Recap | Prof. Hylke Sprangers | NextGen Tech Leaders Masterclass | Management under extreme pressure
Professor Hylke Sprangers, Professor of Tech & Innovation at Luiss University, guided participants through the realities of leading under extreme pressure. Using the KNVB ransomware attack and lessons from crisis management, he explored how leaders can remain resilient, provide direction, and act decisively when faced with uncertainty and high-stakes decisions.
What do you do when things get really tough?
Working in the digital and technology sector means that, unfortunately, we will all experience some kind of 'crisis' from time to time.
Our masterclass "Management Under Extreme Pressure" on September 23, led by prof. Hylke Sprangers, examined how people should perform under extreme pressure, high uncertainty, critical time constraints, and irreversible decisions.
As a case in point, the masterclass took a deep dive into the 2023 ransomware attack on the KNVB, tracing the crisis day by day, from the first hours of containment to the moral dilemma of whether to pay the ransom.
The leadership component grounded this case in established frameworks. McClelland's Competency Model distinguishes visible competencies (knowledge, skills) from harder-to-change invisible ones (traits, motives). The qualities that digital and technology leaders need to achieve both short-term and long-term success depend on both. Skills such as vision, communication, and building high-performance teams are important, but traits such as learning agility, resilience, and courage are even more important, especially under pressure.
Resilient leadership was defined as the capacity to stay focused, composed, and effective under adversity, built on emotional strength, cognitive flexibility, empathic stewardship, future orientation, and decisive accountability. Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition served as a historical example, illustrating how persistent optimism enabled the crew to survive the harsh conditions.
The session concluded that many of these qualities are also required to manage under extreme pressure, such as a cyberattack: activating a resilient crisis team, communicating positively and clearly, making fast and bold decisions, adapting course as new information becomes available, reducing complexity to stay focused and effective, and mobilizing management to run their teams on a paper-IT basis. Last but not least, remaining authentic and adhering to your own and the company's values.
Ready for the next step? Explore upcoming events and learn more about the unique NextGen Tech Executive Programme on the NextGen Tech Leaders website.
Kind regards,
Hylke Sprangers
Professor in Tech & Innovation
Luiss University
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