29th September 2026

“Language unlocks the cultural insight leaders need. This can never be automated.”

José Manuel Barroso, 11th President of the European Commission and Advisory Board Chair at Efekta Education, is no stranger to leading multinational teams and initiatives.

Speaking from his extensive political and corporate experience, he stressed that communication is not a responsibility to be taken lightly in that international context. Being both an operational and a relational activity, communication sits between efficiency and well-being, both of which have a huge impact on output.

As a leader on the global stage, his work frequently also gives him the opportunity to work outside of his first language. This, he tells us, has convinced him of the immense power of language, not just as a tool for information sharing, but as the greatest human and cultural connector.

Hear more from Barroso speaking at our Global Summit this year, and browse the key takeaways below.

Key takeaways

Communication is about staying in contact with other cultures

The ability to use language to inspire, connect, and convey information with nuance is a skill to be desired for any leader or employee.

But this skill becomes exponentially more complex when communicating across borders and linguistic backgrounds, especially when not expressing oneself in a first language. Workers at all seniority levels often spend a significant amount of time working in another language.

While linguistic accuracy is important in either case, Barroso argues that the cultural skills that come with language skills are more valuable. As he puts it,

“It is not just about linguistic abilities that, of course, are important. It's about the capacity for more openness by being in contact with other culture. Automation cannot bring you as a person or as a leader the capacity to understand the world that a language brings, because a language is about another culture.”

Thus, cultural awareness enables leaders in global organizations to harness the true power of language and communication as tools for connection, influence, and effective leadership across demographics.

Human-centered organizations embrace the changes offered by AI

While Barroso emphasizes that businesses must position their people at the center, – “organizations are built for humans, not the opposite,” – he also recognizes the vital importance of AI as a learning and skill-enhancing revolution:

“Organizations should see that AI is an enabler of human capabilities, namely of learning and education. So, AI investment is extremely important. It's now empirically demonstrated that AI improves the cognitive capacities and capabilities, so people learn fast, people can learn more. The next generation will be, I believe, more educated than the previous one.”

Optimistic leadership balances confidence and prudence

“Wise leadership is a combination of the qualities of innovation, openness and confidence, but also with the prudence to be able to deal with the risks, new types of risks, including investing in the resilience of the organization.”

Barroso explains that confidence – or “optimism” – in leadership drives teams forwards by motivating and building trust. This optimism must also be mitigated by risk-management, investing in training and nurturing the workforce to prepare for an uncertain future.

About

José Manuel Barroso, 11th President of the European Commission and Advisory Board Chair at Efekta Education

José Manuel Durão Barroso was President of the European Commission during two mandates (2004/2009 and 2009/2014) and served for twelve years in the Government of Portugal in several positions including as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. On behalf of the European Union, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

His academic appointments included visiting professor of Georgetown University and visiting professor at Princeton University. He is currently a visiting professor at the Catholic University of Portugal and at the European University Institute, School of Transnational Governance, Florence.

After being Chairman of the Board of Goldman Sachs International since 2016, he is now Chairman of International Advisors of Goldman Sachs. He has served as the Chairman of the Board of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance until December 2025.

Since 2025, José Manuel has brought his wealth of experience from both the public and private sectors to Efekta Education where he serves as Chairman, International Affairs Committee and is also chairing Efekta’s advisory board.

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