Maite Ibarretxe

Meet Maite Ibarretxe

I would like to offer a fresh perspective on this topic through the application of my Leverage Wheel framework. As the name suggests, it focuses on creating and applying leverage to unlock the full potential of an ecosystem. In this context, the goal is to harness the capabilities of today’s analytical scientists and transform them into tomorrow’s science leaders by simultaneously activating the three dimensions of the wheel: Excellence, Trust, and Innovation.

Excellence – redefining competence beyond the lab: analytical science must shift from being seen as a technical service to being recognized as an intellectual anchor. Therefore, we must embed systems thinking, collaboration, ethical reasoning, and strategic foresight into the development of analytical scientists. This means reimagining career paths and reward systems to elevate cross-disciplinary collaboration, communication skills, and impact measurement as indispensable components of excellence. Science isn’t just theory, process and precision in results. It’s about contributing reliable knowledge in a noisy world and serving as a benchmark for integrity in both science and society.

Trust – building societal and scientific legitimacy: analytical science underpins credibility. Scientists often struggle to be heard beyond the lab. To build trust, analytical science must break silos, not just in data, but in dialogue. We must empower scientists to engage with stakeholders, policymakers, and the public as translators of complexity. Trust becomes a currency of leadership when scientists are seen as guardians of transparency and co-creators of societal value.

Innovation – turning insight into influence. The real power of analytical science lies in its ability to illuminate what others overlook. But without agile, adaptive leadership, insight rarely materializes into meaningful change. That’s why it’s vital to engage and develop analytical scientists to see innovation not just as a product or process, but as a mindset and as such a way of designing resilient solutions that anticipate disruption and guide future progress. Innovation leadership builds on analytical excellence, but goes further: it connects deep insight with purposeful direction to help shape what comes next.

Through this lens, one could imagine a path forward where analytical scientists become tomorrow’s science leaders by learning to operate at the intersection of excellence, trust, and innovation, extending their influence beyond the lab into business and society.

The Leverage Wheel provides a practical blueprint to help guide this transformation where Science evolves into a discipline of purpose, trust and creative momentum.