forget to appreciate the moment, we miss the little things that are worth remembering.” So always remind yourself to slow down from time to time and really live the moment because life really is full of surprises, she suggests.

advice that made me see things differently, and that was ‘Whatever you are doing now in your professional life, keep going, don’t give up.” Of course, don’t use this for greed, don’t ruin others to get to the top, stay humble, work hard, and never give up is what that advice basically gives.

“Reaching our goals and dreams is not an easy journey.”

You will experience many obstacles, many challenges, but that is and will always be part of that journey, so don’t give up, keep going, because one day you will look back on how far you’ve come and you will thank your past self for pushing through, persevering, and not giving up. Because there will be times, seasons, where life will test you, break you, challenge you, and make you question everything that you have chosen and done. But just like seasons, they will all come to an end, and new ones will begin, so keep going and never give up.

Live Your Life to the Fullest For the viewers, her mantra to growth, development, and success, is profound: “Live your life. There is no perfect blueprint to life, and each of us is learning along the way.

So be your authentic self, don’t become someone who others want, become that person you want to be. Don’t abandon yourself to make others happy. Be you, be the authentic you, the person you want to be. This is the first step to growth and development, and success will follow.”

Her final thoughts, Julia wishes to share, are deep from her mind: “Hey stranger! It may be the first time that you have encountered me, or it may not be. But I want to say thank you because if it weren’t for the viewers, I wouldn’t be sitting here doing this interview. So, thank you for this opportunity, and I hope I can see you guys around again.

Because just like I’ve said before in my blogs, everyone we encounter in life, we are always meant to encounter because life gives us the people that we need, not the people that we want. So, each of you has played a part in my life, so thank you.

And I just want to say again, go live life, be your authentic self. Don’t abandon yourself to please others. Because the moment you start caring for yourself, life will start rewarding you.”

Julia Corotan’s Fabulous Accomplishments

Don’t Give Up Ever • In her advice to others aspiring to take on leadership roles in their respective fields, Julia says: “There was one advice that a mentor once said, and it was an

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Brainz 500 Global 2025 – Brainz Magazine – Stockholm, Sweden.

•

Nomination for – Outstanding Women Leadership in Content Creation Award – Business Frontier Leadership Conclave & Awards 2.0 – April 2026 – Dubai, UAE.

•

CREA Global Awards 2025 – Brainz Magazine – Stockholm, Sweden.

•

The Northern Star Award – AIESEC Benilde – Manila, Philippines – May 2019.

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WHAT REMAINS WHEN

SYSTEMS THINK FOR US

A

utomation has not only influenced the work landscape but also made it utterly different.

Systems nowadays can perform data analysis, process optimization, outcome prediction, and decisionmaking at a speed and scale that were unthinkable before.

The situation where machines more and more become our “thoughts” brings up the basic question for leaders: if intelligence is in the systems and not in the people, what is left of leadership? The reply is different leadership and not less leadership.

Automation will not drive away the need for leaders but will rather uncover what leadership has always been about.

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When Thinking Is Automated, Judgment Becomes Central The strengths of automation lie in performing logical operations, recognizing patterns, and carrying out tasks according to pre-set rules. However, it is still incapable of making decisions in cases that are unclear, associated with conflicting values, or totally new. While machines take over to help with routine thinking, the leaders' role is relegated to the higher-order judgment that requires more thinking than the ordinary one.

It is becoming increasingly common for leaders to make decisions regarding what issues to tackle, what compromises to make, and what results are most important.

Leadership After Automation

These choices are connected with morality, sustainability, and human beings—areas that are not easily programmed.

Automation limits uncertainty; leadership decides on the way to go within what remains uncertain. One of the major skills that a leader of the future will have is the ability to make sound decisions.

Sense-Making in a World of Abundant Intelligence One of the paradoxes related to automation is the issue of abundance. The heads of the organizations are not anymore limited by the unavailability of information but by the overabundance of it. The machines are constantly generating insights that are often faster than the organizations can process them.

After automation, one of the main tasks for leaders is to make sense of what is going on—interpreting the signals, putting the insights in context, and telling what is important from what is only measurable. The leaders have to link data with strategy, insight with intent, and intelligence with action. If there is no such interpretive layer, the automated intelligence will run the risk of turning into noise rather than an advantage.

Values and Ethics as Leadership Infrastructure The involvement of automated systems in decision making that impacts human life—such as recruitment, credit provision, medical care, security—puts the ethical aspect of leadership into the spotlight.

The systems themselves are not ethical; the leaders are. The automation leads to the need for an ethical leader to be present in the organization.

Designing the Human–System Relationship Automation not only alters the nature of work but also the workers’ attitude towards it. The functions move from doing to overseeing, from executing to choosing, from following the process to focusing on the goal.

The leaders should strategically plan this relationship. If automation is brought in without a consideration of the roles, it results in disengagement, loss of skills, or opposition. If it is accompanied with clear communication, it positively affects the human input.

The leadership after the robotization includes the task of making the people think only about what machines cannot do: imagination, compassion, analytical reasoning, and networking. It is not a technology hurdle; rather, it is a challenge related to the organization and culture.

Culture Matters More, Not Less Automation does not wipe out culture but rather brings it out louder. In a culture of high trust, automation quickens the performance rate. In low-trust culture, it quickens the rate of malfunctioning. In the case that people are afraid of being punished, they will act defensively and override the systems.

If intuition is put ahead of evidence, the intelligent systems will be neglected. If learning is not supported, then automation will be like a rock. Leadership in the era of automation is a matter of culture. The leaders have to create the kind of environment where the systems are used with a lot of care, are subjected to constructive critiques, and are constantly improved.

Conclusion

The leaders should set the limits within which the application is considered acceptable, determine the cases when fairness should prevail over efficiency, and make sure that human accountability is not obscured by the algorithms.

The trust that the stakeholders have in the organizations that rely heavily on automation is not primarily based on the technologies used but rather on the perceptibility of the human accountability. In situations when the systems take actions, the stakeholders still expect the leaders to take up the role of the accountable person.

Automation does not mean the end of leadership, rather it brings out the important features of it. When machines take over thinking and decision-making, leaders are required to make even tougher decisions and face ethical dilemmas, while being responsible for their choices.

The organizations that will come out on top are not the ones who do the most automation, rather, they are the ones who manage to lead better—the ones that comprehend that with machines thinking for us, leadership retains the appeal of being the human task of making the right choice, acting with care, and designing the future with purpose.

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HOW

LEADERS

CONVERT AI INTO

COMPETITIVE POWER

A

I is easily accessible now. Besides, algorithms, platforms, and tools that provided competitive edge are today nearly within the reach of all organizations. Thus, only the intelligence factor is no longer a distinguishing mark.

What gives power to the leaders and weakens the followers in the AI economy is the capability to transform intelligence into influence—converting insights into decisions, adoption into outcomes, and technology into a sustained competitive power. The shift is a challenge for the leaders, not for the tech guys.

Intelligence Without Influence Has Limited Value A lot of organizations produce enormous quantities of AIgenerated insights but have difficulties to turn them into activities. Data visualization tools are not used, advices are not taken, and smaller projects do not grow. The issue is not a lack of ability but a lack of influence. Influence is

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produced when intelligence affects behavior: decisionmaking, resource distribution, and strategy change, for example.

Those executives who notice the alteration, apply less on AI installation and more on its integration into the very core of decision-making. Competitive edge is gained when intelligence continuously determines results.

Leadership Ownership of AI Outcomes Misplaced ownership is among the most frequent obstacles to driving influence. If AI is considered as a technologydriven project, possessed by the data or IT departments, its effect will still be confined only to that specific area. The executives, who transform AI into a competitive advantage, do not shy away from letting everyone know about the outcomes.

Turning Intelligence into Influence

This signifies linking AI projects right to the strategic priorities of the organization—like growth, margin increase, risk minimization, or customer differentiation—and then making the top leaders responsible for the resulting situation.

The moment AI is part of the same discussions regarding capital investment and strategy, its power is magnified. The focus of leadership makes the intelligence justifiable.

to influence organizations where intuition is more valued than proof or where senior judgment is not to be contested.

Culture is the key factor in determining which leaders turn AI into a competitive weapon and those who do not. Datainformed decisions are rewarded, constructive challenges are encouraged, and learning from outcomes rather than defending positions is practiced.

Scaling Influence Through Operating Models

Embedding AI into Decision Authority Artificial intelligence becomes more powerful when it participates in actual decision-making. The understanding is that AI will just provide information for decision-making, be in total control of decisions, or human supervision will be necessary in certain areas.

For a company to have a competitive edge, it has to be big.

The top executives of the company have to make sure that the intelligence from AI is not only available to certain teams or functions. This means changing the whole operating model by redesigning the processes, workflows, and incentives that support the intelligent decision-making throughout the company.

The process of setting these boundaries is a way of gaining acceptance and support and a way for leaders to get the most out of their teams. The organization and its members understand the cases when AI will determine what data and information should be trusted and when there will be room for involving human judgment.

To illustrate, the AI insights that are included in pricing and supply chain planning or in customer engagement systems have a daily impact on the outcomes instead of having it only once in a while.

The process of assigning the decision-making power becomes quicker and more uniform, while still maintaining the same level of accountability. The classification of this balance is a typical case of the organizations having AI tech that is capable but still being disregarded for the sake of operations.

Building Trust in Intelligent Systems Influence is reliant on trust. AI outputs will not be acted upon if leaders and teams do not place trust in them. The main components of trust are transparency, reliability, and explainability. The role of leaders in establishing expectations is critical.

They make sure that models are validated, biases are tackled, and constraints are expressed in layman's terms.

Offering too much hampers credibility; cautious usage encourages trust. Trust is fostered when AI is helpful in real-life decisions instead of being just spectacular in demos.

Companies that give more importance to integrating their systems rather than to performing trials can reach the required dimensions sooner. The very first impact is small but it grows steadily once intelligence becomes part of the daily routine.

Conclusion AI has evolved into a technology that offers high-quality intelligence. However, the power to influence are the scarce ones. The top players in the market are those who merge understanding and execution—those who make AI a part of their decisions, factor culture with evidence, and make intelligence an extensive and ethical practice. Using intelligence to gain influence is not a matter of simply getting new technology.

It calls for a certain kind of leadership that knows where the creation of value takes place: when the change in action occurs due to insight, and then the action generates advantage.

Aligning Culture with Intelligence Cultural misalignment is the commonest cause of failure for AI adoption over technical weakness. Intelligence is unable

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