Leadership Seminar
AT Villa Steiner
Sharpen thinking. Build judgment. In conversation.
What is Needed
Now.
Sat 25 April
9.30-12.30
Work and Development Beyond Career Paths
An invitation to reflect on how leadership and professional development are changing at a time when clear roles and predefined career paths are increasingly rare.
09:30–10:15 | Opening Conversation
How Leadership Is Changing – The C-Level Perspective
with Aglaë Eder and Lars Maydell
A moderated conversation on how expectations of leadership are currently shifting at senior levels: what is increasingly required, what no longer carries, and why traditional career assumptions are becoming less reliable.
10:15–10:30 | Break
10:30–12:15 | Session
Mentoring, Networks, and Professional Growth
with Carlos Rodríguez Lluesma
Professional development rarely happens in isolation. This session explores mentoring and developmental networks as central drivers of long-term growth. Through a structured in-class exercise, participants map their own mentoring and support networks, identifying strengths, gaps, and patterns that often remain unnoticed — with the aim of approaching development more intentionally when roles and trajectories are no longer clearly defined.
12:15–12:30 | Closing Reflection
12:30 | Light Lunch
Speaker
Aglaë Eder
Board Member for Operations at McDonald’s Germany and has held senior leadership roles within the McDonald’s organisation across several markets. She previously served as COO McDonald’s France and of Managing Director of McDonald’s Switzerland and brings extensive experience in operations, marketing, and public affairs.
Lars Maydell
Lars Maydell is an executive coach and Managing Partner of MAYDELL Advice, which he founded in 2012. His work focuses on executive coaching, career development, professional transitions, and purpose-driven dialogue. Since 2015, he has worked with IESE Business School as a business coach and executive mentor for the alumni community and participants in executive education programmes. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of CoachHub.io, a digital coaching platform.
Carlos Rodríguez Lluesma
Professor in the Managing People in Organizations Department AT IESE Business School, Madrid. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizations from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Navarra.
Professor Rodriguez-Lluesma has held various teaching and research assistantships at Stanford University and has also gathered valuable hands-on experience as a freelance consultant in such industries as financial services, biotechnology, consumer goods and management consulting. He also serves as an advisor to a political consulting start-up in Silicon Valley.
About the Leadership Seminar Series
FORMAT
The Villa Steiner leadership seminars combine conceptual depth with structured conversation and practical reflection. They are designed as focused half-day formats that bring together experienced speakers and a small, engaged group of participants. Rather than offering techniques or recipes, the seminars aim to sharpen judgment and foster thoughtful exchange grounded in real professional experience.
Topics from Previous Seminars
- What Are We Ultimately Aiming For? Life, Work, and Success
- Talent Development: Recognising and Developing One’s Strengths
- Learning to Lead — and Leading in Order to Learn
- Mental Health and Professional Life
- Start with a Story: Narrative, Meaning, and Leadership
TARGET GROUP
The series is aimed at young professionals and early-career leaders who seek orientation beyond predefined career paths and functional roles. Participants typically come from different professional backgrounds and share an interest in leadership, responsibility, and long-term development.
IN CONVERSATION
At the core of the seminars is conversation. Each session creates space for attentive listening, careful argument, and shared reflection. The goal is not consensus, but clarity — about work, leadership, and the conditions under which good decisions can be made.
Participant Voices from Previous Leadership Seminars
“The seminars at Villa Steiner offer concentrated pauses for thought within everyday life.”
I leave each time with new ideas and greater clarity. The exchange with speakers and fellow participants opens perspectives that rarely emerge in everyday professional routines.
Georg W.
28 years, entrepreneur
“It is rare to encounter such a stimulating and at the same time relaxed learning atmosphere.”
The focus is not merely on content, but on attitudes and questions that continue to resonate beyond the specific occasion. For me, the seminar on talent development became an important point of orientation.
Vojta L.
25 years, IT professional at a bank
“The leadership seminar helped me view my professional responsibilities from a different perspective.”
Conversations with participants from very different professional backgrounds were enriching both intellectually and personally. One learns to question one’s own assumptions and to argue with greater nuance.
Ferdinand P.
30 years, medical doctor
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Registration
Seminar "What is Needed Now".
Saturday, 24. April 2026 | 9.30-12.30
Participation Fee: €40
