STRATEGY & ORGANISATION

LEADERSHIP

Agile and Adaptive Leadership in the 21st Century

In today’s ever-evolving business landscape, leadership is no longer a static concept; it’s a dynamic, agile, and adaptive force that guides organisations through change and challenges.

By CBS Executive Education

Conference guests drinking coffee and networking at Agile and Adaptive Leadership Conference

Made in collaboration with CBS Executive Education, NOCA and CBS Leadership Centre, the 'Agile and Adaptive Leadership in the 21st Century' conference explored the strategies and approaches that empower leaders to thrive and succeed in digital disruption, uncertainty, and rapid change.

Participants received different perspectives on “Agile and Adaptive Leadership” from researchers at CBS and University of Aalborg as well as practical insights from the largest organisations in Denmark e.g. Novonesis Jyske Bank and ISS Danmark.

Topics for the conference included:

Understanding the dynamics of change – contextualising the current business landscape and the rapid pace of change that organizations face.
Transformational leadership in the digital age – surviving and thriving in the digital disruption era.
Navigating the paradoxes of leadership – understanding and navigating the paradoxes that often arise in today’s complex business world.

Insights from the conference: The Changing C-Suite

In this interview, CBS Professor and Academic Co-Director of CBS Leadership Centre Silviya Svejenova speaks on her research into the changing C-suite, where new CXO titles are gaining momentum and help build pathways for new arenas of action.

CBS Professor Silviya Svejenova speaking on the changing c-suite at the agile and adaptive leadership conference

The world is changing fast, making it essential for today’s leaders to adapt and stay ahead. Join CBS Executive Education and NOCA for our annual Leadership Development Day, where you’ll gain the tools and insights to lead through uncertainty and drive transformation.

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Media content for Upcoming event: Leadership Development Day 2025

Keynote Session: “The Changing C-suite: Leadership Roles for Sustainable Futures” – Speaker: Silviya Svejenova
Keynote Session: “Wicked problems and the manager as paradox navigator” – Speakers: Rikke Kristine Nielsen and Danielle Bjerre Lyndgaard
Interactive Session: “Embodied Leadership for Adaptability and Agility" – Speaker: Petra-Sofie Kemp
Case Study Session: “The Future of Leadership in Novonesis” – Speaker: Kasper Bas Svendsen
Keynote Session: “Playing with uncertainty: The power of play in decision making” – Speaker: Katelyn Sharratt
Case Study Session: “Leading the Transition: From Decentralized Operations to a Global Matrix” – Speaker: Christian Lauritzen

Insights from the conference: Playing with Uncertainty

In this interview, CBS PhD Fellow Katelyn Sharratt speaks on her research in play in decision-making and as an innovation tool in organisations. Katelyn har engaged a lot with start-ups, which big companies and corporations can get inspired by when it comes to implementing play.

CBS PhD Fellow Katelyn Sharratt speaks on playing with uncertainty at the agile and adaptive leadership conference

A group of three people standing and talking at the Agile And Adaptive Leadership conference

Christian Lauritzen during a presentation on leading transition at event on agile leadership

Agile And Adaptive Leadership Conference speaker Petra-Sofie Kamp during presentation sitting on chair

Crowd standing around table with coffee and networking at the Agile And Adaptive Leadership Conference

Agile And Adaptive Leadership Conference hosts Eva Fog Bruun and Ulrik Schultz Brix says welcome from the stage

Insights from the conference: Leading the Transition

In this interview, the People & Culture Director at ISS Danmark Christian Lauritzen speaks on leading the transformation of ISS from running decentralised operations to functioning in a global matrix. Adapting an agile and adaptable strategy has been key to this.

Christian Lauritzen speaking on leading the matrix at the agile and adaptive leadership conference

Kasper Bas Svendsen

Head of Global Learning, Leadership & Culture, People & Organization from Novonesis

Kasper has over 20 years of experience working with HR, learning and leadership development in the private and public sectors.

In his session, Kasper talked about how to build future-proof leadership development at an organisational level. His focus was on combining authentic leadership with the requirements of each leadership role.

Kasper also spoke on the leadership development and change journey from both Novozymes and Chr. Hansen towards the merger into Novonesis.

Petra-Sofie Kempf

Founder at Core Energy

With over 25 years of experience in embodied learning, Petra-Sofie is a leading figure in Denmark in embodied leadership. She is a research contributor, speaker, facilitator and host of the Danish podcast: “MED KROPPEN SOM ØRE”, exploring the body’s potential in leadership, developmental processes, and working life.

Petra-Sofie introduced participants to Embodied Leadership and the body’s potential in relation to agile leadership competencies. In this session, participants were invited to both experience and learn with their bodies.

Silviya Svejenova

Professor and Academic Co-Director at CBS Leadership Centre/Department of Organisation

Silviya Svejenova is a Professor of Leadership and Innovation at CBS. She also serves as Co-Director of imagine.., Creative Industries and Institutions’ research centre. She is the incoming Chair of the Board of SCANCOR, the Scandinavian Consortium for Organizational Research with locations at Stanford and Harvard Universities.

Professor Svejenova’s research concerns issues of strategic and creative leadership. She examines the relationship between creativity, innovation, inclusion, and sustainable futures. Her work has been published in top organisation and management journals and in books.

Katelyn Sharratt

PhD Fellow in the Department of Strategy and Innovation at CBS

Katelyn’s research interests lie at the intersection of entrepreneurship, organisation theory, and psychology. Through her research, she explores the behaviours, skills, and environmental conditions that stimulate creativity and pathways to novel ideas within the context of high-innovation entrepreneurship.

Katelyn has an international track record of leadership and management, specialising in the development of entrepreneurial capacity and expertise. Before joining CBS, she was Managing Director at Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship in Melbourne, Australia.

Rikke Kristine Nielsen

Associate Professor at the Department of Communication & Psychology at Aalborg University

Rikke’s research explores the organisational development triangle of leadership, HR, and organisational change in the contemporary business landscape of “VUCAP” – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity, and Paradox. With colleagues from both practice and academia, she recently authored and published the book 'Navigating Leadership Paradox: Engaging Paradoxical Thinking in Practice' (2023) based on highlights of several research projects on the navigation of leadership paradoxes in practice.

At the conference, Rikke shared insights about the navigation of competing demands and wicked problem-“solving” focusing on the pitfalls and promises of “both/and-leadership” in practice. Rikke presented practical cases in collaboration with co-author and Senior HR Partner at Jyske Bank, Danielle Bjerre Lyndgaard.

Danielle Bjerre Lyndgaard

Senior HR Partner at Jyske Bank and Author

Danielle holds a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration and a Master of Management Development, both from CBS. She has been engaged in academia-practitioner research collaboration focusing on both global leadership and the paradoxes in leadership in general.

Her research interests focus on global leadership development as well as the individual and organisational paradoxes and complexity in (global) collaboration. Danielle is co-author of and has contributed to several books on leadership and HR, latest together with Rikke Kristine Nielsen, F. Bevort, T. D. Henriksen and A. Hjalager in the book Navigating Leadership Paradox: Engaging Paradoxical Thinking in Practice (2023).

Christian Lauritzen

People & Culture Director at ISS Danmark

Christian has more than 20 years leadership experience from global service companies with diverse and multicultural workforces.

He has deep experience in service management, talentand leadership development, organisational design and cultural transformation. Christian is also a board member in NOCA.

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Agile and Adaptive Leadership in the 21st Century

Leadership skills for an ever-changing world

Insights from the conference: The Changing C-Suite

Upcoming event: Leadership Development Day 2025

TALKS FROM THE DAY