How do you anticipate the key skills your organisation will need tomorrow?
Josette Meyssonnier. – “To anticipate the key skills that our organisation will need tomorrow, we are placing a strong emphasis on transferable skills, which are essential in a banking environment that is constantly changing. Developments linked to artificial intelligence, technological advances, and regulatory and geopolitical changes are profoundly transforming our businesses. So, over and above technical expertise, we value agility, adaptability and internal mobility as crucial levers for retaining talent.
Today’s and tomorrow’s employees must cultivate a strong intellectual curiosity, the driving force behind continuous learning and the foundation of agility. This open-mindedness enables them to understand sectoral and strategic issues. The most decisive skill seems to me to be strategic thinking: it enables them to navigate uncertainty, analyse complex contexts and take decisions that are aligned with the bank’s long-term vision.
Which human skill do you think is most important for leaders today?
“The most important human skill for leaders today, particularly in Luxembourg, is inclusion. Our country embodies national, social, linguistic and gender diversity par excellence. While integration is now well mastered, the real challenge lies in inclusion: knowing how to create a climate where every talent, whatever its origin or background, feels fully heard, respected and valued.
This requires leaders to be highly empathetic, to listen actively and to be able to establish a culture of constructive, benevolent and direct feedback. Inclusive leadership not only fosters healthy and authentic collaboration, but also unleashes the full potential of the collective.
It transforms diversity into a lever for performance, innovation and resilience. By cultivating an environment where everyone can express themselves without fear, and where differences are recognised as a strength, leaders create the conditions for sustainable productivity and shared success. The human requirement of the modern leader is therefore not just strategic or operational: it is first and foremost ethical and relational.
What simple advice would you give to an HRD just starting out in their career to quickly strengthen their impact?
“My advice for an HR director starting out: listen actively, but above all try to understand the strategic issues facing the organisation first. Too often, HR issues come at the end of the process, when they should be integrated from the outset.
To strengthen your impact quickly, engage closely with the CEO and key leaders. Understand their priorities, operational challenges and long-term visions. This alignment is essential if you are to co-construct an HR strategy that genuinely supports the company's growth and transformation. An effective People Strategy cannot be decreed: it has to be built together, anchored in the realities of the business and driven by shared values. Be proactive, speak the language of the business, show how HR levers – talent, culture, performance, change – create value.
And above all, remain humble, accessible and always ready to learn. Your credibility will come as much from your expertise as from your ability to inspire confidence with managers.”
Discover all the finalists in the HR Leaders of the Year 2026 contest on Paperjam.lu.
The winners of the contest’s four categories (Institutional, Retail & Hospitality, Services, Financial Sector), as well as the HR Leader of the Year 2026, will be announced on 27 January 2026 at the Tramsschapp during the Paperjam HR Leaders 2026 event. If you wish to attend this gala dinner, you can book a table via this link.