Adaptive leadership in the age of AI
Join our ESSEC & Mannheim EMBA APAC Masterclass
Date: 8 April 2026, Wednesday
Venue: (In-person): Hong Kong, 逸東酒店, 380 Nathan Road, Jordan
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:30 PM
Registration will start from 11:30 AM
In this one-hour masterclass, Prof. Julien Salanave introduces the adaptive leadership framework, an approach to leading when there are no clear answers, when expertise alone is not enough, and when the people around you are looking for certainty you cannot honestly provide.
What You Will Explore
Why most leadership fails in the face of AI. Organisations default to technical solutions: new tools, new processes, new org charts… But the deeper challenge is adaptive: it requires people to change how they work, what they value, and what they are willing to let go of. Leaders who treat AI as a technology problem will solve the wrong thing.
The distinction between authority and leadership.
Authority gives you the power to direct. Leadership — real leadership — means mobilising people to confront challenges they would rather avoid. In the age of AI, the gap between these two has never been wider.
What adaptive leadership actually looks like. Drawing on the work of Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky at Harvard, this session introduces a practical framework for diagnosing adaptive challenges, managing the resistance that accompanies real change, and staying effective when the pressure to provide easy answers is at its highest.
Who This Masterclass Is For
Experienced professionals and senior leaders managing teams across industries. People who sense that the next chapter of their career will require a different kind of leadership than what got them here. You do not need prior knowledge of adaptive leadership or AI strategy. You need curiosity and a willingness to question your assumptions about what leadership means.
What You Will Take Away
A framework for distinguishing the challenges that require new skills from the challenges that require new thinking. A clearer understanding of why smart, capable organisations still struggle with change. And a honest look at what it takes to lead when the ground beneath you is shifting.
Presented by:
Julien Salanave
Professor of Management Practice
Academic Director - ESSEC & Mannheim EMBA APAC
Julien Salanave teaches adaptive leadership, entrepreneurship & innovation in the ESSEC-Mannheim Executive MBA APAC programme for which he is Academic Director. A serial entrepreneur and former venture capitalist, he brings a rare combination of academic rigor and hands-on business leadership to the classroom, having founded and scaled multiple companies across Europe, North America and Asia. Sitting at the intersection of entrepreneurship, innovation, and executive development, he advises senior leaders navigating transformation in the Asia-Pacific business landscape.
This masterclass offers a preview of the Adaptive Leadership module in the ESSEC-Mannheim Executive MBA APAC programme.
