The Transformation: Building What’s Next (Vol. 1, No. 2)

By Dahab Hagos-Fewell

The Shift | Vol. 1, No. 2 – Future Proofing Our Communities

Future-Proofing Communities: How Transformation Turns Process into Power

Future-proofing communities is the starting point for future-proofing the economy. When local systems are adaptive, equitable, and interconnected, they generate the talent, trust, and innovation needed for shared prosperity. At LeadersUp, we believe that work begins inside our own organization. By practicing transformation as a disciplined approach to working, through alignment, accountability, and learning, we strengthen the very infrastructure that enables us to extend this discipline outward. Whether convening employers, funders, young people, or policymakers, transformation enables us to model what a future-ready, inclusive economy looks like in action.

Future-proofing isn’t about predicting the future; it’s about designing for it. Through our Office of Transformation, LeadersUp builds adaptability into how we plan, execute, and learn. Our four pillars—Strategic Alignment & Storytelling, Capacity Building & Creative Enablement, Performance & Impact Management, and Knowledge Management & Continuous Improvement—create the connective tissue between vision and execution. This structure allows us to remain agile while staying true to our purpose. When challenges arise or opportunities shift, we have the internal muscle to adapt, without losing sight of the communities we serve. 

This discipline shapes how we work internally and how we show up externally. By embedding our values of Normalized Safety, Equitable Opportunity, and Shared Power into every system and partnership, we build the same conditions we want to see in the communities we serve: spaces where people feel safe to innovate, have the opportunity to grow, and possess the power to lead. These values underpin every decision and partnership, guiding how we navigate uncertainty and how we extend transformation beyond the boundaries of our organization.

At the heart of future-proofing is power, and for LeadersUp, that means centering the voices of young adults. Transformation provides us with the structure to make that principle a reality. Across our portfolios, young people are not simply beneficiaries of programs but co-architects of solutions that reflect their lived experience. Their insights shape how we design, measure, and communicate impact, ensuring transformation remains both human-centered and economically relevant and grounded in real community needs. 

In practice, this means utilizing feedback gathered through our engagement and learning processes to inform how we design initiatives, measure success, and define impact.

Transformation also extends through partnership. Each collaboration becomes an opportunity to demonstrate what equity-driven systems look like in practice. Whether co-designing strategies with funders, aligning research partners, or supporting employers to build inclusive talent pipelines, we lead with our values. This work reinforces that transformation is not just internal change; it’s an intentional practice that empowers others to lead adaptively. Together with our partners, we’re building the capacity, trust, and data-driven insight that help communities anticipate change and collaborate to shape the future.

Future-proofing our communities begins with transforming how we work. When organizations practice adaptability, alignment, and continuous learning, they lay the foundation for resilient, inclusive, and equitable economies. At LeadersUp, transformation isn’t a department; it’s a discipline. It’s how we bridge the internal with the external, connect process to purpose, and turn collaboration into community power. By leading with our values, we’re not only strengthening our organization, we’re helping communities build the systems they need to thrive in a rapidly changing economy.

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Dahab Hagos-Fewell is the Vice President, Head of Transformation at LeadersUp, driving organizational alignment and cross-functional execution across the organization’s portfolios.