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The Leadership Forum of the Academic Society takes places annually in spring. Selected experts from international science are invited to the two-day conference to present research results from their respective fields and in doing so provide practitioners with valuable ideas for their work.
Recent meetings have focused on topics such as digitization, leadership, CSR as well as compliance and ethics. Insights from Corporate Communications executives, which allow a glimpse behind the scenes of communication work, have also become an established part of the event. A cultural evening program rounds off the meeting and offers participants the opportunity to exchange their professional and personal experiences in a relaxed atmosphere.
Participation is by invitation only.
23./24. Juni, SCHOTT AG, Mainz
On June 23 / 24, the Leadership Forum 2022 took place in Mainz. Two days full of exciting presentations and discussions. A big thank you to SCHOTT for the invitation!
Collaboration and leadership have become more flexible in the new virtual world, but also more challenging. Often the personal, direct conversation that creates trust is missing. We discussed what opportunities and risks arise from virtual or hybrid collaboration in companies and how leaders can maintain the relationship with their team as well as their engagement.
When companies want to live diversity, it comes with new expectations for communication and language. How can communications raise awareness of D&I issues? How can employees from all areas - whether in production or in the office, whether in Germany or internationally, whether male, female or diverse - be addressed and involved in the best possible way? And how do companies communicate their D&I strategy to the public?
Postponed to June 10-11, 2021 at SCHOTT, Mainz
Due to the Corona crisis, the Leadership Forum unfortunately cannot take place on May 7-8, 2020 as planned. We regret this very much and kindly ask for your understanding.
Together with Salvatore Ruggiero from SCHOTT, we have decided to postpone the conference to June 10-11, 2021. We would be pleased to welcome you then at SCHOTT in Mainz.
You will receive further information about the Leadership Forum 2021 in advance.
All the best in these rough times and stay healthy!
13th/14th June, ARAG, Düsseldorf
The Leadership Forum 2019 took place on June 13 - 14. At the invitation of Klaus Heiermann, we were delighted to be a guest at ARAG in Düsseldorf this year.
Content Management: In many companies, this is the first area to be restructured to achieve more flexibility. Newsrooms are being established and the boundaries between internal and external communication and channels are blurring.
With the increased speed of social media, the speed of communication must also increase. Especially in crisis situations, such as natural disasters, a flexible and fast response must be guaranteed. This challenge can be met with a newsroom.
There are organizations that have only changed work processes and others that have set up a physical newsroom and are looking for a comprehensive transformation.
Employees within a newsroom have to be generalists - who can independently deploy topics cross medially - rather than experts. However, this also requires a different self-perception and role model - from a press spokesperson or internal communicator - towards a topic manager who can integrate topics and channels.
CEOs in Germany are still very little represented in social media. 80% of people believe that they are more likely to trust a company if the management team is active on social media. Other figures also show that CEOs are expected to communicate on social media.
The participants agreed that companies should stay out of day-to-day political business and remain politically neutral. However, an active voice on social media or in public is required at the latest when the company's values are at stake. The attitude of CEOs to socio-political issues can be a two-sided medal: It is hardly possible to control which statements may have a negative impact on the company later on. It would therefore be important to improve the association's work in order to have a common voice in public discourse as a company. Individual CEOs can hardly replace this.
07th/08th June, Pfizer Germany, Berlin
On June 7/8, the Leadership Forum 2018 took place at Pfizer Germany in Berlin. More than 50 guests from science and practice joined the conferene to discuss challenges of communication.
The main focus were on employee communication and influencer relations:
We discussed these questions with scientists and practitioners from Siemens, Deutsche Bahn, thyssenkrupp, Daimler, Microsoft and P&G.
11th/12th May, Airbus, Berlin
The Leadership Forum 2017 took place from 11-12 May. About 50 guests discussed new approaches and challenges of strategic communications planning. Invited by Airbus, we were guests at their Group Representative Office in Berlin.
The motto of the Leadership Forum 2017 was "Strategic planning - the supreme discipline in communication". The following questions were addressed:
The communications managers and experts from Bosch, GIZ, Osram, Otto, thyssenkrupp and Voith gave interesting insights into their strategy and planning work. Researchers from the universities of Amsterdam, Leipzig, Münster and Berlin presented selected study results with a practical value.
14th/15th April, Museum for Communication, Berlin
The Leadership Forum 2016 took place at the Museum for Communication in Berlin. The host was Prof. Dr. Christof E. Ehrhart, Head of Corporate Communications and Corporate Responsibility at Deutsche Post DHL Group. Around 40 people attended the discussion on trust and mobile communication in corporate communications.
7th/8th May, Microsoft Atrium, Berlin
The Microsoft building in Berlin, Unter den Linden 17, is a perfect mix of the old and new, and has developed into one of the most sought-after venues for political, economic and cultural events in the German capital. It is here that the digital future is not only discussed, but is also designed, shaped and lived.
The headquarters of Microsoft Germany provided the perfect backdrop for the Leadership Forum 2015, which took place at the invitation of Thomas Mickeleit, Director of Communications at Microsoft Germany. This year's conference focused on the Academic Society’s new research program Value Creating Communication, which examines first and foremost the current major trends in corporate communications.
Digitalization is one of the most important trends in communications at the moment and was the main focus of the conference. On the first day of the conference the opportunities and limitations of big data for corporate communications were discussed. On the second day, the discussions focused on the impact of the dramatic changes in the media landscape due to digitalization/the dramatic effects of digitalization of the mass media.
The aim of the Leadership Forum is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences between communication experts and academic researchers. Nearly 50 participants joined the conference.
Continue Reading:
8th/9th May, Representative Office of Deutsche Bank, Berlin
From 8th to 9th May 2014, approx. 30 corporate communications executives gathered at the Leadership Forum in Deutsche Bank’s Berlin office.
At this year’s conference, Dr. Rüdiger Grube, who has been the CEO and chairman of the management board of Deutsche Bahn AG for the past 5 years, gave insights into his daily work. He faces the communicative task of communicating with Deutsche Bahn’s 300,000 employees. He places high value on personal communication and devotes about 15% of his time to communicating with employees. Grube follows a transformational leadership style that not only takes the individual needs of employees into account but also is designed to challenge and inspire them as well. Authenticity and a down-to-earth approach are cornerstones of his communication and leadership style.
Further topics of the event:
25th/26th April, Bertelsmann AG, Berlin
The Leadership Forum 2013 took place in Bertelsmann’s representative office in Berlin from 25th to 26th April. Corporate communications executives and academic representatives gathered for the third year in a row to discuss the current issues and challenges in the field of organizational communication. This year’s conference focused on Corporate Communications and Internationalization: Dealing with Stakeholders, Structures, Strategy and Social Responsibility in a Global Business Environment.
29th/30th March, Humbold-University of Berlin
The Leadership Forum 2012 took place from 29th to 30th March at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Leading communication executives from the German-speaking region and international researchers joined the debate on Strategic Communication: Organizational Structures and Competencies for Internationalization.
6th/7th May, Mediencampus Villa Ida, Leipzig
The Leadership Forum 2011 took place in Leipzig. Professor Bruce K. Berger (The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, University of Alabama) as well as Professors Finn Frandsen and Winni Johansen (Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences, Denmark) gave a keynote on Strategy, Leadership, and Power in Communication Management and presented the current research and practical insights of the leading academics in the field.