Let go of con­trol and lead with agil­ity in un­cer­tain times

Once a month, researchers at Copenhagen Business School provide Børsen readers with a current and research-based perspective on the challenges facing leaders.

This time, Torben Juul Andersen, Professor at the CBS Department of International Economics, Government and Business introduces enactive leadership—a dynamic approach where employee insights and continuous dialogue guide strategic direction.

How do you find new customers and markets—or improve internal processes—when global business conditions suddenly shift? These changes may stem from emerging technologies, geopolitical tensions, or trade barriers that require swift responses.
Who recognises new opportunities first, and how can leaders leverage that knowledge?
Navigating novel, complex challenges requires a specific leadership style. We live in a volatile world where business conditions can change dramatically overnight. Unexpected supply chain bottlenecks, rapid technological developments, and new trade restrictions all heighten the need for organisational adaptability.
More top-down control and streamlining are not the answer. These may improve the status quo but risk locking the organisation into a rigid framework, leaving little room for action, learning, or innovation.
True renewal often comes from the bottom—from employees who notice change through their daily work. This is the dynamic that enactive leadership harnesses, making it a vital tool for strategic management in uncertain times.

Enactive leadership: fast updating with slow analysis

Enactive leadership relies on the ability to detect new signals, interpret them, and thereby gain a clearer understanding of developments. At its core lies the interplay between quickly updating real-world impressions and slowly, reflectively analysing consequences and opportunities.
Cognitive science explains this using two brain systems: one perceives sensory inputs and environmental changes, while the other processes their implications. This reflects an enactive model of thinking, where brain, body, and environment work together.
In an organisational context, this means leadership decisions should be based on up-to-date insights from everyday operations—insights that reflect external changes and highlight new opportunities. This knowledge enables organisations and societies to adapt to an ever-changing reality.

Leading when control is an illusion

Good leadership is often associated with individual analytical and planning skills. But a deeper understanding of the interplay between fast and slow thinking can lead to more effective leadership.
Enactive leaders recognise that no one, regardless of intellect, can fully grasp everything in a complex, changing world. They accept that unpredictable events cannot be planned away. Instead, they stay open and actively seek new insights from within and outside the organisation.
It is difficult to acknowledge the unknown—and as a leader, there is often a need to feel in control. But it is in this recognition that true innovation can emerge. Innovation flourishes when control is relinquished and the organisation’s collective knowledge is embraced.
Leaders who are willing to delegate create room for action when conditions change. This allows employees to explore new approaches and solutions. These experiments generate new insights that form a vital foundation for tailored strategic responses.

Small experiments, big changes

Enactive leadership is built on the idea that employees co-create new knowledge. When they try out new ideas in practice, it generates a continuous stream of experiences that can shape strategic direction.

The enactive leader listens to insights emerging from across the organisation—and actively incorporates them into strategic considerations. This happens through ongoing dialogue between leadership and employees across roles, functions, and locations. Informal conversations often become the birthplace of innovation.
The challenge for enactive leaders is to build a dynamic link between real-time insights from the organisational periphery and the long-term analytical reflection of top leadership. It is within this interplay between practice and strategy that new solutions take form.
After all, it is often employees—those closest to daily operations—who first notice change. And it is their insights that leaders must harness to navigate an ever-evolving world.