12Nov2024
Leader’s Digest | November 2024
by: Nordic Business Forum
Welcome to the November 2024 edition of the Leader’s Digest, your monthly compass for navigating the world of business leadership. In this issue, we’ll dive into the topic of change.
Contents
- 4 Traits of a Change-Ready Leader
- 3 Guiding Principles for High-Performing Teams (Full Keynote by Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae)
- Navigating Change with Simon Sinek
- Speaker of the Month: Angela Ahrendts
- Over 70% of the Tickets for NBF 2025 Already Sold
- Inspirational Quote by Will Guidara
New Leadership Insights
4 Traits of a Change-Ready Leader
Adaptability has become an essential leadership quality and at the Nordic Business Forum 2024, many speakers touched the subject. Here are four essential traits of a change-ready leader:
💡 Commit to Curiosity
Leaders who stay curious embrace learning as an ongoing journey. They cultivate open-mindedness within their teams, actively seeking new perspectives and encouraging questions. As Brené Brown put it, we need to value learning over knowing.
💫 Embrace Vulnerability
A willingness to admit when we don’t have all the answers builds credibility and trust. Adam Grant noted that when leaders show vulnerability, they foster an environment where others feel safe to learn, grow, and share their own challenges.
💎 Build Emotional Agility
Emotional resilience is vital for navigating uncertainty. Leaders who can manage their emotions well—especially under pressure—can guide their teams empathetically through times of transition. Brené Brown emphasized, for example, the importance of knowing our emotional responses, or “armor,” to face challenges more effectively.
🚀 Encourage a Growth Mindset
Leaders with a growth mindset see challenges as opportunities for learning, rather than obstacles. They celebrate progress over perfection, recognizing small wins and viewing setbacks as learning moments. This mindset instills resilience and motivation within teams.
These traits aren’t just ideals—they’re practical skills that make change more manageable. For more insights on how to actually practice these qualities, read the full blog!
3 Guiding Principles for High-Performing Teams
– Full Keynote by Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae
At Nordic Business Forum 2024, Sanna Suvanto-Harsaae shared three guiding principles for high-performing teams:
- Forward Orientation: Focus on the future, not past setbacks. Set a clear end goal and work backward to define steps, aligning the team on a shared vision that fuels resilience and motivation.
- Focus: Sanna’s mantra is “fewer, bigger, better”. Concentrate on a few core objectives and set aside distractions. This clarity channels energy into impactful change.
- Fun: Teams that laugh together are stronger. Sanna encourages leaders to foster genuine fun to create a trusting team ready for challenges.
Is there a principle in your team that you should work on? What are the activities you need to change? To dive deeper into the topic, watch Sanna’s full NBF 2024 keynote.
Navigating Change with Simon Sinek
“We treat it [change] very rationally, and what we are ignoring is the emotional response.” – Simon Sinek
Leadership visionary Simon Sinek argues that not everyone in an organization fears change—some are energized by the new opportunities it brings. He explains that change is often less intimidating when introduced gradually rather than suddenly. Simon also suggests that leaders should allow individuals to experience the emotional process of change instead of trying to rationalize it. Some people need more time than others to adjust.
For this reason, he advises leaders to approach change through the law of diffusion theory. When applied to organizational change, this theory emphasizes the importance of initially focusing on innovators and early adopters. By engaging these groups first, leaders can more effectively spread change across the organization to the early and late majority.
To learn more, check out Simon’s brief video on navigating change with diffusion theory.
NBF Spotlight
Join us behind the scenes as we introduce our speakers, share event updates, and more!
Speaker of the Month: Angela Ahrendts, DBE
Angela Ahrendts was most recently Apple’s Senior Vice President of Retail. Over her five years at Apple, she merged the company’s online and in-store experiences, enhancing the customer journey for over a billion visitors annually. She led a major redesign of Apple stores and redefined roles for 70,000 employees worldwide.
Currently, Angela serves on the boards of Ralph Lauren Corporation, Airbnb, Inc., and WPP plc. She is also on the non-profit Boards of charity: the HOW Institute for Society. In January 2021, she became Chair of the Board for Save the Children International.
At Nordic Business Forum 2025, Angela steps on our stage to discuss the critical success factors for driving change in your organization.
Over 70% of the Tickets for NBF 2025 Already Sold
Just over a month ago we announced our Nordic Business Forum 2025 event! On September 25–26, 6,500 business decision-makers will gather in Helsinki to learn and network around the themes of Foresight, Growth, and Culture. Our speaker lineup includes world-class speakers like Rick Rubin, Angela Ahrendts, Simon Sinek, Patty McCord, and more. Already, over 4,800 people around Europe have committed to joining us! Thank you for the incredible support 🧡
While we count down to next year, check out our official aftermovie from NBF 2024:
P.S. If you haven’t secured your tickets for NBF 2025 yet, now’s the time—Prices increase on December 13!
Stop and Think
“Sometimes we need to slow down in order to speed up.”
– Will Guidara
