Leading People Through Change | International HR Day Webinar 2026

Future-focused leadership, building trust and empowering employees

Across Europe, organisations are navigating a period of profound change. Technological acceleration, shifting workforce expectations and evolving trust in institutions are reshaping how people experience work and leadership.

But transformation does not happen through strategy alone. It happens through people and leadership that helps them make sense of change and work through it. On International HR Day, we take a moment to highlight and celebrate the human perspective and the impact HR has in shaping it.

Without trust, transformation can create resistance. Without meaning, change can lead to fatigue. Without reflection, even well-intended transformation can weaken leadership.

On International HR Day, EAPM brings together HR professionals and leaders from across Europe for a thought-provoking masterclass with Gianpiero Petriglieri, Associate Professor at INSEAD, Leadership Scholar, and listed among the most influential management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50.

In this high-level online masterclass, Gianpiero will explore how organisations and HR can develop the leadership capabilities needed to navigate uncertainty and sustain meaningful change.

Together we will explore:

• Why safety and freedom are essential for leading lasting change

• How HR can lead in times of shifting identities and moral complexity

• How organisations can develop future-focused leaders and sustainable cultures

• What it means to empower people to lead transformation rather than simply manage change

Join colleagues from across the European HR community together with leaders from across sectors as we reflect on the leadership needed to navigate change, build trust and shape the future of work.

This webinar marks the beginning of the European celebration of International HR Day and sets the tone for the national initiatives taking place across EAPM’s member countries on 20 May.

Speaker Biography

Gianpiero Petriglieri is Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD and a globally recognised voice on leadership and learning in the workplace. His work explores what it means and what it takes to become a leader in times of profound change.

At INSEAD he directs the Management Acceleration Programme, the school’s flagship Executive Education programme for emerging leaders, and serves as Academic Director of the Initiative for Learning Innovation and Teaching Excellence.

Through his research, writing and teaching, Petriglieri focuses on humanising leadership. His work helps leaders remain grounded, purposeful and adaptable while navigating uncertainty and organisational transformation. He writes regularly for Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review and is listed among the world’s 50 most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50.

A medical doctor and psychiatrist by training, he brings a distinctive perspective to leadership development and speaks globally on leadership, identity and the human side of organisational change.