Leadership in the Now: Resilience, Courage and the Power to Zoom In and Out
Leadership in the Now: Resilience, Courage and the Power to Zoom In and Out
In a world shaped by disruption, uncertainty is the environment, not the exception. Leaders who thrive stay grounded amid volatility, balance foresight and precision, and bring courage and humility to the boardroom.
Hélène Barnekow, former CEO of Microsoft Sweden and now a seasoned board leader, captures this new leadership imperative during our recent panel discussion at the Alumni Executive Summit Stockholm.
Our panel consisted of:
Fredrik Persson
President of BusinessEurope and a leading voice on European competitiveness.
Hélène Barnekow
Non‑executive board professional and Partner at leadership consulting firm, Gaia Leadership.
Martin Lundqvist
CEO of Arundo Analytics, a company specialising in AI-driven analytics solutions.
Thomas Nilsson
Lieutenant General Thomas Nilsson leads Sweden's military intelligence and security operations.
“Gone are the days when you could update your strategy once a year.”
Leadership now means zooming out to track macro trends and zooming in on acute change. It demands watching the horizon while seeing realities on the ground. Static strategies and legacy thinking are liabilities.
But Barnekow’s message is not just about agility—it’s about courage and curiosity of mind.
“Don’t just benchmark your nearest competitor—ask who could redefine your business from outside your industry, often with new tech.”
Leaders must shift from reactive to visionary. From guarding the status quo to challenging hidden assumptions that block reinvention.
Crucially, this transformation begins in the boardroom.
Barnekow calls for courageous governance. Boards should not just accept diverse thinking; they should seek it. Encourage cultures that value naïve questions, challenge groupthink, and elevate unheard voices. As she wisely notes: "You should be more concerned with the questions that aren’t being asked than the ones that are."
“You should be more concerned with the questions that aren’t being asked, more than the ones that are.”
This ethos applies to AI and other frontier technologies. The promise is immense—if led by those who embed ethics, security, and adaptability in their organisations. Responsibility is now central to strategy.
At the heart of Barnekow’s leadership philosophy is a powerful duality: Courage and humility.
The courage to act decisively in the face of ambiguity. The humility to listen, learn, and give credit to others. It’s the kind of leadership that steps forward during a crisis—and steps back to lift the team when success comes.
In times like these, resilience is not a posture but a practice. It is built daily by leaders who engage complexity, hold space for discomfort, and act not with certainty but with clarity of purpose.
To lead effectively now: prioritise resilience, combine courage with humility, foster diversity of thought, and embed responsibility into leadership decisions.
Highlights from Alumni Executive Summit Stockholm
Leading with Clarity in Complexity - More Insights From the Summit
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