Humanistic Management Network

Upcoming Events
2025-04-22 - 2028-04-22
Please watch this space for upcoming events.

Art as a Way of Leading: Inspiration, Presence, and Human Meaning
2025-09-19 16:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Amsterdam) | Online
Art as a Way of Leading: Inspiration, Presence, and Human Meaning
BIO: Stefano Olcese is an artistic consultant, opera singer and composer with international experience across the performing arts and executive education. He holds a Master’s in Leadership and Humanistic Management from Roma Tre University and a Master of Arts in Modern Letters from the University of Genoa. His work focuses on the role of voice, artistic presence, and inspiration in leadership and communication. Combining stage experience with ongoing research — including doctoral studies in Educational Sciences — he supports professionals and organizations in developing authentic, engaging, and impactful ways of connecting with others.

DESCRIPTION: What if art could teach us not only how to express, but how to lead?
In this session, Stefano Olcese draws from his experience as an opera singer, composer, and artistic consultant to explore how the practice of art – especially the embodied presence cultivated on stage – can offer new insights into leadership.
Moving beyond strategy and technique, he reflects on inspiration as a human process, presence as a relational act, and leadership as a search for meaning.
Blending personal experience and conceptual exploration, the session invites participants to reconnect with the aesthetic and existential dimensions of leadership, where voice, emotion, and authenticity become tools for engagement, resonance, and transformation.
QUESTION FOR THE AUDIENCE: Can you recall a moment when a work of art — a performance, a piece of music, a film — helped you see something differently or moved you to act? What does that say about the power of inspiration in leadership?
Please register by sending an email to danae.huijser@phd.uvh.nl topic ‘Webinar registration’.

Animal Dignity: Is it appropriate to talk about the Dignity of the Animal?
2026-03-13 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
BIO: Prof. dr. Matthijs Bal is a Professor of Responsible Management at the Lincoln International Business School. His research interests concern workplace dignity, individualization, workplace flexibility, psychological contract, fictional narratives and critical approaches to HRM and management studies. He is also active around the theme of the Future of Work and Organizational Psychology. See https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthijsbal/

ABSTRACT: Dignity has traditionally been attributed to humans, for a variety of reasons, such as the capability for rationality. However, recently, pleas to attribute dignity to nonhumans have questioned whether dignity could only be a characteristic of human beings. In this talk, I outline the necessity and relevance of using the concept of animal dignity, especially in relation to workplaces. In extension, I will argue for the concept of planetary dignity. The talk discusses the elements of these concepts, the link with organizations, workplaces and psychology.
PUBLICATION: What role do animals have in Industrial and Organizational Psychology? While some have argued that animals could be perceived and treated as workers, in this commentary, we argue for Animal Dignity. See https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/industrial-and-organizational-psychology/article/animals-laboring-for-humans-integrating-animal-dignity-into-io-psychology/A5291A0CC92B21126433B79E7B5C2E7E
You can view a recording of the webinar here: Animal Dignity
