Thursday, December 4 | 18:00 | ESMT Berlin

Join us for an engaging and interactive session with Prof. Matt Bothner, exploring how leaders can use annealing to foster creativity and resilience within teams. Drawing on research on organizations and networks, Prof. Bothner will discuss how intentional disruption can “heat” and reshape people and organizations before “cooling” them in an improved state.

Session description:

Annealing is the process of heating metal, glass—or an organization—and then cooling it in a better configuration. Outside the lab, annealing is a method for surfacing status-quality mismatches and for prompting extreme exploration. To anneal your employees or colleagues is to “start a fire beneath them,” as a way of revealing talent and of triggering diverse, innovative responses—from which you, as a leader, then choose. You could start such a fire by reshuffling roles, demanding near-impossible timelines, or introducing a new strategic direction while keeping the path intentionally wide open. Ethical implications of annealing will also be addressed.

This event is ideal for prospective students exploring ESMT’s programs, alumni, and professionals interested in global business education.