January 25, 2021, by aczjb1
Tri-Campus Global Leadership Webinar: Resilience and Re-energised Directions for 2021
On 21 January, the Nottingham University Business Schools in China, Malaysia and the UK came together in an online event to explore the challenges facing global leaders and decision makers in these increasingly challenging times.
The Leadership: Resilience and Re-energised Directions for 2021 webinar was opened by University of Nottingham Vice Chancellor, Professor Shearer West, who shared how the University responded rapidly to the Covid-19 pandemic back in March.
The VC remarked on how this huge transition – a sudden need for home working, locking down, changing processes and practice – was achieved in just a few short days, demonstrating our ability for agility and innovation. She hoped this was a lasting lesson we could all take forward into post-pandemic life.
“There is no going back to the status quo, but the importance of our global reach and mobility of our students will be very welcome.”
Attendees came from across the globe and represented a wide range of organisations, sectors, career levels and interests.
The event was the first Tri-Campus webinar held by Nottingham University Business School, and was organised by the Executive Education teams in each region. The teams invited speakers from industry, government and academia across the three regions to share insights on issues affecting leadership, including shared experiences of the pandemic, insights into what leadership is currently focusing on, and new approaches to leadership emerging post-pandemic.
These insights highlighted some common themes, including:
- A view that leadership with a personal element has come to the fore
- Digital technology continues to be a driver and enabler of innovation and change but it is now accelerated
- Purpose and people are valued as much as profitability
Keynotes came from Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman, Jeremy Richardson, Professor Pingping Fu, Professor Andrew Bacon OBE, and Mr Ahmad Izzat bin Ahmad Zaki.
Keynote speaker Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), focused on how industries created from advancement of technologies and new business models are the drivers of future growth, which advance human wellbeing.
Jeremy Richardson, Chief Executive of the 4 Seasons Healthcare Group and an alumnus of Nottingham University Business School maintained that the fundamentals of leadership have not changed, and the skillset and qualities of effective leadership are still the same.
“Covid has not changed the principles of leadership”, he said. “It has changed the behaviours expected at this time – but good leaders are used to challenges and they will find a way through.”
The webinar also included insights from a panel from government, academia and industry which addressed Emerging Leadership Styles during the Pandemic.
Professor Pingping Fu, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Nottingham University Business School, Ningbo, China, reflected on how the importance of humanistic leaders has come back to the fore during the global crisis.
“The pandemic has shown how vulnerable life can be and leaders and organisations are being evaluated on which companies did the right thing in how they acted and how they kept their employees safe during this time and avoid layoffs”, she said. “People are recognising and appreciating humanistic values.”
Professor Andrew Bacon OBE, Chief Executive Officer, Enactus shared his views that focus is moving to productivity with purpose and people in mind, with greater value perceived from transparency and purpose.
Mr Ahmad Izzat bin Ahmad Zaki, Chief Financial Officer, Education Performance and Delivery Unit in the Malaysian Department for Education talked about the delivery of an Education Transformation journey ensuring equal access to education and capability to lessen the disparity gap and improve societies.
This webinar was the first in a new series that will bring together global insights like these, and we look forward to welcoming you to similar events in the future.
We would like to thank all our keynote speakers and contributors who made this webinar such a success.
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