Leaders in Full Bloom: Tulips, Technology and Transformation at the INSEAD Forum
- Merve Kagitci Hokamp
- Apr 7
- 7 min read
I spent the weekend in Amsterdam at the INSEAD Global Alumni Forum—a gathering of thinkers, doers, and global leaders from every corner of the world. It was, for lack of a better word, a full-body reset. Not in the wellness sense, but in the way your mind shifts when you're surrounded by people who are curious, generous, and unafraid to challenge conventional thinking.
What I took away wasn't a to-do list of trends or frameworks. It was something more fundamental: a reminder of what leadership is really about when you strip away the buzzwords and performative titles.
The Leadership Paradox: Intelligence vs. Self-Knowledge
Professor Manfried Kets de Vries cut straight through to the uncomfortable truth that most leadership programs tiptoe around: many of the traits that get you the corner office are the same ones that can destroy your effectiveness once you're there.
He talked about how organizations consistently promote people who project confidence, decisiveness, and charisma—even when those qualities mask a profound lack of self-awareness. The research he shared was sobering. Leaders with narcissistic tendencies typically climb faster, speak more in meetings, and are rated as more "leader-like" in initial impressions. Yet these same leaders build teams with higher turnover, lower psychological safety, and diminished innovation over time.
I scribbled down his quote that landed like a punch: "Leaders who don't reflect, project."
What struck me was how Kets de Vries framed this not as a character flaw but as a developmental challenge. The best leaders aren't necessarily the most naturally empathetic or the most intellectually brilliant—they're the ones who've done the hard work of understanding their own psychological machinery. And that's a muscle that can be developed, not a trait you're born with.
Human Connection in an AI World
The forum's timing couldn't have been more relevant, happening amid the explosive growth of generative AI and increasingly sophisticated digital tools. During a packed session on technology and leadership, there was plenty of talk about algorithms, automation, and inevitable disruption.
But beneath the technical discourse ran a more interesting current:
As our digital tools become more human-like, what parts of leadership remain uniquely, irreplaceably human?
As routine decisions become increasingly automated, our distinctly human capacities—empathy, ethical judgment, creative synthesis, cultural navigation—become our most valuable assets. Leaders who can read subtle emotional cues, who can hold space for discomfort, who can foster belonging across difference—these skills can't be replicated by even the most sophisticated algorithms.
In a world where routine decisions are increasingly automated, leaders who can:
→ Read the emotional undercurrents of a room
→ Hold space for discomfort and ambiguity
→ Build trust across cultural and generational lines
→ Inspire action when the playbook no longer applies ...
will be the ones who stand out and create lasting impact.
Harvard’s Amy Edmondson's research has asserted time and again what many are only now catching up to:
Psychological safety is the backbone of innovation, risk-taking, and collaboration.
Teams that feel safe speaking up—especially when the stakes are high—are the ones that adapt, learn, and grow faster.
And you can’t create that kind of safety through a chatbot or an automated check-in.
You do it by showing up. By being honest when you don’t have all the answers. By listening more than you speak. By making people feel seen and significant.
The paradox we’re living in is that the more connected the world becomes, the more disconnected many people feel. Technology might scale operations, but only humans scale trust.
If AI is here to stay (and it is), then so is the urgent need for leaders who know how to lead humans.
Because the future of work won’t just be built by engineers and algorithms.
It will be shaped by people who remember what it means to connect.
Business Lessons from... Tulips?
The forum wasn't all conference rooms and keynotes. Right after arrival, I joined what I thought would be a light cultural excursion to one of the region's famous tulip operations. I expected pretty flowers and maybe some Dutch history. What I got was a masterclass in business adaptation.
The Netherlands produces roughly 4.2 billion tulip bulbs annually, with 53% of global flower trade flowing through Dutch auctions. Behind those stunning rainbow fields lies a sophisticated industry that has elevated logistics to an art form.
Our guide - the COO of the Factory we visited - walked us through every stage of the operation. Here was a business facing brutal constraints: extreme seasonality (most revenue generated in a 12-week window), highly perishable inventory (tulips bloom for just 3-7 days), weather dependency, and intense global competition.
What fascinated me was how this traditional industry was reinventing itself. In one greenhouse, they showed us a new hydroponic system that reduced water usage by 60% while increasing yield by 22%. They'd developed proprietary software that tracked millions of data points on growth conditions, enabling micro-adjustments that extended bloom windows by precious days—critical margins in a business where timing is everything.
As we wandered through a warehouse where robotic systems were sorting bulbs with astonishing precision, one of my fellow alumni whispered, "I came to see flowers. I'm leaving with investment ideas."
It was a reminder that innovation isn't limited to tech hubs and venture-backed startups. Sometimes the most instructive business lessons come from industries that have weathered decades of change by balancing tradition and transformation, craft knowledge and cutting-edge science.
Relationships as Strategy
You don't go to an INSEAD forum without being reminded of the power of your network. What struck me, though, was how the nature of these networks has evolved since my MBA days. The connections that seemed most vibrant weren't based on transactional exchanges or status-seeking. They were grounded in authentic affinity, shared values, and genuine curiosity.
Yes, the formal content was excellent. But the side chats over dinner, the hugs in the hallway, the spontaneous debates that erupted after sessions, and perhaps most importantly the creative moves on the dance floor—that's where the real magic happened.
It's hard to stay self-important when you're sweating on the dance floor with someone who used to run a region or sell companies for a living. In those moments, hierarchy disappears. What remains is mutual respect, shared values, and often, the start of your next big opportunity.
I was particularly struck by a session on network science that quantified what many of us intuitively sense: the most valuable professional networks aren't the largest ones. They're networks with the right balance of cohesion (close ties) and diversity (bridges to different domains). Research shows that innovations most often emerge not from the center of expertise networks but from their intersections—where different knowledge domains, cultures, and perspectives collide.
One alumna shared how she'd completely redesigned her company's innovation process around this principle. Rather than housing R&D in a specialized department, she created cross-functional teams that deliberately included "outsiders" to each challenge. The results were stunning: patent applications increased by 40%, and the time from concept to market decreased by almost 30%.
The Work That Matters
On the final day, the conversations shifted—from shareholder returns and scaling strategy to the deeper, systemic issues shaping the future of business. Climate change. Inequality. The rise of disinformation. Diversity and inclusion, especially in the face of escalating political regression in places like the U.S. and beyond.
If you're leading a team, building a company, or shaping a product, you're not just making business decisions. You're shaping systems. And people are looking to leaders—more than ever—for signals of how to navigate it all with integrity.
The issues are complex. But the starting points are not.
→ Be more curious than certain
→ Lead with transparency—especially when it’s uncomfortable
→ Build teams that reflect the world you're serving, not just the world you're used to
→ Measure what actually matters, not just what’s easy to report
→ Prioritize health—your own, your team's, your community’s, and the planet’s
One of the speakers, Brett Macfarlane, asked a deceptively simple question that’s still echoing in my mind:
“What would change if you sat with your insights a little longer—before rushing to act?”
That’s the kind of leadership INSEAD cultivates. Thoughtful. Disruptive. Rooted in reflection, not reactivity.
Because in a world on fire, we don’t just need faster decisions—we need better ones, ones that are more grounded.
Coming Home Different
As my flight lifted off from Schiphol, I found myself thinking about how these gatherings change us. It's easy to dismiss industry events as echo chambers or networking factories. But at their best, they're more like mirrors that show us not just who we are, but who we might become.
I left Amsterdam reminded that we're not here to just optimize, scale, and exit. We're not here to climb hierarchies that may not even exist in five years. We're not here to polish our personal brands while the world faces unprecedented challenges.
We're here to make things better.
And that starts with better leadership—the kind that begins with self-awareness, thrives on genuine connection, adapts intelligently to change, builds networks of meaning, and addresses the real work that matters.
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