24Mar2026
Leader’s Digest | March 2026
by: Nordic Business Forum
Welcome to the March 2026 edition of the Leader’s Digest, your monthly guide to business leadership. In this issue, we’ll focus on the theme of collaboration.
Contents
- Blog: How to Develop Self-Awareness in Leadership and Collaboration
- Video: How to Lead Collaboration – Insights from NBF 2025 Speakers
- Podcast recommendation: How to Master the Science of Conversation
- Speaker of the Month: Paul Polman
- Update: Nordic Business Forum 2026 is Sold Out!
- Inspirational Quote by Gianpiero Petriglieri
New Leadership Insights
How to Develop Self-Awareness in Leadership and Collaboration
— NBF Blog
95% of people believe they are self-aware. The reality? Only about 15% actually are…
This lack of self-awareness can result in poor leadership and collaboration. While we often judge ourselves by our good intentions, collaboration is ultimately determined by how our teams experience our behavior—and the two rarely align perfectly.
In our latest blog, we explore how to develop your self-awareness to lead and collaborate more effectively. Here are a few insights to get you started:
Internal vs. external awareness: Being good at one doesn’t automatically mean you’re good at the other. And, you need both.
It’s a skill, not a badge: You don’t become self-aware once and then stop. It is a skill that develops in layers and requires daily practice.
Better results: Increasing your self-awareness helps you make better decisions, build deeper trust, and improve how your entire organization collaborates.
Self-awareness is a daily practice of losing some of your self-certainty to make room for better results. It’s reflection in service of better action.
How to Lead Collaboration
— Insights from NBF 2025 Speakers
In the third episode of our Behind the NBF 2025 Keynotes series, Milda Mitkute, Gianpiero Petriglieri, and Sukhinder Singh Cassidy explore what it really takes to make collaboration work in practice. Here are a few thoughts that we took from them:
Actively design collaboration: Milda Mitkute reminded that not all collaboration creates value and without guidance, teams can be slowed down. The role of a leader is to facilitate, focus, and channel collaboration toward meaningful outcomes. They need to ensure every voice contributes to progress, not noise.
⚡ Seek out the constructive challengers: Sukhinder Singh Cassidy suggested that the most valuable collaborators are often the ones questioning the status quo. These “agitators” push teams forward by challenging assumptions and exploring better ways of working. When those people are appreciated, they can be the key to drive collective progress.
Optimize for contribution, not alignment: Gianpiero Petriglieri underlined that too much focus on alignment can quietly limit collaboration. The best teams are not those who think alike, but those who feel free to think differently. True collaboration emerges when people are empowered to bring diverse perspectives to the table.
Watch the 9-minute video for more inspiration!
How to Master the Science of Conversation
— Episode from the Diary of a CEO
In a Diary of a CEO podcast episode, Steven Bartlett and Harvard Professor Alison Wood Brooks sat down to explore one of the most underrated leadership skills: how we collaborate through conversations. The 2-hour discussion had plenty of insights for any leader, but here a few that stood out for us:
Great collaboration starts with great questions
One of the most powerful (and overlooked) collaboration skills is asking better questions. Instead of defaulting to statements or solutions, Alison emphasized the impact of asking thoughtful questions that invite others to contribute. The quality of your questions often determines the quality of your collaboration.
Psychological safety is built moment by moment
Collaboration usually fails in the little moments. Small signals like interrupting, dismissing ideas, or not listening fully can quickly erode trust. On the other hand, simple behaviors, like acknowledging input or showing curiosity, create the safety people need to speak up and engage.
The best collaborators aim to understand (not win)
A key shift for leaders is moving from “being right” to “getting it right.” This means listening to understand, not to respond. When leaders approach conversations with genuine curiosity instead of defensiveness, better decisions and stronger alignment follow.
If collaboration is a priority for you and your organization, we highly recommend listening to this conversation!
NBF Spotlight
Speaker of the Month: Paul Polman
As the CEO of Unilever (2008-2019), Paul Polman proved that purpose-driven strategies deliver exceptional results. Through board roles, impact investments, and his book Net Positive, Paul continues to drive global progress towards a more sustainable future.
At NBF 2026, Paul will give a keynote that demonstrates how collaborating with customers, communities, and even competitors can drive meaningful change.
Nordic Business Forum 2026 Is Sold Out ❤️
All 8,500 tickets have now been sold for our next event taking place on 16–17 September 2026 at Messukeskus in Helsinki. Thousands of senior decision-makers from over 40 countries will get together for what we call the best business days of the year.
NBF 2026 will be the largest event we’re ever had! Also, it will be the most international one with over 3,100 people coming from outside of Finland.
We’re beyond excited and committed to making NBF 2026 our most impactful experience yet! 8,500 times thank you
PS. If you didn’t catch a ticket, you can join the waiting list or participate via livestream!
Nordic Business Forum 2026 Lineup is Complete
Our Main Stage speaker lineup for September is now fully confirmed
At NBF 2026, we’ll have these top leaders and thinkers on our stage to share how our unique human strengths can build sustainable success in the age of AI:
- Oprah Winfrey – Global Media Leader
- Steven Bartlett – Entrepreneur & Host of The Diary of a CEO Podcast
- Angela Duckworth – Author of Grit and Professor at UPenn
- Paul Polman – Former CEO of Unilever, Co-author of Net Positive
- Patty McCord – Former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix
- Nando Parrado – Survivor, Entrepreneur & Business Leader
- Rahaf Harfoush – Digital Anthropologist & Bestselling Author
- Alison Wood Brooks – HBS Professor & Behavioral Scientist
- Shawn Kanungo – Innovation Strategist and Bestselling Author
- Michael Beckley – Political Scientist & FPRI Director
- Kjell A. Nordström – Economist & Business Strategist
Check the full event agenda to explore the sessions in more detail!
Stop and Think
“Any relationship, any opportunity, any activity that expands our capacity for care is leadership development. So, one thing we should do is to challenge the stigma of care that still exists a lot in the workplace.”
Gianpiero Petriglieri
