Nov 2024 IBEM Executive Autumn Dinner

IBEM staged their Executive Autumn Dinner 2024 in London.

Our speakers discussed transformation and innovation that explored new horizons and potentially which disrupts business models, and whether this requires an entrepreneurial mindset.

Leaders need to harness the power of relationships, put people first, enabling them to take on and solve daunting challenges enabled by a mindset that turns problems into opportunities that creates economic and social benefit.

Passion for ownership and collaboration, thriving in uncertainty, relentless optimism about the future, deeply inquisitive, open to new experiences and unique skills of persuasion are powerful mindsets and beliefs demonstrated by entrepreneurial leaders. The best entrepreneurial leaders are good at experimenting, learning and iterating that unleashes an ability to unlearn and relearn at an increasingly faster rate.

A vision led values-based leader is one that has a very clear view on purpose, vision and mission of the organisation that aligns to a “True North” and importantly leads by example in building trust within and external to the organisation. Typically, these leaders have a very strong combination of EQ/DQ/IQ coupled with a strong sense of curiosity and desire to continuously learn.

A growth mindset starts with deeply appreciating the changing context of the internal and external operating environment that unlocks adjacent opportunities. Having a deep understanding of the business’s currents core assets and capabilities equally allow for the identification of new innovation opportunities.

Trust is one of the most vital forms of capital a leader has today. Amid economic turbulence and global uncertainty, people are increasingly turning to their employers and business leaders as a source of truth, rather than their institutions and government officials. Trust, which can be defined as a belief in the abilities, integrity, and character of another person, is often thought of as something that personal relationships are built on.

No heroic leader can resolve the complex challenges we face today. To address the important issues of our time we need a fundamental change of perspective. We need to start questioning many of our taken for granted assumptions about our business and social environment.

Our by invitee executive guests received the richness of the event conversations and presentations throughout the evening. We covered various topics including the complexities of the macro-economic environment, leadership skills and attributes relating to positivity, curiosity, resilience, building trust and sheer determination amongst many others that unlock sustainable long-term businesses.

Our guest speaker, Stefan Dieffenbacher, touched on some insightful views of looking at non-core, core and differentiating areas of a business model and how and where to play in these areas equally demonstrating why some initiatives fail and the pitfalls to avoid.

Philippa Dempster’s sharing of her personal journey within Freeths was equally amazing as it demonstrates how having a leadership culture that is vision led and values driven can unlock greatness beyond traditional business performance, positively impacting the lives of so many.

Finally, Geoff Hudson-Searle reiterated how we are very excited about our journey of Entrepreneurial Leadership, resilience goes beyond merely weathering storms – it’s about using adversity as fuel for growth.

In leadership, resilience empowers CEO’s to be bold, meet challenges head-on, keep a positive outlook, and motivate their teams to push through. Resilient leaders stay cool under pressure, think strategically, and find innovative solutions to tricky problems.

Yet, there are always lessons to be learned when you take the time to reflect. This can set you up to navigate the future. And in doing so, you need to look beyond the past and to the future for solutions, new ways of doing business and new mindsets. Enter the importance of resilient leadership.

Leaders need to create an environment of continual growth, learning and improvement. You cannot achieve this in a negative, a better way, is in an inspiring, empowering way. This all comes down to having a culture of trust.

To build this culture, allow your people to share ideas, thoughts, suggestions and insights. In other words, ensure they know you trust them to be bold. This can improve relationships, connections and a sense of appreciation. When you build on trust and make it one of your company’s core foundations, you are setting your organization up to succeed and stand the test of time.
We look forward to continuing to develop this approach to leadership working alongside the guests and others to co-create a better future for us all.

Event Host – Geoff Hudson-Searle
Speakers:
– Douglas Lines
– Stefan F. Dieffenbacher
– Philippa Dempster

DOWNLOADS:
– Stefan’s slides – PDF
– IBEM Autumn Dinner – PDF