The European Business Review

leading in an age of disruption

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, few people would have expected the acceleration of digital technology and the new ways of working that we see today. While the term VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) has been long used to describe such dramatic changes, we are now all experiencing it every day, every minute, and every second of our business and private lives. Positively, the disruption has been a catalyst for developments in a broad array of areas – in healthcare, certainly, but also in social responsibility, sustainability, and in new business ventures leveraging digital technology. This nevertheless poses challenges to organizations, teams, and individuals. Today’s leaders, especially, must operate in an environment that is substantially different from what they were used to. While previous management models of command and control might…

play

The interplay in jazz starts in an instant and then takes its own route to unexpected results. When members are attuned to the groove – the underlying driving beat of your organization – they feel a sense of purpose, a place to be safe and to do what they are passionate about. Enable members to co-create, act, and react in a fast and playful way. It creates a sense of the flow of a performance and can create a workflow in your organization. Which elements might inspire you to try out new leadership practices? What might be a way to transfer the insights to your context? Which element might be the most daring to experiment with?…

learn

Jazz musicians try to redefine mistakes as chances or opportunities. In order for your own organization’s performance to succeed, allow, embrace, and welcome mistakes as a learning opportunity. Welcoming mistakes can allow members to tap into their intuitive potential of creation. In the jazz context, this is the most creative part of a performance. The same could count for your organization. What has worked well and might serve as an inspiration or a future jam session? What has not worked, and how might you approach your idea differently? What practices create value for you, your teams, and your organizations, and how can you make the most out of them in your daily jobs?…

about the authors

Hannes Gurzki is a program director at ESMT Berlin and passionate about topics of luxury, branding, marketing, sales, strategy, and creative leadership. He is passionate about exploring the symbiosis of arts and business. He studied business administration and intercultural management and completed his doctoral studies in luxury marketing at the Technical University of Braunschweig. In addition, he holds a diploma of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in saxophone performing. His research has been published in leading business media and academic journals. Joachim Junghanss is the associate director at Conservatorium van Amsterdam and heads one of Europe’s largest and leading professional jazz programs, including pop, music production, and electronic music. He is passionate about the potential of music in a global society and has founded numerous social and…

board membership: navigating the new uncertainties

Remember when there was an invisible line separating business from political and social movements? Corporate leaders largely kept quiet about their beliefs and values, trying to influence policy only from behind closed doors. But in an era of rising shareholder activism, climate change issues, civil unrest, #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, the push for diversity and inclusion, cybersecurity threats, and more, today’s business leaders are subject to close scrutiny from investors, consumers, employees, and the media. Combine that with the once-in-a-generation COVID pandemic and its widespread economic fallout, and companies — including their boards of directors — are facing historic challenges. As Forbes1 put it recently, “The year 2020 is forcing a reckoning about the role of the corporation in society, and along with it, the responsibilities of boards of directors to…

covering blind spots. does the board have the right information for effective decision making?

Better information does not show up on its own, but depends on carefully designed information architectures. Relying on solid information sources fosters awareness and lies the grounds for better information architectures, so directors can do their job in a more effective and efficient way. What, why, how and where questions shall be raised in order to attain such paradigm, and the pillars for such arrangement shall be laid down, by means of an adequate information architecture. Therefore, some clarity and thinking behind such information architecture design deserve attention. INTRODUCTION Long is gone the time of the rubber stamp boards. The current pandemic age has no space for amateur boards. Boards need to ensure their decision-making processes and dynamics are robust. Beyond the need to become better at monitoring, boards need to become…