Andrew Sharman
Andrew Sharman is Adjunct Professor of Organizational Behavior and Culture. His work focuses on how leaders shape organizational culture, build high-impact teams, influence human and business performance, and create the conditions for meaningful and sustainable transformation.
Working at the intersection of strategy, leadership, organizational behavior and culture, Sharman helps executives understand their impact on the people, teams, and systems around them. His areas of interest include leadership impact, organizational culture, high-impact teams, high-performance cultures, managing performance, resilience, wellbeing, psychological safety, communicating with impact and cultural transformation.
One strand of his work explores how leadership can become more human without becoming less demanding. He examines how care, trust, energy, meaning and connection can strengthen engagement, team effectiveness and sustainable performance, particularly in organizations operating under pressure or experiencing significant change. At IMD, his work spans high-impact teams, the human advantage in leadership, executive performance and recovery, and the role of care in creating high-performing organizations.
Sharman is a trusted adviser, executive coach and mentor to senior leaders at hundreds of organizations around the world. Over a career spanning nearly three decades and more than 130 countries, he has worked across sectors including energy, industrials, infrastructure, technology, aviation, automotive, mining, construction, pharmaceuticals, financial services, consumer goods, luxury, and logistics.
His clients have included FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 organizations such as Amazon, Apple, BASF, Bayer, Bridgestone, Burberry, Carlsberg, Cemex, Coca-Cola, DHL, FedEx, Glencore, Heineken, Hilti, IKEA, L’Oréal, LVMH, Mars Wrigley, Mercedes-Benz, Merck, Molson Coors, Nike, Novo Nordisk, PepsiCo, Rockwool, Sanofi, Skanska, Sodexo, Solvay, Tata and ThyssenKrupp. He has also worked with international organizations including the United Nations, the International Trade Centre, and the World Health Organization.
A central theme in Sharman’s work is that leaders are not simply decision-makers or deliverers of strategy; they are also creators of context. Through their language, behavior, attention and presence, they influence whether people feel trusted, included, energized and able to contribute at their best. He helps leaders examine these dynamics and translate insight into practical changes in behavior, relationships, and organizational systems.
His teaching is highly interactive, experiential and grounded in the realities of executive life. He creates opportunities for reflection, dialogue, peer learning and practical application, helping participants connect organizational theory and psychological insight with the challenges they face in their own teams and organizations.
Sharman is Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board of the International Institute of Leadership and Safety Culture (‘IILSC’) at CEDEP, the European Centre for Executive Development, in Fontainebleau, France. He is also Chairman of the One Percent Safer Foundation, an international charity supporting practical action to prevent occupational injuries and fatalities around the world.
He is a former Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Leadership and Management and served as the 53rd President of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health. He has held a range of board and advisory positions and has extensive experience working with executive committees, senior leadership teams, and boards.
His teaching experience includes IMD, the Caltech Center for Technology and Management Education, CEDEP, the University of Zurich and Glasgow Caledonian University. He has designed and directed executive education programs covering leadership, organizational behavior, culture, high-impact teams, resilience, wellbeing, human performance, and organizational transformation.
Sharman is the author of 11 books on leadership, culture, wellbeing, resilience and safety, including Who Cares Wins: The Psychological Science of Transformational Leadership and The Wellbeing Book. His ideas and professional work have been featured by Forbes, Fortune, Harvard Business Manager (HBM), and The CEO Magazine. He also writes for I by IMD on leadership, organizational culture, human performance, wellbeing, resilience, and behavioral change.
The recipient of several international awards, Sharman delivered a TED Talk in 2014 exploring society’s relationship with risk and fear. He developed the national syllabus for professional health and safety qualifications in the United Kingdom and received a letter of commendation from Queen Elizabeth II for creating and chairing Scotland’s first public debate on workplace safety.
He holds master’s degrees in international health, safety and environmental law and in occupational psychology and organizational behavior. His doctorate examined leadership impact and cultural transformation.
