Tuesday, September 5th, 2023

Sales leaders celebrate forthcoming book launch

Senior sales leaders from around the globe gathered in London on 7 July to celebrate the forthcoming launch of a unique new book they have created. Leadership Narratives: Reflective Journeys of Sales Professionals is due to be published by leading academic publisher Routledge in December 2023. The sales leaders flew in from as far afield as Nevada and Dubai and… 


Thursday, April 20th, 2023

Embracing all generations in the workplace

This paper has been adapted from the author’s Masters project and discusses how leaders can best cultivate “superpowers” that are applicable to multi-generational organisations and teams. Background During my time at the SAP Global Platinum Customer Unit in Walldorf (Germany), I was invited for a meeting with the Dutch SAP Managing Director. During that meeting he offered me the job… 


Thursday, April 20th, 2023

War on attrition

How can effective coaching support the retention of employees within an organisation? Introduction This work-based project covers the topic of employee retention. The subject is very relevant for my organisation as we are 20 months into what’s being labelled the Great Resignation (Klotz, 2021). Employee talent is the lifeline of any business. My research project investigated how a successful coaching… 


Tuesday, February 14th, 2023

The SAP Masters alumni community: An ongoing transformational journey

You’ve achieved you Masters, but what next? Can the alumni group help to continue the transformation journey? By November 2019, our SAP Masters cohort was really hitting our stride. Collectively we (and I especially) were seeing success with our papers, we were learning new skills and many of us were seeing growth within our teams as our leadership practices improved…. 


Tuesday, February 14th, 2023

What does it take to transform?

Tackling obstacles to transformational leadership in corporations. What does it mean to transform and how will you know when it is time? It is likely that we have seen, heard, or felt transformation at some point in our lives. If we were to go around the room and provide descriptions, there is a good chance our definitions will be different…. 


Monday, February 13th, 2023

Ethical principles in AI-guided selling

As AI-guided selling takes hold, ethics remains an important foundational principle. Abstract Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) research, development, and application have sparked a broad debate about the ethics of AI systems. As a result, several ethical frameworks have been published in recent years. These guidelines include normative concepts and recommendations aimed at assisting organisations in capitalising on the… 


Tuesday, July 27th, 2021

Agile leadership

How applicable is agile leadership within a traditional organisational structure? Introduction “Just because you fail once doesn’t mean you are going to fail at everything.” – Marilyn Monroe History has shown through all endeavours, be it in business, sport or academics, that those who are able to adapt to change and remain open to new ideas are the most likely… 


Monday, July 26th, 2021

The Emerging Importance of Ethical Leadership

A modern-day Odyssey in search of ethics and purpose in leadership. Background I have observed increasing concerns about the potentially unfortunate fate of organisations and society in the event of ethics and purpose not playing an important role in leadership, human relationship and our behaviour. Therefore, I strongly believe that it is the responsibility of today’s leaders to communicate to… 


Monday, April 26th, 2021

Cultural and emotional barriers which cause resistance to change

In the current ever-changing corporate world perennial adaptability is the key to sustainability and culture has become the conceptual foundation which should embrace ambiguity, uncertainty and complexity to ensure organisational success. Culture is not just mandated but it should be shaped at every level of the organisation and “even without a direct mandate from the top, people with passion, persistence… 


Monday, April 26th, 2021

Do millennials have a chance?

“When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become a wiser and more inclusive and a better organisation” – Pat Wadors, head of HR at LinkedIn. At SAP, we have set ourselves a target of achieving 10% of young talent in our workforce in South East Asia (SEA) by 2023. This is a two-fold increase from… 


Monday, November 9th, 2020

Imagine…

How will leadership change in the digital future? Imagine… You are strolling on a boardwalk by the beach. The warm rays of the sun are tickling your nose as you savour the beautiful scenery. Suddenly, darkness takes over, the sun vanishes, and there is a mist in the air. A tornado! A huge swirling spout of water, this massive monster… 


Tuesday, June 25th, 2019

Courage and curiosity

Nilgün Atasoy’s wide experience, open mindset and empathetic approach have opened doors in her career. Nilgün Atasoy specialises in expanding horizons. From her multicultural upbringing to her progression in the traditionally male-dominated technology sector, to her trailblazing role as one of SAP’s first female salespeople in the Middle East and a pioneering woman sales manager in Eastern Europe, she has… 


Tuesday, June 25th, 2019

Blazing the trail for women sales leaders in technology

Dutch ICT Woman of the Year, Monic van Aarle is a sales director working with a diverse range of SAP’s customers in the Netherlands. Monic van Aarle has been working at SAP for 15 years and in sales for a total of 37 years – which stacks up to a significant amount of experience. Starting her career in marketing, she… 


Tuesday, December 18th, 2018

Achieving mastery

Participating in a Masters programme is a significant commitment. We asked two leaders about their journey. “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers” Stephen Gaskell is Director E-Commerce, Retail & Distribution at SONY Mobile. A member of SONY’s leadership programme, he has been on a journey of transformation in establishing his business unit within SONY Mobile. He…