Inside the Mind of a Great Leader
A two-day intensive forum for developing leadership capacity in complex environments
In today’s fast-changing business environment, leaders are expected to think and act with agility. Inside the Mind of a Great Leader is a two-day intensive programme designed for professionals and leaders who want to strengthen their adaptive leadership skills and expand their influence.
Adaptive leadership means being able to adjust, when old ways of working no longer fit. It is about guiding people through uncertainity, staying flexible and finding new ways forward when challenges or opportunities arise.
Grounded in behavioural science and neuroscience, the programme blends practical frameworks with applied sensemaking. Unlike traditional horizontal development, which focuses on adding new skills and knowledge, this programme emphasises vertical development, which expands the way leaders think, interpret, and respond to complex situations. Participants will leave with a deeper capacity to navigate complexity, communicate with clarity, manage conflict with confidence, and build trust with stakeholders.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
The programme combines short lectures, practical exercises, scenarios, and peer learning. Each session blends behavioural insights with hands-on application, creating both personal growth and practical tools. Participants will leave with increased self-awareness, stronger adaptive leadership skills, and the confidence to apply them immediately in their roles.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
Day One - Wednesday, 5th November, 9am to 4pm
1) Navigating Complexity Through Adaption
We often see that leaders are recruited and promoted for their technical skills, however they may lose their positions when their adaptive capacity is absent or underdeveloped. Adaptive capacity is defined by social acumen and adversity quotient. Insights from behavioural science and neuroscience show that groups can make better sense of complexity when leaders enable diverse perspectives and shared learning. This module explores the difference between technical and adaptive problems, and why one of the greatest failures of leadership is to apply a technical solution to an adaptive challenge. Participants will learn how to diagnose the true nature of problems and develop social capital to harness the collective intelligence of their teams.
2) Earning Trust and Exercising Influence
This session focuses on communicating with the brain in mind, ensuring that core psychological needs such as status, certainty, and relatedness are supported. Participants will use structured frameworks from social science to amplify these needs, increasing engagement and motivation. The module draws on psychological and neuroscientific research into attention and memory to help leaders design communication that is clear, influential, and aligned with human motivation.
Day Two - Thursday, 6th November, 9am to 4pm
1) Navigating Difficult Converations With Ease
Leaders will explore a psychological risk management approach to prepare for high-stakes
conversations. The framework provides tools for use before, during, and after a difficult dialogue. By understanding emotional regulation and the neuroscience of threat and safety, participants will learn how to reduce defensiveness, encourage openness, and turn conflict into an opportunity for innovation and performance.
2) Communicating With The Brain in Mind
This session examines how trust is built through fairness, reciprocity, and consistency, supported by insights from behavioural economics and social neuroscience. Leaders will practise science-based techniques for crafting purposeful explanations of others’ abilities and attributes. These explanations increase self-esteem and encourage growth in mindset and behaviour. By enabling others to see and act on new possibilities, leaders can strengthen performance, expand capability, and influence outcomes ethically.
