The difficulties with leading change: Takeaways from CBS Leadership Think Tank
Happy to meet again in the CBS Leadership Think Tank – Leadership for the Future!
At this 3rd gathering we set out to build on previous workshops and explore how to translate visions and insights on new leadership drivers into actionable leadership strategies.
For instance, how do you build skills to lead with...
- Speed & Rhythm
- Reflection & Action
- Connected Diversities
- Moral Compass
As always, our discussions were inspired by a line-up of thought-provoking keynotes. All of them addressing the massive responsibility of leadership when it comes to solving important societal agendas – but with different perspectives on leadership connected to this big imperative.
Ioannis Ioannou, Ass. Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, London Business School, talked about his research on the development of sustainable business models. In particular, how to align with the investment community and financial markets.
Majken Schultz, Professor of Management and Organization Studies, Copenhagen Business School, and Chair of Carlsberg Foundation, explored Leadership in the Flow of Time. With a point of departure in the research project ’Making Distant Futures Actionable’, she addressed the importance of Connecting Past and Future through Strategy and Purpose. While it is essential to combine the long term and the short term perspective, most organizations are still hung op in time horizons with a limited time span.
Since engagement across research and practice is in the DNA of CBS Leadership Centre, we had invited a distinguished leadership practitioner, the CEO of one of the largest privately owned businesses in the world, to talk about his thoughts on what executives need to get right to compete in an increasingly volatile world.
The key takeaways from the day were extensive, but these reflection points particularly sparked discussion:
- What matters in leadership comes from self-awareness and self-discovery. Do we allow ourselves to fail and talk about it? What is our tolerance to failure?
- The concept for future leadership is one where we have to accept trade-offs.
- The difficulties with leading change: Hardly any incumbent is moving forward with a disruption approach – they are all managing a transition. What does it take for them to take a bold move?
- Surround yourself with great people, and remember the ABC of teams: A players hire A players; B players hire C players. Brutal, but true?
- The move from Me to We - from Ego to Ecco, requires different leadership qualities than the previous Me-model: leadership for collaboration, for creating coalitions.
- If you want to change the sustustainability business model, you have to talk in a new language, in a framework that includes more than the language of financials.
- In order to succeed, you have to make stronger connections between past and future. You have to see them in the light of each other.
Next is our OPEN EVENT on 19th September 2024