Professorial Lecture by Professor Peter Sun

What if conventional thinking about leadership is wrong? Discover what makes great leaders thrive, and why even capable ones can fail. 'Beyond Leadership Styles: Rediscovering Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty' by Professor Peter Sun. Why do some highly experienced, intelligent and successful leaders still make disastrous decisions, while others inspire extraordinary achievements? For decades, researchers have sought to understand what makes a good leader. They have identified countless leadership qualities, behaviours and styles. Yet some fundamental questions remain unanswered. In his public lecture on Monday, 7 December, Professor Peter Sun will draw on more than two decades of his own research to take us beyond conventional thinking and explore what truly lies beneath the surface of good leadership. Drawing on his personal journey from engineer to CEO of a leading organisation, and then researching and teaching leadership at the University of Waikato’s Management School, Professor Sun brings a unique perspective that bridges theory and real-world experience. His work explores what drives effective leadership and how organisations can create cultures where people thrive. In an age of artificial intelligence, growing uncertainty and unprecedented complexity, understanding what it means to lead well has never been more important. Why can capable leaders still get things badly wrong? What enables some leaders to bring out the best in those around them? Are we looking for the foundations of good leadership in all the wrong places? Ultimately, perhaps the secret to great leadership lies not in what leaders know or do, but in something far more fundamental. This 45-minute public lecture will be held at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, starting at 5.45pm. Ticket scanning and Opus Bar will be open from 5pm. Free parking is available on campus via Gate 2B, Knighton Road, Hamilton from 4.30pm. Please register your attendance by clicking on the 'select tickets' button above and bring your eticket, with you on the evening to be scanned. If you would like to hear from us about future Public Lectures held at the University of Waikato, please join click HERE to join our mailing list. Professor Peter Sun has spent much of his academic career exploring one of the most important questions facing business and society today: What makes a great leader, and how can we build more of them? Drawing on his experience as both a former chief executive and one of New Zealand’s foremost leadership scholars, Peter brings a distinctive perspective that connects academic theory with practical experience. His work explores how leaders’ personalities and behaviours develop, what contributes to effective leadership, and how organisations foster cultures in which people thrive. Before joining the University of Waikato in 2007, Peter spent more than 15 years building a successful international career across engineering, manufacturing, technology and business. He progressed into senior executive roles and led major development projects across India and Sri Lanka. Today, as Professor of Leadership Practice at Waikato Management School, Peter is recognised for his research, teaching, and contributions to leadership development. His work has been published in leading A* journals, including The Leadership Quarterly and the Journal of Management Studies, helping to shape contemporary thinking on leadership internationally. Peter is also a co-founder of the Community and Enterprise Leadership Foundation (CELF), which has helped develop hundreds of leaders and strengthen connections across the Waikato region since 2014.