Circular Leadership

How to Achieve Lasting Systemic Change

Dates: 12 – 16 October 2026

Location: Le Premier Boutique Hotel, Zagreb, Croatia

Through my career efforts over the last decade as a Leadership and Circular Economy consultant, coach, trainer, Professor – and as one of the current Board Members of the Circle Economy Foundation in Amsterdam – I have witnessed firsthand the frustrations and, in the end, insurmountable challenges that most leaders have faced when attempting to systemically transform their companies!

Witnessing these leaders facing very often disappointment has led me to the conclusion that a new strategy of leadership is sorely needed. One that deeply understands systems, identifies leverage points, and drives transformation across all organisational and stakeholder boundaries.

This awareness has led me to develop this “Circular Leadership: How to Finally Achieve Lasting Systemic Change” highly interactive, in-person Executive Programme to be held in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, 12- 16 October 2026.

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
Circular Economy	Systems Thinking and Mapping	Leverage Points	Circular Strategies	Stakeholders and Integration
Regenerative Leadership	Systems Leadership	Complexity Leadership	Transformational Leadership	Implementation

As the above format illustrates, the programme is designed to use Systems Thinking to address commonplace rigid operational realities. It integrates circular economy principles, systems analysis, and contemporary leadership strategies into a single, practical framework for creating enduring change.

In today’s complex world that can feel like a maze, participants will not only deepen their understanding of circularity but also learn how to intervene in the systems that shape their organisation’s performance and thus instill structural resilience, create long-term value. Most compellingly, participants will finally be equipped with the strategies to finally alleviate their past frustrations when trying to drive transformative, systemic change in their company.

Rationale

Across all industries, organisations are investing heavily in sustainability initiatives. Yet far too often outcomes frustratingly fall far short of expectations. This is largely due to leadership not applying systems thinking to manage complexity. The underlying issue is not a lack of commitment or innovation. Rather, it is a structural misalignment between how problems are understood and how solutions are implemented.
Circularity is frequently approached as a technical problem and systems thinking is treated as an abstract concept. Leadership is thus left to deliver lasting systemic change without addressing the structural constraints that shape organisational behaviour.

This Circular Leadership programme directly addresses this misalignment. It equips participants with the insights and strategies on how to “Finally Achieve Lasting Systemic Change”.

The 5-Day Journey

The programme follows a carefully sequenced progression, where each day builds upon the previous one:

Day 1 – The Case for Circularity and Regenerative Leadership
The opening day challenges conventional assumptions. The Circular Economy is not introduced as a mere sustainability tool. Rather, it is framed as a practical, indeed inevitable, response to the systemic failure of the linear “take–make–waste” model. Then, we move from this awareness to critical analyses again positioning circularity as an inescapable redesign of value creation rather than a mere optimisation exercise for your organisation.

Following these insights, the focus shifts on to how to lead. Regenerative leadership introduces a fundamentally different orientation; one that seeks to create conditions for long term system health rather than short-term performance gains. Through a Biomimicry-inspired Audit, you will analyse your own organisational processes and begin to reinterpret waste streams as potential resources. This reframing is not symbolic; it exposes structural inefficiencies and opens pathways for redesign.

Day 2 – Systems Thinking, Mapping and Systems Leadership
Having established the need for systemic change, the second day provides the analytical lens required to understand complexity.
Participants will engage deeply with Systems Thinking, exploring feedback loops, delays, system structures, and the role of mental models in shaping outcomes. The emphasis is on moving beyond linear cause-and-effect reasoning toward a more accurate representation of how systems behave over time.

This conceptual foundation is immediately applied through Systems Mapping. You will construct representations of your own organisational or value chain systems, visualising interdependencies, material flows, and likely points of friction.
The leadership dimension evolves accordingly. Systems leadership reframes the role of the leader from managing internal structures to influencing broader systems. It requires the ability to see interconnections, work across boundaries, and enable collective intelligence. The shift is subtle but profound: from control to coordination and from authority to facilitation.

Day 3 – Leverage Points and Complexity Leadership
Participants are now prepared to be introduced to the concept of Leverage Points, building on the work of Donella Meadows. They examine why many well-intentioned initiatives fail – not due to lack of effort, but because they target symptoms rather than underlying structures.
Through structured analyses, participants identify where interventions in their own systems are likely to produce meaningful change. They distinguish between shallow actions that deliver limited impact and deeper interventions that reshape system behaviour.

Day 3 afternoon addresses the implications of complexity. In non-linear environments, planning alone is insufficient. In a VUCA world, Complexity Leadership focuses on enabling adaptability, fostering innovation, and managing emergence rather than attempting to control outcomes.
Through a scenario-based exercise, you will be confronted with disruption and must respond using adaptive, network-oriented leadership approaches for clearly Circular transformation will never be implemented through rigid, top-down strategies.

Day 4 – Circular Strategies and Transformational Leadership
After now having a clear understanding of systems and leverage points participants introduced to Circular Strategies.
“The 9Rs” are explored not as a checklist, but as a hierarchy that reflects varying levels of value retention. Circular business models are analysed in terms of their strategic logic, feasibility, and alignment with organisational capabilities. Active discussion will emphasise trade-offs, constraints, and the difference between theoretical potential and practical implementation.

The leadership dimension now becomes transformational. You will explore how to articulate a compelling vision, align stakeholders, and shift organisational mindsets. Communication is treated as a strategic capability, not a supporting function. Our company’s long-established Communicate–Convince–Connect training model is integrated here as a practical framework for mobilisation

Day 5 – Integration, Stakeholders and Implementation
On the last day, participants examine Stakeholder Dynamics, power structures, and the sources of resistance that often undermine transformation efforts. Governance, incentives, and organisational alignment are addressed as critical tools to enable implementation.
This concluding session is highlighted by participant presentations. Participants are offered the learn-by-doing opportunity to present their own integrated intervention strategy, combining system analysis, leverage points, circular strategies, and their leadership approach tailored to their unique organisational context. T

Learning Outcome

Participants will leave this Circular Leadership programme having gained a clear understanding of how the Circular Economy, Systems Thinking, and Leadership intersect in practice. More importantly, they will gain the ability to analyse their own systems and identify meaningful intervention points. These learning outcomes are assured in a highly-interactive classroom setting with other executives and leaders learning together in Zagreb, Croatia.

Taken together, participants will be assured to learn that that the knowledge and strategies presented in this Circular Leadership programme are not only strategic and operationally grounded but will equip participants with the strategies on How to Finally Achieve Lasting Systemic Change!

Are you ready to join us?