ILDP 2025-2026

Integral Leadership Development Program (ILDP) Fall 2025 Edition

Our First Business Edition

15 leaders graduated this January from our very first open-for-business edition of the Integral Leadership Development Program (ILDP) — completed across three intense weekends. We are genuinely proud of this cohort, not only because the program reached its completion, but because throughout these weeks we witnessed something that is becoming increasingly rare in leadership today: people who carry responsibility every day, who make decisions under pressure, and who operate in complex environments — choosing to pause, reflect, and engage in development that is not superficial, not quick, and not focused on easy answers.

A group of approximately 15 men and women pose for a photo in a conference room, standing in two rows. Many of them are holding framed certificates and are dressed in professional or business-casual attire. To the right stands a white roll-up banner featuring the logo of AGH University of Science and Technology and text regarding "supporting leaders in achieving scientific leadership," along with the website address idub.agh.edu.pl. A KSAF watermark is visible in the bottom right corner.
Three professionals wearing conference lanyards sit together, intently examining a large sheet of paper covered in handwritten diagrams and notes. The woman in the center holds the paper and a blue pen near her chin, looking focused, while a man with glasses on the left and a woman on the right observe the document. A KSAF watermark is visible in the bottom right corner.

Gathering 15 Exceptional Leaders

This edition gathered 15 business leaders representing diverse industries, including IT, aerospace, construction, food production, academia, and real estate. Many of them work in organisations that carry high standards and high expectations, including teams trusted by companies such as Honeywell, Software Mansion, Cisco, and others. From the beginning, it was clear that this group was not looking for inspiration alone. They came with a readiness to work seriously on their leadership practice — to understand it more deeply, to challenge it where needed, and to strengthen it in a way that would remain useful long after the program ended.

What They Say About The ILDP

“A world-class leadership experience - here at home in Cracow.”
Katarzyna Pokora, Lead Product Owner, UniCredit | ILDP Alumna, Class of 2025

“A perfect balance of lecture, experiment, reflection and joy.”
Damian Kwapisz, Engineering Manager – Advanced Technology, Honeywell | ILDP Alumnus, Class of 2025

“It helped me answer the real question: am I a leader, or just a manager?”
Nina Ignasik, Project Manager, Software Mansion | ILDP Alumna, Class of 2025

“It challenged me to look deeply at ethics, responsibility and moral leadership.”
Dariusz Kowalski, AIM Group Manager, ArcelorMittal | ILDP Alumnus, Class of 2025

“ILDP reaffirmed that leadership is about being integral — human, responsible and free.”
Miłosz Greszta, Investment Director, ATLAS WARD POLSKA | ILDP Alumnus, Class of 2025

A smiling woman with long reddish-brown hair, wearing an ornate blue and gold patterned dress and black boots, sits next to a man in a black blazer who is laughing and relaxed. They appear to be enjoying a presentation or discussion in a room with window blinds in the background. A blurred profile of another attendee is visible in the foreground, and a KSAF watermark is in the bottom right corner.

3 Intense Weekends

A candid shot of two people sitting side-by-side. On the left, a man in a dark green sweater smiles broadly. On the right, a woman in a dark red dress is laughing with her eyes closed, raising her hand slightly in an expressive gesture. A KSAF watermark is visible in the bottom right.

ILDP took place at AGH University of Krakow and unfolded across three on-site sessions: 14–16 November 2025, 12–14 December 2025, and 9–10 January 2026. The structure of the program was designed intentionally as a journey, where each module builds on the previous one and gradually expands the leader’s perspective — from personal identity, through team and organisational dynamics, toward the deeper realities of power, authority, and change. This is also what makes ILDP distinct: it does not treat leadership as a set of isolated skills, but as a whole — something that connects who we are, why we act, where we operate, and how we integrate all of it into consistent leadership practice.

Leadership Identity, Integral Foundations and Team Identity

The first module opened with what may be the most important question in leadership development: who am I as a leader? Participants were invited to set their personal development goals and to reflect on the story of their leadership path — not as a biography, but as a living process that continues to unfold. The work of this module combined self-awareness with structure, introducing the 4xW Model at the heart of the integral leadership framework. At the same time, the focus moved beyond the individual, because leadership never happens in isolation. Leaders explored how teams form and evolve, how roles emerge, how group dynamics shape everyday cooperation, and how conflict can be approached not as a threat but as an opportunity for maturity, clarity, and stronger collaboration.

A wide shot of a workshop or presentation in a modern conference room. On the right, three men stand near a whiteboard covered in paper sheets; one is pointing at the board while addressing the group. On the left, an audience of about six people sits in chairs, watching the presentation. A projector hangs from the ceiling, and large windows are visible in the background.
A man in a beige blazer stands and speaks with his hands clasped, addressing a small group of people. To his left, a man in a black hoodie smiles. In the foreground, a person with their back to the camera wears a grey sweatshirt with the text "Representative Orchestra AGH."

Trust, Effectiveness and Leadership

The second module built on the first one and turned it toward what many leaders recognise as the true backbone of organisational life: trust. Participants explored the challenges that weaken trust both in teams and in broader organisational contexts, and worked on strategies that support rebuilding trust when it has been damaged. This module also addressed something leaders often feel intuitively but rarely analyse directly: the cost of trust loss. Trust is not only a relational “nice-to-have”, but a practical condition for effectiveness — for communication, decision-making, accountability, and motivation. As the work deepened, the conversations moved toward the realities of leading in uncertainty, balancing competition and collaboration, and creating conditions where teams can remain resilient even when the environment is demanding.

Power, Authority, Leadership and Change. ILDP Summary & Graduation

The final module served as both a culmination and an integration of everything that happened earlier. It was a space for deep reflection and inner leadership work, where participants explored authenticity and coherence — not as ideals, but as something that requires practice, courage, and ongoing attention. The module focused on the distinctions between power, authority, and leadership, and on how leaders can influence ethically and effectively without losing their integrity. Our participants learned about growth and development, and how to become mature leaders by recognising our qualities, behaviours and what drives our relationships.

 

A side-profile view of a row of five people seated in wooden chairs, listening to a presentation. They are wearing conference lanyards.

Unique Experiences

A small group of people stands in a well-lit hallway, listening attentively to a man in a dark suit jacket who is speaking in the foreground (left). The listeners include a man in a reddish-brown sweater with his hand on his chin in a thoughtful gesture, a woman in a black top with her arms crossed, and a woman in a yellow blouse, also with arms crossed. Several of them are wearing conference lanyards. Framed posters hang on the wall in the background, and a KSAF watermark is visible in the bottom right corner.

What shaped the ILDP experience just as strongly as the modules themselves were the signature experiences that took the learning beyond the classroom. 

Visiting Labs

As part of the program, leaders visited advanced laboratories in the Academic Centre for Materials and Nanotechnology AGH, experiencing the research and innovation ecosystem that demands precision, responsibility, and high standards — and seeing how leadership operates in environments where excellence is not an aspiration but a requirement.

Conducting an Orchestra

Leaders had the rare opportunity to step in front of the AGH Representative Orchestra and experience what leadership feels like when it is stripped of familiar managerial routines. Conducting an orchestra becomes a powerful metaphor and a real test at the same time: you are responsible for the whole, yet you cannot play every instrument; you must guide without micromanaging; you must communicate through presence, timing, and clarity.

A group of people sits in a semi-circle, each with a black music stand in front of them, appearing to read or sing. Facing them, a man in a light blue shirt sits on the edge of a table, gesturing with his hands as if conducting or instructing the group. The setting is a bright, modern conference room.
A close-up action shot of a yellow beverage, likely beer, being poured from a stainless steel tap into a stemmed glass. A woman with reddish hair holds the glass, watching the pour closely, while a person in a green shirt operates the tap. The background is blurred but shows industrial-style tanks with purple lighting.

Evening at AGH Brewery

Another memorable moment of the program was the visit to the award-winning AGH Brewery, where leaders explored not only the craft and process, but also the business model, the community-building dimension of the organisation, and the cultural side of leadership development — because growth does not happen only through effort and discipline, but also through connection, joy, and shared experience.

Our Experts

This edition was delivered by an international faculty representing both research excellence and strong practical grounding. The program was co-created by experts from AGH University of Krakow (Piotr Czekierda), the University of Warsaw (dr Agata Komendant-Brodowska), the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome (dr Piotr Janas), and Cambridge (dr Anna Abram) — a combination that allowed leaders to engage with leadership not as a trend or a motivational story, but as a discipline supported by decades of research, experience, and reflection.

A male speaker with grey hair, wearing a grey vest and white shirt, stands at the front of a classroom giving a presentation. He has his left hand raised in a gesture while addressing an audience of seated students or attendees. To his right, a projector screen displays a slide with bulleted text, and a laptop sits on a small table nearby. A whiteboard and flipchart are visible in the background.

Thank You for Being Part of This Journey

Based on the image provided, here is the descriptive alt text: Image: Group Toast in Brewery A cheerful group of approximately twelve people stands in the narrow corridor of a brewery, flanked by tall stainless steel fermentation tanks illuminated with purple lights. They are smiling and raising glasses of golden beer in a toast towards the camera. The group includes a woman in a dark red dress on the left and a man in a green sweater on the right, both prominent in the foreground. A KSAF watermark is visible in the bottom right corner.

As organisers, what we carry most strongly from this edition is the atmosphere that was built over the three weekends. It was an environment of trust, openness, deep reflection, and honest feedback, but also of real warmth and shared enjoyment. This combination matters, because it is precisely where meaningful development becomes possible: when people feel safe enough to look at themselves truthfully, and at the same time are challenged enough to grow beyond what is comfortable.

We are sincerely proud of the graduates of the ILDP 2025–2026 edition. Completing ILDP is not only about attendance — it is about engagement, presence, and the willingness to work seriously on one’s leadership practice, and we are grateful for the trust they placed in the program and in each other.