Prof Almuth McDowall

Keynote: Digital transitions and leadership – working with the shifting kaleidoscope

Professor Almuth McDowall

This keynote will address how organisations and their leaders have to adapt to the most profound change to our ways of working in the wake of Covid-19 and resulting restrictions and policies. It will commence by outlining five key challenges, including the need to reconceptualise workplace flexility and agility and to what extent digital leadership differs from ‘leadership’. These observations will be critically examined in the light of relevant evidence from psychology, business and management studies and other relevant fields. Almuth will also draw on her own experience as a leader and consultant to draw out the implications for coaching.


Almuth is Professor of Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck University of London where she leads her department and is part of her school’s executive team. Her research has been funded by public and private funders, and won awards for relevance to practice. Recently she has been supporting organisations and leaders to help them prepare for digital ways of working and been giving her time freely to the NHS to support staff wellbeing.

E-mail: a.mcdowall@bbk.ac.uk