RELEVANT Managementberatung, an authorized Hogan distributor in Germany, recently hosted its JAM SESSION titled ‘New Leadership? Authentic in Turbulent Times’ with more than 100 attendees on July 4 at the Klassikstadt in Frankfurt. The purpose of the event was to bring clients, HR professionals, and business leaders together to jointly discuss opportunities and risks of leadership in the context of new work.

RELEVANT partnered with Odgers Berndtson to host the event, which featured the following speakers:

• Dr. Robert Hogan, Hogan Assessments – Dr. Hogan spoke to the crowd about how humility outperforms charisma when it comes to effective leadership.
• Dr. Scott Gregory, CEO, Hogan Assessments – Dr. Gregory served as a speaker of one of five breakout sessions. His discussion focused on the science of personality and how to derive value from big data. The other four sessions featured representatives from CMS Legal, Fondsdepot Bank, Beiersdorf, and Daimler.
• Dr. Niklas Friedrich, Vodafone – Dr. Friedrich, who serves as Vodafone’s Head of People & Organizational Strategy, presented to the crowd about Vodafone’s initiative to “futurize leadership” across the organization.
• Marcus Reif, HR expert, speaker and blogger – Mr. Reif spoke about “how to stay relevant in turbulent times” before the official agenda was concluded and the networking continued.

Dr. René Kusch of RELEVANT Managementberatung and Daniel Nerlich of Odgers Berndtson served as facilitators and hosts for the event, creating an atmosphere of curiosity, ease, fun, and sagacity. Thus, attendees who had just met easily engaged in meaningful conversations, laughed together, and challenged each other’s thinking. Dr. René Kusch, initiator of the JAM SESSION said that “There were vivid interactions throughout the entire event, and a heightened common understanding that personality always is the stable factor in turbulent times was palpable. Attendees came to know how to use Hogan for the recruiting and development of leaders and teams.”

Following the event was a celebratory “Dinner with the Hogans,” attended by the RELEVANT team, Hogan’s Managing Director for Europe Zsolt Feher, Dr. Hogan, and Wendy Hogan. The group dined in Frankfurt’s city center, talking shop, sharing personal stories, and enjoying fine cuisine.

Feedback from participants who attended the event was overwhelmingly positive. The event has already led to significant business development opportunities, with people interested in learning more about humility and also how they can get Hogan-certified. Overall, the event was a huge success, and we owe our appreciation to RELEVANT and Odgers Berndtson for making it a reality. Prost!