To succeed in the modern age of technology, connectivity, and advancement, learning to navigate and embrace opportunities for change is mandatory. A business that doesn’t grow is considered stagnant and failing. A subject matter expert that never updates their knowledge base rapidly becomes less than an expert. A professional unwilling to grow and transform is doomed to eventual failure, but one willing to embrace change as it comes and constantly drive toward new horizons is one that will inevitably find success.
Jose Tolosa, seasoned CEO and transformation leader, understands this both personally and professionally. Transformation itself has been his area of expertise, from his roles as Chief Transformation Officer and Chief Operations Officer at Viacom and ViacomCBS, to his time leading Meow Wolf’s evolution into a transmedia immersive storytelling platform as CEO, and his insights from such a career are valuable for any professional, whether an established leader or an up-and-coming entrepreneur. Leading businesses through times of change and transformation is a nuanced, often tricky affair, but it’s one that’s as rewarding as it is necessary in the changing world of today.
“Transformation goes beyond strategy; it’s about aligning people around purpose, navigating complexity with clarity and leading with head and heart,” Jose Tolosa says. “In moments of ambiguity, conflict, or pushback, real progress depends on having the courage to stand your ground, stay principled, and keep going.”
Navigating Transformation In Business
For an established business leader like Jose Tolosa, transformation or change in the business world usually means one of two things: the business itself is evolving, or he is transitioning to a new company entirely. Having navigated and found success in both cases, Tolosa has gained effective insights on how other professionals can approach similar situations in their own careers. The common thread is this: the people are always the priority.
“Throughout my career, relationships have been built on trust and honesty. It’s about being there when others need you, not only when you need them,” he says. “I don’t believe in transactional relationships, but rather relationships built on mutual interest.”
When Tolosa was charged with helping Viacom (and eventually ViacomCBS post-merger) evolve to meet modern needs and new potential, he’d already been working at the company for over a decade. The context of his ascension was dire, with stagnant revenues and declining legacy brands rapidly becoming the millstone around the company’s neck in the midst of a rapidly evolving industry. The goal was to realign strategy, cut costs, and reinvest in areas with growth potential, and the results achieved those goals: he modernized operations, executed a significant cost takeout, and unlocked reinvestment opportunities.
“Most importantly, we did it with a people-first approach; a difficult program that was ultimately well received internally,” Tolosa says.”
Tolosa would eventually lead another transformation with Viacom and CBS’ merger, where two distinct cultures and leadership structures needed to be integrated. He helped lead a significant synergy plan and streamlined global operations to keep the new company in alignment, and this success would become a defining career moment for him moving forward. Throughout all of this, the only path for success was through working with people and establishing trust.
“It was a high-pressure environment, but it taught me how to lead through ambiguity, build consensus, and deliver results without losing people along the way,” he explains.
These lessons would prove similarly valuable in his transition from ViacomCBS to Meow Wolf, where he traded corporate stability and structure for scrappy creativity and complex leadership. Trust and relationships are even more crucial in a high-stakes, radically creative environment, and further emphasized that the only way to effectively lead a team through change and evolution is to work with and for the team around him. Jose Tolosa had to steer the company through dramatic expansion and moments of crisis, but those became some of the most powerful experiences of his career.
“I had to bring structure and discipline without dampening the creative spark,” says Tolosa. “I value collaboration over hierarchy and believe in creating space for everyone to contribute, especially the voices that are usually left to the side.”
Effective Leadership In Times Of Change
Any column on business leadership will discuss the traits and values of effective decision-making, and that’s for good reason. No matter how visionary or charismatic, if a leader makes poor decisions repeatedly, or takes too long to make good ones, their team is doomed to decline. Across Jose Tolosa’s career, he’s found that the decision-making of transformative leadership always comes back to two key things that ensure success: maintaining clarity on his objectives, and revisiting original principles.
“There will be a lot of noise as you progress on your goals, and it’s important to quickly assess if (based on the new information) anything has changed on the path to your original goal,” he explains. “If not, reinforce the path for everyone else, if yes, reassess and quickly decide how to shift on the next course of action. All done with clarity and calmness!”
Jose Tolosa has had a lot of time to develop his framework for great leadership, and he’s settled on a combination of traits and skills including agility, emotional self-management, clarity of purpose, resilience, authenticity, and humility. Agility is self-evident as a transformational leader; the ability to adapt to change and move quickly is crucial in the modern day. The ability to think clearly and manage oneself are similarly mandatory in today’s team-driven environments, and leadership that thinks too highly of itself is leadership that leaves its team behind. Finally, as before, the effective leader both knows where the team is going, and has the conviction to continue through hardship.
Looking Where You Leap
Transformation for its own sake isn’t a self-evident goal; institutional or corporate change should be driven by real goals, guided by professional core values, and informed by constant learning. Jose Tolosa led ViacomCBS and Meow Wolf through periods of change not because some other executives decided change was arbitrarily good; those changes were necessary because the industry was evolving quickly and threatening to leave those companies behind. Growth is necessary, but the most effective evolutions are led by professionals who embrace the mindset of the lifelong student and have a clear vision of where to go next.
Jose Tolosa has always been drawn to these transformational moments, the times where he’s able to help organizations evolve and thrive during times of change, and part of that appeal comes from natural curiosity and the desire to learn at every opportunity. He asks the right questions, listens, and adapts if necessary, all traits necessary for leadership in times of change. Balancing constant curiosity with a clear vision and set of goals is what makes such leadership successful.
A company that leaps headfirst into change without a clear idea of where they want to land is a company that’s risking leaping straight into the abyss. The start of any project, in Tolosa’s experience, should and must begin with aligning the team and company on the vision, which allows the team to ensure clarity and create the momentum needed to carry the company through to the other side. The role of a leader in these times is to remove roadblocks, provide guidance, and empower the team to innovate and succeed within established guardrails.
“I try to make the complex simple, transform chaos to clarity, and move people forward in tough moments,” explains Tolosa. “I’m comfortable making hard decisions, but I do it with empathy and transparency. People know where I stand and they know I care.”
