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World expert in Leadership Dean Williams in Lviv Business School

Real leadership is not a place in the hierarchy, but a process and real actions. That is why in today’s complex world one person cannot answer all the questions and solve the problems we are facing. You should not wait for a “big man” or a “big woman” who will become a leader and will lead other people. Leaders are change agents that are capable of leadership in a particular situation”, – said Dr Dean Williams, a professor at Harvard University, who was in Ukraine by the invitation of Center for Leadership of Ukrainian Catholic University and Lviv Business School of UCU (LvBS) in February 2019.

Within one week, Professor Williams took part in a large number of events of various formats, the meetings were held with the support of the UCU School of Management and the UCU Analytical Center.

Dean Williams is a public policy faculty at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, founded on basis of the Center for Public Leadership. He has also served as a visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, and for ten years has led the popular Social Leadership Singapore program. Dr Williams was a consultant and a researcher for business and government in the USA, India, Australia, Japan and other countries. For 5 years, Professor Williams has been the Chief Adviser to the President of Madagascar, leading one of the most innovative reforms in Africa. The focus of his expertise is leadership in the modern fractured world, leadership in the conditions of uncertainty, change management and leadership for change agents.

Professor Williams is the author of “Real Leadership: Helping People and Organizations Face Their Toughest Challenges” book. His latest book, “Leadership for a Fractured World: How to cross boundaries, build bridges and lead change”. You can also read his article “Change agent leadership for a fractured world” here.

During his visit to Ukraine, Professor Williams met representatives of various Ukrainian communities, took part in several training programs and read two public lectures.

Dr Williams has a positive impression after communicating with Ukrainian youth. Dean Williams met both students of the Ukrainian Catholic University as well as young people from the Ukrainian Academy of Leadership.

 What it is to be a leader in business and how to move beyond your own business and make changes in society – Harvard Kennedy School’s Professor revealed while meeting the owners and top managers of companies at CEO Club Ukraine and Lviv IT Cluster.

Within the program for political parties Good Leaders for Good Governance, implemented by the Center for Leadership of UCU, Lviv Business School and the UCU School of Management, Professor Williams conducted a workshop day with representatives of five political forces.

Here are some of the main theses of Dean Williams while his visit to Ukraine:

1. In the modern world, nobody knows what to do and what is right. No one can be smart or experienced enough in times of constant unpredictability – modern leadership is not about one person, but about groups of people. Answers can be found exclusively in collaboration and in the joint search for solutions.

2. Diversity, involvement of many groups with often different interests, is necessary to solve complex problems of the present day. We underestimate the potential impact of diversity, because it is an advantage that we must learn to use.

3. Leadership is a process that helps people to solve complex problems and create something valuable. Leadership is a creative process, and a true leader is an artist who constantly experiments and creates something new

4. Over the past decades, business is radically altering the reality we live in. The role of entrepreneurs in the modern world is so important that they simply cannot limit their influence only to their own business, but instead must strive to influence the welfare of society as a whole.

Visit of Dean Williams to Ukraine was held was implemented thanks to the support of Igor Ignatovych, patron of UCU.

About Dean Williams

Originally from Australia, served as a faculty member at Harvard University since 1999, based at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. In recognition of his teaching he has regularly received “the most influential course award,” and was also a recipient of the University’s prestigious Carballo Award for teaching excellence. He has also served as a visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, and for ten years has led the popular Social Leadership Singapore program.

Today, Dean recently left full-time teaching and now runs his own leadership research and consulting firm, THINKING HEADS GLOBAL.

Dean has consulted, lectured, or led workshops all over the world. He served for five years as the Chief Adviser to the President of Madagascar, leading one of the most innovative development reforms in Africa. He has also led major change processes, facilitated leadership development initiatives, and/or conducted extensive research with companies, governments, educational systems in the United States, India, Australia, Nigeria, Singapore, East Timor, Japan, Colombia, Cambodia, Europe, the Middle East, and Myanmar.

He earned both Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Harvard, specializing in leadership studies and organizational development. He conducted extensive research with Aetna Life and Casualty in the United States, with the Matsushita School in Japan, and with the Government of Brunei in South East Asia. While living in Borneo, Dean studied adaptation and change with indigenous tribes. In his younger years he was a factory worker at Ford Motor Company and an executive with the State Electricity Commission of Victoria. He continues to work with businesses, governments, and institutions around the world on building leadership capacity to respond to the demands of leading in a complex world.

Dean’s website and blog can be found at www.ThinkingHeadsGlobal.com

 

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