Design2Be: Build Your Leadership Like a Designer

Abstract

In post-normal times, when surprises and conflicts rule and the concept of normal is increasingly useless (Dufva & Rowley, 2022), leaders in organisations are faced with new and never-before-faced problems. That’s why it becomes crucial to focus on innovation leadership and its components. This chapter introduces Design2Be, a new methodology developed by Evidentia, a consulting firm, that changes the paradigm of leadership development. The very structure of Design2Be guides participants into an innovative experience of learning, no longer linear and sequential but circular and holistic, in which the goal is the development of an innovative self and team leadership mindset, by discovering and acting out a personal growth towards self-expression and fulfilment. We reflect on the development and application of this new approach, through a case story in a large Italian company with a group of (future) leaders testing and applying the new methodology. The chapter uses Paton’s (2001) reflective model to reflect on our roles as consultants, co-creating the approach with our client.

Citation

D’Amato, M.V.C. and Migliola, L. (2023), "Design2Be: Build Your Leadership Like a Designer", Jensen, K.R., Kaudela-Baum, S. and Sheffield, R. (Ed.) Innovation Leadership in Practice: How Leaders Turn Ideas into Value in a Changing World, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 333-348. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-396-120231020