In 2013, the timing was right for Thor Molly Søholm, Kristian Dahl and Claus Elmholdt, who had been colleagues at Aalborg University for three years, where they researched management and organization. Thor had just sold the consultancy Attractor and merged it into Rambøll. Claus was nearing the end of a 3-year professorship in management psychology at the university, where he had developed a new master's programme in management and organizational psychology (LOOP). And Kristian had just sold his consultancy company, Kreativitetslaboratoriet.
They were all ready to explore the potential of their joint research into the Leadership Pipeline adapted for the public sector. The result was the consultancy LEAD - enter next level.
Thor, Kristian and Claus each had strong ideas about how their knowledge could be transferred to practice, and they saw great potential in the graduate students they taught and the theories they taught them.
Traditionally, European academics have kept research and business separate - unlike in the US, Canada and Australia, for example. This means that many consultancies lack the latest research knowledge and insights into what works when people need to change behavior and organizations need to deliver results. Conversely, universities may lack experience and insight into the practice that is both the subject and the recipient of their research. The goal in LEAD was therefore to combine research with practice.
It's a demand that commits. So Thor, Kristian and Claus wanted to bring together the most talented consultants across disciplines and generations and offer them the opportunity to cultivate their inner geek - in the interest of management and organizations - in LEAD.
The ambition was and is to elevate the professionalism of the consulting profession and create unprecedented results in the development of leaders and organizations. Instead of consultants each having their own methods based on local and experience-based tacit knowledge, LEAD consultants need to know what works, which methods are refuted and where there are unanswered questions. In this way, we stand on the shoulders of giants. Just like researchers do at universities.
Develop to the next level
Thor, Kristian and Claus chose the name 'LEAD - enter next level' for several reasons.
The word LEAD contains three word classes, each with their own connotations. LEAD in the imperative form means 'lead! The word encourages, determines or reminds: Remember to lead yourself and others. As a verb, 'to lead' is an action: what we do or help others to do. And as a noun, 'leadership' is a field, a profession, a work and a process. It's where we seek knowledge, make decisions and lead, but also where we delegate and take responsibility. We help organizations develop better leadership and we are leaders in our field.
The tail words 'enter next level' come from the Leadership Pipeline mindset. At each level, there are new demands and expectations. At LEAD, the industry's most talented employees are given the opportunity to develop to their next level. And in collaboration with LEAD, we make sure others rise to the top. This is based on the best-founded and validated theories about what works. In other words, the method is research-informed practice.
The connector in our logo represents a plus. It symbolizes that we collaborate with others to achieve results. We don't give our customers something; we create it with them in multidisciplinary teams that can include psychologists, anthropologists, economists and consultants with extensive management experience. Together, they possess the multidisciplinary skills to embrace the complexity the customer experiences.
If we succeed, we will eventually make ourselves obsolete. This may sound surprising or controversial. After all, don't most consultancies - or suppliers in general - want to work with their customers for as long as possible? Perhaps. But at LEAD, we try to build capacity and capability with our customers so that they eventually become sufficiently skilled that they can continue without us. For this reason, knowledge sharing and knowledge production is also central to LEAD: we produce and share new, leading knowledge and practices that move people and organizations.
Beautifully leaping gazelles
As people in LEAD, we are part of a multi-disciplinary community. The community needs to be multi-disciplinary so that we can understand and advise on the complexity that leaders and organizations operate within. Multi-disciplinarity also ensures a plurality of insights and perspectives that embrace people and organizations, wellbeing and strategy, development and economics.
Our view of humanity is humanistic, so we are people-centric and emphasize the value and potential of each individual to develop. We strive for people and organizations to reach their highest level with the skills and competencies they have. And that together we achieve long-term, balanced results.
In community with others, we want to make a difference. For people, organizations and society. This requires growth and a certain size. This has been our ambition from the very beginning. Even though the conditions were humble when the three founders met at Thor's home in Risskov, where he served his favorite dish (well-baked omelettes), and the customer meetings took place at customers' homes or in cafés and libraries, Thor, Kristian and Claus wanted to make a positive and noticeable difference.
Customers noticed this desire and LEAD grew rapidly. In 2018 and 2019, a pair of beautiful, smoothly jumping gazelles arrived from Møntergade in Copenhagen with a cover letter from Børsen. The reason was a minimum 20% growth for three years in a row. Today, LEAD has several subsidiaries and a community of more than 60 colleagues.
In 2030, our ambition is to be Denmark's agenda-setting consultancy and an ambitious, highly professional and diverse community. Here, professional energy will bubble, leap and spread, and we will continue to combine the latest, best-validated research with the most accurate and relevant practical experience. Professionalism will make us the naturally preferred advisor for the most important decision-makers in the public sector, among politicians and in large parts of the private sector in Denmark.
Administration or accounting questions?
Call us on +45 5337 6000
or write to kontakt@lead.eu
LEAD - enter next level A/S
CVR: 35034374
LEAD Society ApS - CVR: 39168766
Vestergade 43,
8000 Aarhus C
Overgaden Oven Vandet 10, 2nd & 3rd floor, 1415 Copenhagen K
Overgaden Oven Vandet 8, Mezzanine, 1415 Copenhagen K.
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