Complexity Leadership Symposium

The Australian National University (ANU), in partnership with the Menzies Foundation, proudly presents the Complexity Leadership Symposium—a two-day event bringing together leaders from industry, academia, and government to explore how the field of leadership must evolve to address the complexities of the 21st century. Whether you're a leader, academic, practitioner, or pracademic, this event offers a unique opportunity to engage with the emerging field of complexity leadership and play a critical role in its development.

The symposium will explore the multifaceted dimensions of complexity leadership, aiming to foster a unified understanding and common language across sectors. Participants will walk away with a shared sense of complexity leadership and actionable tools and methodologies for navigating multifaceted challenges within their industries and organisations. It also marks the launch of the ANU Complexity Leadership Lab as a global hub for complexity leadership theory, measurement, research, education, and practice. Participants will engage with ANU’s cutting-edge research and thought leadership, gaining insights and strategies that can be directly applied to their organisations to improve leadership in complex environments.

The goals of the symposium are to:

• launch the ANU Complexity Leadership Lab as a global hub for transdisciplinary approaches to complexity leadership theory, measurement, research, education, and practice. The Complexity Leadership Lab is being led by Professor Katherine Daniell, Associate Professor Alessandra Capezio, Associate Professor Maia Gould, and Dr Aiden M. A. Thornton in collaboration with a variety of other partners across ANU and beyond
• share and explore multiple perspectives about the complex challenges we are currently facing in organisations and in society, and ways of leading through this complexity
• begin to foster a community of people who perceive the need for evidence-informed approaches to complexity leadership
• begin to shape possible directions for complexity leadership research for the coming years

Customise your participation in the symposium by clicking 'Get tickets' where you will be invited to select one or more attendance options which will include Day 1, Day 2 or the Public Oration.
 

Agenda

Day 1. Thursday 5 December  

9.30 am - 4.30 pm, Location: Innovation Space, Lv 2 ANU Birch Building

Day 1 sessions will include launching the ANU Complexity Leadership Lab, an interactive workshop on Dragonfly Thinking, interactive discussion about complex questions we are facing in our respective organisations and beyond, a panel discussion on navigating complexity in the public sector ecosystem.  Day 1 is relevant to leaders, practitioners, academics, and pracademics.

5.30 - 7 pm, Location: The Shine Dome, Australian National University
The Complexity Leadership Oration, a key highlight of the symposium, will be delivered by BNSF Endowed Professor Mary Uhl-Bien, an eminent scholar in the field of leadership who is listed in Stanford’s top 2% of scientists in the world. Titled Complexity Leadership: Enabling People and Organisations for Adaptability, the oration will explore groundbreaking ideas on how leaders can navigate complexity in today’s fast-evolving world. The event promises to challenge conventional approaches and inspire new strategies for leading in complexity. Following the oration, a panel discussion with leading experts will further examine the implications for leadership in the context of complexity.
 

Day 2. Friday 6 December

9.30 am - 4.30 pm,  Location: Innovation Space, Lv 2 ANU Birch Building 

In Day 2 of the symposium, attendees will have the opportunity to actively shape to shape possible directions for complexity leadership research for the coming years, including the research undertaken by the ANU Complexity Leadership Lab. Day 2 is deliberately designed to be more intellectually spacious and will draw upon collaborative facilitation techniques to create an open environment for meaningful conversations that address the most pressing questions in complexity leadership. Participants will gain insights from diverse perspectives, and build valuable connections that could lead to future industry collaborations and impactful projects. Day 2 is most relevant to academics, pracademics, and practitioners who are interested in contributing to conversations about theory, measurement, research, and education.