Overview

In a rapidly changing world, many leaders experience a growing tension: they are working harder than ever, applying their expertise, making decisions, and driving execution, yet the organisation still struggles to keep up with the pace and complexity of change. This is not because leaders are failing, but because the nature of leadership work itself has shifted.
Much of what leaders have been trained to do can be described as technical leadership. Technical leadership applies existing knowledge, expertise, systems, and authority to solve clearly defined problems. It works best when the problem is understood, the solution is known, and success depends on efficient execution. 
However, many of the challenges leaders face today are not technical in nature. They involve uncertainty, competing priorities, changing expectations, and the need for people to think and behave differently. These challenges do not come with clear solutions, and they cannot be solved by expertise or authority alone. This is where adaptive leadership becomes critical and what will be explored in this seminar.
Through practical frameworks, real-world examples, and observable leadership behaviours, participants will gain a clearer understanding of what adaptive leadership looks like in practice, and how it differs from more traditional leadership approaches.

Learning Objectives

By attending this seminar, participants will be able to:

• Understand the nature of adaptive challenges in a rapidly changing organisational environment

• Differentiate between technical leadership responses and adaptive leadership practice

• Strengthen leadership judgement in conditions of uncertainty, ambiguity, and change fatigue

• Recognise practical leadership behaviours that support learning, adaptability, and sustained performance

Detailed Content Outline

1. Leading in a Rapidly Changing World

• The defining characteristics of today’s organisational environment: volatility, complexity, and acceleration
• Why many contemporary leadership challenges cannot be solved through expertise or authority alone
• The leadership implications of ongoing disruption, digital transformation, and changing workforce dynamics

2. What Adaptive Leadership Really Is (and Is Not)

• Understanding adaptive versus technical challenges and why the distinction matters
• Adaptive leadership as a practice: mobilising learning rather than providing answers
• Common leadership traps in times of rapid change (over-control, false certainty, change overload)

3. Core Adaptive Leadership Capabilities

• Sense-making and judgement in ambiguous contexts
• Regulating pace, pressure, and attention during sustained change
• Holding tension, loss, and uncertainty without disengaging people
• Enabling experimentation, feedback, and learning at team and organisational level

4. The Systemic Context: How Leaders Enable Adaptive Capacity

• The relationship between leadership behaviour, organisational design, and adaptability
• How decision-making, communication flows, and role clarity support or undermine adaptive leadership
• The role of HR and OD as enablers of adaptive leadership capability (without taking ownership away from leaders)

SABPP Competency & CPD Alignment (suggested)

This seminar is aligned to the following core competencies in the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP) HR Competency Model:

1. Organisation Development (OD)

• Builds systemic understanding of how leadership behaviour, strategy formulation, and organisational design interact to shape culture
• Strengthens diagnostic capability to identify misalignment between strategy, structure, leadership practice, and lived culture
• Supports evidence-based OD interventions rather than isolated culture initiatives

2. Leadership and Leadership Development

• Enhances understanding of leadership as an organisational capability rather than an individual trait
• Explores leadership behaviours required to translate strategic intent into consistent organisational practice
• Develops insight into the role of leaders as role-modellers and custodians of organisational culture

3. Strategy

• Deepens understanding of the leader’s role in strategy formulation, translation, and communication
• Examines common strategy execution breakdowns linked to leadership behaviour and organisational design
• Strengthens the ability to assess strategic clarity and alignment at an organisational level

4. HR Governance and Professional Practice

• Reinforces a systems-based approach to organisational decision-making
• Encourages ethical, consistent, and intentional leadership and design choices that shape organisational culture
• Supports HR and OD professionals in fulfilling their role as strategic advisors to leadership

Optional Short Promotional Version

Culture is often treated as something to “fix”, yet in reality, it is the outcome of leadership behaviour, strategic clarity, and organisational design choices. When these elements are misaligned, even the best strategies fail to translate into results.

This practical, insight-rich seminar explores how leadership, strategy, and organisational design interact to shape organisational culture. Using clear frameworks, real-world examples, and observable leadership behaviours, participants will gain practical lenses to diagnose misalignment and identify leverage points for building healthier, more effective organisations.

Obtaining your CPD certificate 

This training is compliant with the International Education Standard (IES7) issued by the International Federation of Accountants and recognised for CPD by relevant professional bodies including ACCA, CIMA, IAC, IIA, SAICA and SAIPA. 

All attendees are issued with a CPD certificate available in an online profile.   

About the presenter  

Liezel van Arkel

Liezel completed an undergraduate degree in law at the University of Pretoria in 1995, and an MBA through Edinburgh Business School (Cum Laude) in 2010. She founded and ran her own retail business for 11 years. After selling that business in 2011, Liezel started a new career with WorldsView Academy.

Initially leading the consulting division, she became a shareholder and served as CEO from 2016-2025. Now in a senior partner role, Liezel brings a broad and practical understanding of entrepreneurialism, intrepreneurialism, and contemporary business issues to her work.

Liezel’s passion for everything Organisation Development is evident in her work, and she believes her strongest talent lies in working with groups, especially team and leadership development. She has worked on many consulting and development projects in many different industries including financial institutions, hospitality, FMCG and Higher Education.

Areas of interest include Organisational Culture, the Enneagram, Business Acumen, Business Partnering, Management, Leadership and Team Development.

Who should attend? 

The following persons will benefit from attending this webinar: 

• Practising accountants including: CA(SA), Professional Accountant (SA), AGA(SA), FCCA, BAP(SA), BA(SA) and ACCA. 

• Management accountants. 

• Accounting officers. 

• Independent reviewers. 

• Registered auditors. 

• Compilers. 

• Trainee accountants. 

Price 

• R 450.00 - Online admission - Individual. 

• Group Price 1 - From R337 per person (up to 5 users)  

• Group Price 2 - From R260 per person (up to 10 users)  

• Group Price 3 - From R224 per person (over 11 users) 

Steps to register for the event:  

If you already have a profile, login and register for the webinar. 

If you don’t have a profile, create a free profile then login and register for the webinar. 

Click here to create a free profile (There is no charge to create a profile and gain access to our free Monthly Practice Management Series). 

Click here to find out about the Technical Resource Centre & CPD Subscription options. 

Additional material 

By attending this webinar you will be provided with: 

• A summarised slide presentation. 

• Reference documents and/or course material where available. 

• You can ask questions during the webinar and you will also have access to the presenter after the webinar 

Corporate training solutions 

At SA Accounting Academy, we recognise the evolving needs of businesses in today's dynamic environment. Beyond our standard webinar offerings, we provide tailored corporate training solutions designed to empower your team with the latest in accounting and professional skills. Whether you're looking for online sessions or face-to-face training, our programs are crafted to ensure a comprehensive and engaging learning experience.   

Drawing inspiration from modern training methodologies, our corporate solutions are interactive, adaptable, and focused on real-world applications. We prioritise hands-on learning, ensuring your team can immediately apply their newfound knowledge in practical scenarios.   

Interested in a bespoke corporate training experience? Reach out to us at corporate@accountingacademy.co.za or call 010 593 0466. Together, let's design a training program that elevates your team's capabilities and aligns with your organisational goals.   

Contact us 

Have any questions or need any assistance? Contact us today!    

• Online chat through our website.    

• WhatsApp: Start chatting (+27635026114)    

• Phone: 010 593 0466    

• E-mail: ticket@accountingacademy.co.za