Looking for inspiration for your own leadership? Welcome to CfL's universe of knowledge transformed into articles, cases, and guides.
It’s late in the afternoon. The last candidate has left the meeting room, and the recruitment interviews have stretched across two long days. The hiring manager and the HR partner lean back in their chairs. It’s quiet. Not because the choice is clear. Quite the opposite.
What have we learned over the past five years? We had no preparedness for either the pandemic or its many ripple effects. We underestimated Trump, and few of us foresaw that the global world order—after decades of balance—would turn into disorder.
Let me begin with an example: Helle is a department manager in a large private knowledge-based company. She is responsible for a team of specialists and has for several years delivered stable results, high quality, and low employee turnover. Now the conditions are changing. The organization is growing, the pace is increasing, and decisions need to be made more quickly.
It’s late in the afternoon. The last candidate has left the meeting room, and the recruitment interviews have stretched across two long days. The hiring manager and the HR partner lean back in their chairs. It’s quiet. Not because the choice is clear. Quite the opposite.
What have we learned over the past five years? We had no preparedness for either the pandemic or its many ripple effects. We underestimated Trump, and few of us foresaw that the global world order—after decades of balance—would turn into disorder.
Today, four generations share the workplace—soon to be five—and we need all of them. It’s tempting to elevate generational leadership to a distinct management discipline. The problem is that it’s far, far too simplistic.
As an HR professional, you often find yourself caught between the expectations of top management and the needs of the organization. You must act as both a strategic partner and a supportive presence—while navigating informal power dynamics and cultural nuances that rarely appear in any organizational chart.
We revisit the City of Copenhagen’s work on leadership well-being in an interview with Mette Kjærgaard Svendsen, Senior Consultant at Work Environment Copenhagen.
Job Hugging is about staying in your job — not out of desire, but out of fear of losing it. This raises three key questions for us as leaders, writes CfL’s CEO, Thomas Hanssen.
Get strategies on how you, as a leader, can help build a resilient organization — and gain insight into how you and your employees can effectively navigate and manage crises.
Henry Mintzberg’s 5 Organizational Structures – and How to Choose the Right One for Your Organization. Can You Really ‘Just Choose’ a Structure? Find Out Here.
About how conflicts escalate through the 7 stages of the conflict escalation model. Read how you, as a leader, can use the model to manage and prevent destructive conflicts in the workplace.
Generation Z is the first digital generation, with high expectations for flexibility and sustainability. But what drives Gen Z at work? Read how you can best lead this technologically skilled and diverse generation.
ChatGPT sagde: The ADKAR model helps leaders drive successful change. Discover the five steps that ensure effective change management and the implementation of lasting, sustainable transformation.
More and more leaders are driving projects or processes without having formal staff responsibility. But how can you lead without authority? Here are four key competencies you need to master.
Midtjyske Jernbaner A/S is a company on the move. In just five years, its workforce has grown from 35 to 95 employees. This places high demands on the recruitment process.
The extent of remote work should therefore be determined solely by company strategy — and if physical presence is necessary, individual preferences must yield, writes CfL’s CEO Thomas Hanssen.
Let’s discuss structural frameworks and organizational conditions rather than debating whether an individual leader is good or bad, writes CfL’s CEO Anja Neiiendam.
The efforts focus primarily on two areas: self-leadership and support with administrative tasks. Read why in this interview with CCO Kristina Steenfeldt Madsen.
Before a top management team makes decisions about layoffs, it should conduct a comprehensive economic and cultural assesment, writes Thomas Hanssen.
The law is crystal clear. It is — and will remain — our responsibility as leaders to ensure a safe workplace. And the need is urgent, writes CfL’s CEO Thomas Hanssen in this op-ed.
We asked Senior Leadership Consultant Dorte Adamsen 9 questions about the benefits of internal, cross-organizational leadership networks. Read her recommendations.
How do you create a common leadership language among a large group of leaders, both with and without direct reports? Danfoss brought together 36 leaders from around the world – and the feedback speaks for itself.
When leaders learn to understand and regulate their emotions, they not only build stronger relationships but also achieve more flexible and effective leadership that enhances collaboration and drives results.
At the International Personality Type Conference 2025, Rob Toomey is leading a highly interactive, hands-on workshop that explores how Jungian personality types, emotional intelligence, and leadership strategies can transform workplace communication.
How do you ensure a healthy psychological work environment where employees feel happy and supported? In this article, you’ll find concrete advice on how you, as a leader, can build a positive workplace culture that fosters well-being.
How Do You Build a Company Culture When Employees Are Only on Board for Six Months at a Time? The answer lies in the collaboration between Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and CfL.
CfL provides leadership training across multiple levels at Bravida. Learn about the long term partnership between CfL and Bravida Denmark.
Learn how to build high-performance teams that thrive and deliver results. Discover what might be holding your team back from reaching its full potential.
Understanding and using the project triangle helps project managers succeed. Read why in this guide to the project triangle.
Even high-performing teams can fail. Read here how to build successful teams using the Five Dysfunctions of a Team model.
Denmark's leading auditing and consulting firm has collaborated with CfL create high performance teams based on psychological safety. Read more.
How do Danish executive leadership view the future? CfL, in collaboration with the Institute for Futures Studies, has investigated this question. Discover the results of top executives' expectations for the future leading up to 2035.
“As an organization, it’s crucial not to assume you have all the answers,” says Morten Søtofte, CFO at KommuneKredit. That is why the association’s new strategy is built on a solid, in-depth preliminary analysis.
Top executives need resilient leadership in today’s unpredictable market. The ability to adapt is the key to success.
Mental health is a key foundation for strong work performance — and, not least, job satisfaction. Read how you, as a leader, can improve well-being by strengthening mental health.
In collaboration with CfL, Carl Christensen A/S designed and implemented an internal training program tailored for middle managers.
ESG stands for Environment, Social, and Governance
Discover the potential impacts of utilizing free questionnaires in your research or business processes. Learn how to effectively leverage free tools while maintaining data integrity and quality. Read more here.
Man skal have det godt, for at gøre det godt. Sådan lyder det fra Jesper Bay, uddannelsesansvarlig i 365discount. Læs om samarbejdet med CfL, der har udviklet et helt program for mental sundhed.
What is DEI? And why are diversity, equity, and inclusion important in your workplace? What are the benefits? And what does it mean for you and your colleagues? Find the answers here.
Building an effective team takes more than professional skills; psychological safety is essential for lasting success and innovation.
Read how Anders Steengaard Leer, Division Manager at Jespers Torvekøkken, designed a tailored leadership development program in collaboration with CfL.
At a seminar for 30 executives, the energy group VERDO chose CfL to focus on the leadership discipline and key leadership tools. Read the interview with HR Director Margrete Larsen.
The management concept SLII has a long history in Danfoss, led by HR Director Wicky Skareløkke, who uses the concept across national borders and management levels. Read why she is so excited about it.
Experience effective management with the SLII concept: Create dynamic management styles with Henrik Svensson's 20 years of experience. Learn more here!
If you want to work more systematically and strategically with career and competence development, then learn from the global technology and engineering company MAN Energy Solutions.
Everyone is talking about psychological safety – and for good reason, as it's the most crucial factor for well-functioning and effective teams. But what exactly is it, and how do we work with it?
The DiSC model is a framework for understanding how people tend to think, feel, and behave. It can help you build better relationships, communicate more effectively, and motivate and understand others.
In project management, the waterfall model is a well-known concept. It is also known by the longer and less catchy name the software development life cycle model, and its purpose is to structure the design and development processes.
Scrum is one of the most popular project management tools. But what exactly is Scrum, and how can it improve your project management process? Read about it here.
PRINCE2® is one of the most popular project management frameworks in use today. It is internationally recognised, but how can it be applied most effectively? Read more here.
The SMART model forces you to think carefully about your goals and break them down into smaller, more manageable steps. Read examples of how to use it.
Kotter has developed the widely used 8-step model for implementing change processes. The model guides leaders through challenging changes step by step, helping the organisation navigate safely to the other side.
Engage your employees in the upcoming changes by choosing the right narrative. Present the organization as a burning platform—something you must leave together through transformation, or face its decline
Here are Chief Advisor Betina Stage’s 10 concrete recommendations for how you can work with strategic and operational recruitment in practice.
The Department for Children, Youth and Family in Lolland Municipality has used the briefing–backbriefing method. Get the perspective of the director and the department manager.
How do you succeed in the role of an informal leader? You do it by understanding your mandate, making yourself visible, and nurturing relationships upward, downward, outward, and inward. Read senior advisor Gitte Madsen’s recommendations.
Here are 7 recommendations for how to work with and develop your leadership team.
At times, the leadership role can feel lonely, but you are not alone — and fortunately, there are plenty of places where you can find support. Read more here.
Your leadership space defines the framework for your leadership. To succeed in your new role as a leader, it is essential that you understand it. Read more here.
Learn how to manage conflicts. Read about different types of conflicts and how, with the help of a simple model, you can learn to handle them effectively.
Find balance in your leadership life with this simple model. You'll learn to prioritize important tasks and identify the ones you need to eliminate.
Read this article to learn why mastering feedback is essential for you as a leader. Get practical tips on how to improve your ability to give and receive feedback
Many leaders find themselves spending a lot of time on operational tasks. Discover the right leadership balance with a simple and effective exercise. Read more here.
Difficult conversations with employees are sometimes necessary and therefore part of your responsibilities as a leader. Get 5 useful tips here.
Learn how to conduct a stakeholder analysis from start to finish. As a bonus, you can download a free stakeholder analysis template.
Risk analysis can save you from many challenges and sleepless nights. Read how to analyze and manage risks in project management.
Here you’ll get a thorough introduction to how to plan and execute projects. We walk you through the phases of a project and common pitfalls.
Leadership is about achieving results through others. Read why delegation is so important – and how to do it effectively.
Learn why Maslow’s theory remains relevant today and how it continues to play a significant role in leadership. Explore the theory here.
Regardless of your background and motivation, you now face a completely new and exciting task. You must adapt to a different kind of daily routine and role – something we also discuss in the podcast episode "New to Leadership."
When you transition from being an employee to becoming a people manager, you enter the first level of the traditional Leadership Pipeline framework. This shift brings new demands.
When we talk about motivation, it’s hard to avoid Maslow and Herzberg — but today, that’s no longer enough. Understand what drives your employees – and yourself.
Read what you should pay attention to in order to achieve more motivated employees.
Read about the theory behind the JTI profile and gain insight into how it should – and should not – be used.
Here you’ll find an overview of the 16 personality types in the JTI. Read a description of your own and your colleagues’ personality types here.
Based on input from thousands of course participants and numerous interviews, we have identified 10 common pitfalls you need to know about when transitioning from colleague to manager. Read them here.
To succeed with execution, you need to work on strategy development and strategy implementation in the same phase.
A good strategy is simple, even though parts of the strategic process can be complex. Read here to learn how to work with strategy.
Can you answer why your company exists and what your aspiration is for the future? If so, then you have a good grasp of your mission and vision.
If you want to analyze your company's position in the market and gain an overview of the forces that can influence the competitive situation, Michael Porter offers a well-recognized model.
Whether or not your organization is facing major changes, you need to be able to respond to shifts in your environment. The PEST analysis can help guide you.
Strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities – these are the four cornerstones of a SWOT analysis. It may sound simple, but each area requires in-depth analysis to be truly effective.
Strategy builds a bridge between the present as experienced and the desired future. Read about what strategy is – and what it is not.
Move easily from strategy to action. Get an introduction to the international leadership expert Stephen Bungay by Ejner Jacobsen, Chief Advisor at CfL.
A strategy is a long-term plan that provides direction and goals for the organization. And while a good strategy is simple, the phases of strategy work can be complex. Read here to learn how you can work with strategy.
All organisations can benefit from using personality tests, but the range of available tools can be overwhelming. Read here if you want to choose the best testing tools.
We are all motivated by different things in our working lives. Use the Career Model™ to gain insight into what drives you. Read more here.
Are you ready to reflect on your own and your team's performance? Read on and get 3 tips to help you prepare for your leadership development conversation
New strategy, new processes, new stores, new products—and much more. ALDI has changed everything, and more than 300 leaders have completed a tailored development programme. Read how CfL has advised the company.
The retail group Dagrofa needed better coherence in their performance management system and received support from CfL. The result was a concrete model that speaks to the head, heart, and feet.
Molio – the Construction Industry’s Knowledge Center – has successfully merged two corporate identities and built a strong organization. Read here to find out how.
Business strategy applies to HR too – especially when it comes to building knowledge and skills. Use this guide to strengthen your organization’s HR strategy.
Facing a turnaround? Learn from Finn Tang, CEO of ALDI Denmark. The core elements are a clear mission translated into five must-win battles. Read here to find out how.