The Harmonious Leadership Awards
Recognizing the leaders who refuse to choose between their wellbeing and their impact.
WHY THIS EXISTS
There's a quiet revolution happening in how people lead.
It doesn't make headlines. It shows up in the way a manager checks in before checking up. In the founder who protects her rest like it's a board meeting. In the organizer who builds culture as fiercely as he builds coalitions.
These leaders reject the myth that burnout is the price of impact. They've found a third way — one where their own flourishing fuels the flourishing of everyone around them. And the results speak for themselves: teams that are more resilient, organizations that innovate longer, and communities that sustain real change over time.
This isn't about slowing down to feel better. It's about the compounding power of leading from a full cup — where wellbeing and performance aren't in tension, but in rhythm. Where taking care of yourself isn't a luxury; it's what makes your impact last.
The Harmonious Leadership Awards exist to see these leaders, name them, and celebrate them.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A HARMONIOUS LEADERHarmonious leadership isn't a destination. It's a practice — messy, evolving, and deeply human.
It means investing in your own wellbeing and your performance, understanding that the two are never in conflict. It means building teams and communities where people can bring their full selves and do their best work. And it means staying curious about your own growth, even — especially — when it's hard.
Some days you're thriving. Some days you're recalibrating. Both are part of the journey. What sets harmonious leaders apart isn't perfection. It's the commitment to keep growing — for themselves, their teams, and the communities they serve.
Meet the Leaders Who Found the Third Way
From classrooms and courts to community organizing and the C-suite,
This year's honorees prove that how you lead is as powerful as what you build.
Jaylen Adams
Jaylen Adams is the kind of emerging leader who makes you believe the next generation of change is in very good hands. A Jack Kent Cooke Scholar and Kluge Scholar at Columbia University, she has carried her voice into rooms most people her age have never seen — from the United Nations in Geneva to grassroots organizations in Santiago, Chile.
But what makes Jaylen a Harmonious Leader isn't her résumé. It's her philosophy. She leads through the ripple effect — investing in her own growth and self-compassion so that she can show up more fully for everyone around her. She understands, at a profound level, that leadership isn't about winning the argument. It's about staying curious enough to understand the person across from you.
The Wizard of What If
Mariana Palacios-Valderrama
Mariana Palacios-Valderrama lives at the intersection of organizational culture and human possibility. As a People & Impact leader at JustWorks, she has built a practice of leadership rooted in a deceptively simple belief: that our ability to build a better world depends entirely on our ability to truly engage with each other.
That starts, she'll tell you, in conversation. Real conversation — the kind that holds discomfort without collapsing, that makes space for emergence and delight even in the middle of hard work. Mariana anchors the mission when the world pressures you to retreat from it. She protects purpose not as a slogan but as a daily practice.
That is the third way in action.
The Protector of Purpose
The Generational Giant
Armando Loza
Armando Loza is the Executive Director of the Miguel Contreras Foundation, where he leads more than a dozen workforce and economic mobility programs across Los Angeles County. He's the kind of leader who can galvanize his team through 15 consecutive marches, host the biggest fundraiser in the organization's history, and still show up the next morning asking: how does this impact the people around me?
That question — not power, not recognition, not personal success — is the throughline of everything Armando does. He leads with peace. He leads with joy. He leads with the conviction that the work we do today is a gift to people we will never meet.
That's not just leadership. That's legacy.
WHAT THE WINNER TAUGHT USThree cities. Three paths. One strikingly harmonious approach to leadership.
Jaylen, Mariana, and Armando didn't coordinate. They didn't come from the same networks. And yet across three very different lives, our awards committee kept noticing the same thing: the way they lead rhymes. Three themes emerged.
Unlock Through Us. Today's culture tells us — and sometimes profits from the idea — that I am the center of all things. Our winners tell a different story. Mariana: "If we want to contribute to a better world, it starts with our ability to engage with each other, and that starts in conversation."
Growth Mindset. The pace of change tempts leaders to impose their vision rather than expand it. Not here. Jaylen: "Leadership is about understanding one another, even if you will absolutely never agree. Most people think you have to get to the agreement part. That's not true."
Audacious Compassion. Don't mistake these leaders for soft. They are on the field, with the people, feeling the frequencies. Armando: "The best leaders are the ones who ask: How does this impact the people around me? How does this impact those most vulnerable?" And Jaylen, closing the loop: "It is impossible for me to see something I believe is wrong and not want to do something about it."
Join the Movement
To the innovators, the dreamers, the educators, the 3rd way ambassadors, the troublemakers — we see you.
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