When You Are Not in the Room: The Hidden Story of What You Are Really Building

What remains when you're no longer there?

When You Are Not in the Room challenges the dominant view of leadership as presence, charisma, or authority. It reframes leadership as the ability to build clarity, systems, and people in a way that sustains progress-even in your absence.

Javier Castillo Gil draws on more than two decades of hands-on experience advising executives and leadership teams across Latin America, Europe, and the U.S. This book offers a practical and strategic model that shows how true leadership is measured not by how much you control, but by what endures after you leave.

This book confronts persistent myths about leadership-from heroic posturing to overreliance on style-and offers a disciplined, structured alternative focused on building sustainability, trust, and long-term value.

Structured around three essential leadership practices-Providing Clear Direction, Enabling Capability, and Activating Value-this book goes beyond inspiration. It offers actionable frameworks, reflection points, and tools designed to reshape how leaders define success and legacy.

Leadership is not a personal trait. It is a discipline. A practice. A structure.

Whether you're a CEO, executive coach, HR leader, or team builder, this book offers a new lens for long-term impact. It speaks to those who are not satisfied with short-term performance and want to build cultures and organizations that thrive without constant supervision.

If you've ever asked yourself what you're really building-and what story will remain when you are no longer in the room-this book was written for you.