UW106
Conscious Business & Leadership
Faculty
Thierry de Beyssac
Partner at Axialent
Course length
Duration
Total hours
Credits
Language
Course type
Fee for single course
Fee for degree students
Skills you’ll learn
Overview
WHAT – Transforming HSU Students into Future-Conscious Leaders.
This is a 15-day, 45-hour immersive module within HSU’s Strategic Management Master’s programme, designed for future-ready professionals working in real companies. The Conscious Business & Leadership (CB&L) programme empowers students to successfully lead with integrity, clarity, and impact—by aligning values with actions, and collaboration with purpose.
WHY – Because Performance Without Meaning Is Not Sustainable.
In a world shaped by complexity, AI, and systemic disruption, technical skills are not enough. Companies now need conscious leaders—those with a Growth Mindset who can continuously learn, build trust, navigate tension, and lead themselves and teams from a place of purpose. CB&L responds to this by developing the inner capacities that drive outer results.
WHO — Faculty and Participants
Designed for HSU Strategic Management Master’s students from high-tech backgrounds who will step into leadership roles in start-ups or innovation-driven companies. The programme is led and facilitated by Thierry de Beyssac, Axialent Partner and Board Member, Coach and Senior Practitioner in Conscious Business and Organisational Culture.
Three sessions are taught by two guest speakers:
Iván Ballesteros — Author, Sports & Business Executive. Two sessions exploring leadership, decision-making, practical judgement, resilience and adaptability, drawing on experiences from business, entrepreneurship and professional sport.
Tavy Long — Coach and Social Entrepreneur. One experiential session exploring conscious leadership in ambiguous organisational environments, particularly start-ups and new initiatives where responsibilities, authority and expectations are still evolving.
Thierry de Beyssac will participate in all guest-speaker sessions to ensure continuity and integration with the overall CB&L learning journey.
Learning highlights
- Lead from the Inside Out → Develop deep self-awareness. Discover how your mindsets shape your leadership, and align your values with action for authenticity and credibility.
- Own Your Power to Respond → Move from blame to ownership. Become the person others trust to step up — especially when it’s hard.
- Grow Beyond Ego and Certainty → Let go of being “right.” Learn to navigate uncertainty with curiosity, humility, and integrity.
- Communicate with Courage and Clarity → Say what needs to be said. Listen beyond what is spoken, and transform difficult conversations into moments of connection.
- Build High-Trust Collaboration → Master the art of making and honouring commitments. Learn how to ask, align, and deliver with impact.
- Negotiate for Shared Success → Shift from competition to collaboration. Understand the needs behind positions to co-create better outcomes.
- Manage Emotions, Not Just Tasks → Recognise emotional patterns in yourself and others. Lead calmly through tension and change.
- Turn Insight into Action → Apply your learning to your real-world internship or start-up. Create your unique Conscious Leader Growth Plan.
Course outline
14 classes
Introduction to Conscious Business & Leadership (CB&L)
Begin your journey by exploring why conscious leadership matters in today’s complex world. Discover the I-WE-IT model and Fred Kofman’s philosophy of “success beyond success.” Set your personal intention for the program. Clarify what kind of leader you want to become. Connect the CB&L journey to your internship or start-up context.
Conscious Business & Leadership Assessment (CBA): Discovering Your Leadership Profile
Begin your leadership development journey by exploring the results of your Axialent Conscious Business & Leadership Assessment (CBA). Develop greater self-awareness by identifying your leadership mindsets, behavioral patterns, strengths, and areas for growth. Reflect on how these patterns influence your decisions, relationships, and effectiveness. Define your personal development priorities and establish a starting point for your Conscious Leader Growth Journey.
Pre-work: Complete the CBA before the beginning of the programme.
Unconditional Responsibility — PLAYER VS. VICTIM
Shift from reactive to proactive. Learn how to own your role, even in challenging situations, and explore the BE-DO-HAVE framework and 100% responsibility mindset. Practice taking ownership of your contribution in team challenges. Apply tools for response-ability in real project settings.
Ontological Humility & Essential Integrity — LEARNER VS. KNOWER
Leadership starts with humility. Learn to let go of being right, stay open to feedback, and act with deep integrity—even under pressure. Identify the costs of the Knower mindset. Reflect on alignment between your values and actions.
Authentic Communication — MANAGING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS
Learn how to say what matters with clarity and empathy. Discover tools to navigate tension, give feedback, and turn conflict into connection. Reframe difficult conversations for shared understanding. Apply to real-life internship dynamics or team friction.
INQUIRY & ADVOCACY for Mutual Understanding
Explore how to balance speaking your truth with listening deeply to others. Use Inquiry and Advocacy to generate understanding and alignment. Practice “truth-telling with humility.” Strengthen peer dialogue and stakeholder conversations. Use the Ladder of Inference and Conversation Map effectively.
LEADERSHIP IN ACTION — Beyond Authority and Position
Explore leadership as a practical discipline shaped by experience, character, responsibility, and the ability to influence others. Drawing on lessons from entrepreneurship, professional sport, and real-life challenges, discover how leadership goes beyond formal authority. Reflect on the role of preparation, commitment, confidence, and personal judgment in becoming an effective leader.
THE PLAN IS NO PLAN — Decision-Making, Resilience & Adaptability
Guest Speaker: Iván Ballesteros.
Learn to navigate uncertainty, make decisions with incomplete information, and adapt when reality challenges your plans. Through real-life experiences and practical discussions, explore how resilience, creativity, intuition, and disciplined preparation strengthen leadership effectiveness. Develop the mindset to act, learn, adapt, and move forward when circumstances change.
Transforming CONFLICT INTO OPPORTUNITY
Shift how you see conflict—from threat to opportunity. Learn practical ways and tools of mastering conflicts:
- * By using the Polarity Thinking Map.
- * Leveraging collective intelligence.
- * With effective negotiation based on Interests vs. Positions.
- * Addressing unclear Decision Property Rights and conscious escalation of conflict.
IMPECCABLE COMMITMENTS
Learn how to make clear, reliable requests and promises that boost team effectiveness. Discover why even well-intentioned teams struggle to follow through. Understand the Commitment Cycle and its failure points. Practice making and honoring clear agreements to improve delivery and trust in your team role.
EMOTIONAL MASTERY for Leadership
Your emotions are not a weakness—they’re data. Learn to recognize, regulate, and use them consciously to lead with presence and composure. Identify your emotional patterns and triggers. Practice self-regulation under pressure. Use emotional intelligence to guide team dynamics.
LEADING WITHOUT CLARITY — Conscious Leadership Inside Something New
Guest Speaker: Tavy Long.
Explore the challenges of leading in start-ups and new initiatives where roles, authority, and expectations are still evolving.
Through a composite case and the group’s own experiences, we’ll work out together how Conscious Business principles help navigate ambiguity, competing interests, and complex interpersonal dynamics.
“Practice influencing without formal authority, managing tensions, and turning uncertainty into constructive conversations and clear commitments.”
CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP IN ACTION
Time to connect the dots. Reflect on your evolution as a leader and test CB&L tools in real-world situations through coaching and case-based learning. Apply CB&L principles to internship/start-up dilemmas. Deepen insights through peer reflection and coaching. Prepare your Conscious Leader Growth Plan.
INTEGRATION & CERTIFICATION — Conscious Leader Growth Plan
Conclude your Conscious Leadership journey by reflecting on your personal growth, sharing real-world experiences, and integrating the key insights and tools developed throughout the program. Present your Conscious Leader Growth Plan, highlighting your main discoveries, behavioral changes, practical applications, and commitments for the future. Learn from your peers through open dialogue, constructive feedback, and collective reflection. Celebrate your progress and identify how to continue developing as a Conscious Leader beyond the program. The session will combine individual presentations, peer discussions, and feedback, with the format and time allocation adapted to the number of students.
Course materials
Books
Media
Prerequisites
None
Pre-program preparation: Students will be invited to complete the Axialent Conscious Business & Leadership Assessment (CBA) before the beginning of the course.
Methodology
This module is fully experiential, designed not just to help you understand but to embody conscious leadership. You will learn through:
Facilitated Workshops – Guided sessions rich in real-time interaction, practical tools, and immediate application.
Reflective Exercises – Journalling, personal diagnostics, and values clarification to deepen self-awareness.
Role-Plays & Simulations – Practise navigating difficult conversations, negotiations, and team dynamics.
Peer Learning & Coaching – Work in small groups to exchange feedback, solve challenges, and reflect collaboratively.
Case Work & Company Labs – Apply CB&L tools to real start-up or internship scenarios.
Final Presentation – Share your Conscious Leader Growth Plan and reflections with your peers.
Grading
Thierry helps global organisations and leaders build high performance Organizsation & Leadership Cultures.
Thierry has been with Hewitt and Aon Hewitt for over 26 years and since 2012 he continues as a Partner of Axialent at helping organisations define and align their People, Culture and Leadership programs with their business strategy around the World.
See full profileApply for this course
Conscious Business & Leadership
by Thierry de Beyssac
Total hours
42 Hours
Dates
Jan 11 - Jan 28, 2027
Fee for single course
€1500
Fee for degree students
€750
How to secure your spot
Complete the form below to kickstart your application
Schedule your Harbour.Space interview
If successful, get ready to join us on campus
FAQ
Will I receive a certificate after completion?
Yes. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate signed by the director of the program your course belonged to.
Do I need a visa?
This depends on your case. Please check with the Spanish or Thai consulate in your country of residence about visa requirements. We will do our part to provide you with the necessary documents, such as the Certificate of Enrollment.
Can I get a discount?
Yes. The easiest way to enroll in a course at a discounted price is to register for multiple courses. Registering for multiple courses will reduce the cost per individual course. Please ask the Admissions Office for more information about the other kinds of discounts we offer and what you can do to receive one.