Leadership for a Changing World: When the Old Playbook Stops Working

About the Session The challenges facing the impact sector are changing faster than many of the institutions designed to address them. Climate change, inequality, political uncertainty, and overlapping crises rarely present leaders with problems that have clear boundaries or straightforward solutions. That requires a different kind of leadership. Adaptive leadership starts by questioning whether we are solving the right problem in the first place. Inclusive leadership asks whose knowledge and experience are shaping decisions. Democratizing leadership goes further, challenging the assumption that authority, expertise, and responsibility should remain concentrated at the top. This session will explore how leaders can build the capacity to navigate complexity without pretending to have all the answers. What does it take to listen differently, learn quickly, share power, and change course when an existing approach is no longer working? How can organizations cultivate leadership throughout their teams and communities rather than relying on a small number of people at the top? Ultimately, building a thriving world will require a mosaic of solutions rather than a single answer. This conversation asks what kind of leaders, organizations, and leadership cultures can allow those solutions to emerge and thrive. Discussion Group Leaders Erin Roberts is Founder and Executive Director at Loss and Damage Collaboration, advancing equitable climate policy on adaptation and loss and damage while supporting emerging climate leaders to influence decision-making. Honorine Isingizwe is New Generation Program Lead at Climate Leadership Initiative, advancing youth leadership and equipping emerging climate leaders from across the Global South to drive community-led solutions and influence climate action. Roberta Avelino is Coordinating Ambassador at One Young World, fostering global youth leadership and collaboration to advance social impact. What to Expect An interactive conversation about leadership in a period of uncertainty and change. Participants will examine adaptive, inclusive, and distributed approaches to leadership and consider where conventional leadership models may be limiting the sector's ability to respond. The session will create space for participants to reflect on their own leadership practice, learn from others, and explore what it means to lead when the problem itself continues to evolve. Who This Is For This session is for nonprofit and social impact leaders, funders, social entrepreneurs, climate leaders, board members, community leaders, and anyone responsible for leading people and organizations through complexity and change. What You Will Get Out of It A stronger understanding of adaptive and inclusive leadership Tools for recognizing when you may be solving the wrong problem Approaches to distributing leadership, knowledge, and decision-making Ideas for building greater adaptive capacity within organizations and teams Space to reflect on the leadership the impact sector needs next