“Knowing versus being able to: competence in leadership”

Bas Kodden has been appointed professor of Leadership and Management Development at Nyenrode Business University. Kodden was already affiliated with Nyenrode as program director of the Executive MBA. Kodden’s research focuses on further development of managers by providing models and theories. These should improve the judgment and behavior of professionals and provide guidance in daily practice. 

With his research projects, Kodden wants to focus on the further developing the bridge between science, education, and practice. “The ultimate goal of my research is to contribute to Nyenrode’s mission: serving society by shaping responsible leaders. I also want to combine different research methods and studies.”

Various leadership styles

Kodden has been an entrepreneur for fifteen years. In 1998, he literally started his first venture from his living room. This organization grew into a company with multiple offices. Kodden explains: “The reason why I went to study again as an entrepreneur is the same reason as the task I set myself with the new position I have been privileged to receive: I want to make executives and managers an even better version of themselves by offering them tools and frameworks.”

“Leadership and management development is not only about theorizing and knowing and being able to name various leadership styles. It is mainly about personal development, attitude change, resilience and flexibility; the competence in the managing profession. It is also precisely this transformation I want to contribute to,” says Kodden.

Inner living environment

According to the new professor, many business studies still seem to be focused on the development of aspects that lean on the left hemisphere of our brain. Examples of this are logical and analytical thinking, linear, systematic, and mathematical action. “It is precisely the development of aspects such as holistic, relations, and creative thinking and acting, which are located in the right hemisphere, which are so important for daily practice. In my research and contributions, I want to establish this connection. Developing the inner environment, as my former colleague and mentor Paul de Blot described this so beautifully.”  

Recent publications

His most recent studies on topics such as non-conformism, engagement, self-efficacy, and, for example, the influence of leadership styles on work motivation and organizational success, well-being, and burnout have been published by publishers such as Springer Nature, Palgrave, Routledge, and Cambridge University Press. Kodden is also the author of several management books such as Become a HERO and The Art of Sustainable Performance. These books have also been published in various languages.

Kodden studied Law (1995) and Business Administration (2007) at the University of Groningen. He combines his entrepreneurship with PhD research at the Nyenrode Business University, which he completed in 2011. “Nyenrode has been a constant factor in my life since 2009,” he says. “It is an honor to be able to contribute to the development of students and participants, and to be able to fulfill the professorship in leadership and management development.”