Henley Centre for Leadership Learning Event: Can Leadership be Leader-less?

With today's complex organisations facing a range of responsibilities, challenges and pressures, having a single leader possessing every attribute for every situation is no longer a realistic expectation. The newly academically researched and proposed model of 'constellation leadership' suggests that the leadership role does not have to be played by an individual. Whilst shared and distributed leadership models have been proposed before, constellation leadership suggests that each professional is a 'star', surrounded by other 'stars' in a dynamic network to achieve a specific goal.

This webinar will be held on 20 November 2024 at 12:00pm via Microsoft Teams and is open to all. The panel will feature Danny introducing his research and will be hosted by Jo Garland, Customer Experience Director at the Lego Group. You will have the chance to hear from our panel of speakers as they seek answers to the following questions:

- Can culture and the environment really take on the leadership role?

- What situations can constellation leadership be successful and where are there challenges?

- How do perception and trust impact this concept?

- It is time for new thinking about leadership?

Danny Wareham is the founder and Culture and Engagement Director of Firgun, as well as an organisational psychologist, accredited coach, speaker, a Fellow of the Association for Business Psychology, a published academic researcher and a certified psychometrician. With three decades of experience of helping businesses, leaders and C-suites nurture the culture and leadership required to support their strategy, he specialises in identifying and cultivating specific behaviours, systems and practices to produce high-performing environments and has worked with organisations across the retail, telecommunication and fintech sectors, staying true to the mantra 'Happy Bees Make Tasty Honey'.

Sharon Varney is the Director of space for learning ltd, a Principle Associate for the Institute of Employment Studies and a leadership and change consultant, author and educator, specialising in leadership learning and developing organisations and people. She works internationally, both at a strategic level to create more effective organisations and a human level human level to support people in managing personal change and transition, helping leaders and directors within private, public and not-for-profit organisations across multiple sectors to successfully manage and develop their leadership and organisational capability and face challenges within a complex world that is in constant motion. Sharon earned her DBA from Henley Business School and previously worked in the manufacturing, utilities, travel, banking, oil and gas industries, with past roles including Group Head of Learning and Communications for a global engineering and construction company in the energy sector and Vice President for International Learning and Development at a US bank.

James Clarke is the Chief Strategy Officer of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and a Trustee of NHS Charities Together, with key his strengths including leadership in strategy, partnerships, estates and facilities. A Chartered Fellow from both the Chartered Institute of Management and Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and an experienced board member, he has led transformation initiatives that enhance the customer and patient experiences whilst improving productivity. He joined the NHS in 2024 from the Home Office, where he was the Director of Business and People Planning for UK Border Force and responsible for leading the corporate support teams to enable frontline success. Prior to joining the public sector, James spent over a decade in senior roles in the John Lewis Partnership. He has also held a non-executive role with Benenden Health, a not-for-profit healthcare organisation.

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