Professor of Harvard University Dean Williams in Ukraine: conclusions and insights

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 the questions and 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 at the invitation of the UCU Center for Leadership and Lviv Business School of UCU (LvBS) in February 2019. During the 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 lecturer at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, founded on basis of the Center for Public Leadership. He professionally teaches the theme of leadership, 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 main adviser to the president of Madagascar, managing 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”.

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

The professor has a particularly 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.

Dr. Williams participated in the two-day training program” Leading in a fractured world”, which aims to give a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of leadership in the 21st century and find out how it is to be a real leader and change agent in business , politics or in the nonprofit sector, in a dynamic, changing world that is constantly changing. The program was attended by 30 employees of directorates and ministries, company executives, change leaders of non-governmental organizations and analytical centers.

The main media partner of this training program was Channel 24.

«Dean Williams has convincingly demonstrated that it is better to look at leadership from the standpoint of soft power, consensus, listening to all participants in the process. In his lectures he used many interesting examples from his own experience and famous case studies from history, as well as gave the students a thorough theoretical basis explaining the main mistakes of managerial decisions» – Olexiy Moskalenko, an analyst at Kyiv Center of UCU.

What it is to be a leader in business and how to move beyond your own business and make changes in society, the professor at Harvard Kennedy School generally spoke at meetings with owners and top managers of companies at CEO Club Ukraine and Lviv IT Cluster.

«Dr. Dean Williams’ course challenges the familiar and beloved myths about leaders – they need to know answers, be charismatic, and lead other people. The old type of leadership leads to conflicts and losses; instead, modern world forms new demands – the ability to face reality, listen, build partnerships to create a new one» – Dariya Nagayivska.

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 training day with representatives of five political forces.

A big interview with Dean Williams and Executive Director of the Center for Leadership of UCU will be coming up shortly, so watch out for updates on our Facebook page and on the site so you do not miss it.

We have collected for you some of the theses from the speeches of Dean Williams:
1. In the modern world, nobody knows what to do and what is right. No one can be smart or experienced enough in the face of unpredictability – modern leadership is not about one person, but about many 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 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 in which we live. 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 at the invitation of the Center for Leadership of UCU and Lviv Business School (LvBS) and 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