At the Centre for Responsible Leadership we know that the challenges of the 21st century will not be best served by traditional approaches. This is why an important part of our mission is to spotlight non-traditional and innovative models of leadership.

Across 2023 and 2024 the Centre for Responsible Leadership will be hosting Leadership Generations, a series of fireside chats with leaders from different generations, who approach a specific requirement of leadership in unique ways. The series will provide novel insights into alternative leadership approaches that challenge the status quo.

At our first event, Leading Without Formal Authority, the discussion takes as its starting point the idea that leadership can be exercised from anywhere. Often, we associate leadership with senior positions in hierarchies: eliciting compliance through the resources they control or formal authority they wield. Yet the most admired and successful leaders do not depend on coercive mechanisms to motivate others to exert effort towards common objectives. They are leaders because people want to follow them.

Professor Celia Moore will facilitate a conversation with two remarkable leaders, Jack Blyzinskyj (Full Time MBA, 2023) and Mary Meaney (Imperial Business School Advisory Board), who have inspired thousands in their communities to give their time, donate their money, open their homes, and undertake gruelling physical challenges, all in order to make the world a better place, and all without the crutch of formal authority or coercive power to reward or punish.

Whether you’re a seasoned leader, an emerging leader, or simply passionate about making a difference, the Leadership Generations series is your gateway to a more responsible and innovative approach to leadership.

Join us at Imperial College Business School’s South Kensington campus for the event, which will be followed by drinks and canapes.