Practical Knowledge Leadership

Often referred to as the "poker face", the concealment of emotions and insecurities by leaders is increasingly under scrutiny.

The claim that CEOs must always have all the answers is diminishing. Instead, authenticity is taking centre stage.

In this article you can read about what an authentic leadership style entails and what advantages it has for CEOs and companies, especially in our VUCA world.

All companies have recognized that the people in their organization, with their expertise, represent the most important resource. Isn't it about time that the cost item "personnel" from the P&L is also countered by an asset on the balance sheet?

Sabine Walter discusses this question with Svenja Stöveken and Eda Wolff, both management consultants at Horváth, an international management consultancy for transformation, performance management and digitization.

Managing directors are not only responsible for developing a convincing corporate strategy, but also for its successful implementation at all levels of the company. It is therefore crucial that the strategy is understood and lived throughout the organization to ensure long-term success.

But how can managing directors meet this challenge? In this article, we will present key aspects that contribute to successfully conveying a corporate strategy in a comprehensible way across all hierarchical levels.

Feedback is one of the key leadership tools. However, many companies find it difficult to live a constructive feedback culture. Too little praise is given and critical feedback is either given in an unconstructive way or kept quiet for fear of conflict.

This article addresses three questions:

What is the benefit of constructive feedback?

What is needed for feedback to be heard and accepted?

How can feedback be provided constructively?

In executive coaching we often get the question: "What is the best way to deal with low performers?". There is no blanket answer to this question. Rather, it invites us to take a differentiated look at the topic.

In this article I address the following questions: How do you find out the cause(s) of the drop in performance or underperformance?
How can you structure and conduct an appropriate appraisal interview?
What can you do to achieve an increase in performance?

If you have found the real causes of the low performance and the measures help to eliminate them, you have a very good chance of turning the low performer into a top performer.

In the course of the change in the understanding of leadership and leadership styles, managers in many companies are also expected to fill the role of coach.

In this article I answer the following questions:
What framework conditions enable goal-oriented and effective coaching?

Where are the limits for the manager?

Which coaching tools can be integrated into leadership work?
What opportunities does this open up?

The Classic goal-setting and strategy process usually focuses on Growth. In a world of scarce resources, this represents No basis for sustainable entrepreneurial success dar.

Therefore, in this article we explain a Alternative procedure for goal and strategy development.

The understanding of leadership is changing continuously; in the last 10-20 years even faster than before. The demands on managers are continuously increasing, as it is a question of being able to VUCA world (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) to ensure the competitiveness of companies over a long period of time.

In this article we look at values-based leadership. I show what it is essentially about and how companies benefit from it.

How should I manage the first 100 days as a new leader? How should I behave when I take over a team or an area? What do I say when I introduce myself as the new boss? These and other questions are asked by many managers who take on a new responsibility within their own company or even in another company.

Zarah Speck has given you a Checklist that will help you build a foundation of trust in the first 100 days and find acceptance a

Humanistic leadership describes the understanding of humans, as the basis for influencing people in the company and choosing the appropriate management tools. The humanistic understanding of the human being is based on the assumption that the ability to develop into a "better" version of ourselves is inherent in each of us. What this means for companies and how the path towards a humanistic approach to leadership can be, explains Stephanie Wackernagel, lecturer at the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences.

A myth that we often dispel in the course of accompanying Organisational development processes is: "Self-organisation does not need leadership." This is wrong. Self-organised teams need leadership.

But what is important in this leadership? When leading self-organised teams, the focus is on four central points:
the "what", the "why",
trust, and
the ability to form real teams.

Answering the "how, i.e. The development and pursuit of the solution and implementation path, is the responsibility of the teams.

In many organisations, staff appraisals are scheduled at the start of the year. In this article, we look at what contributes to good interview preparation, how appraisal interviews should be structured; we show which pitfalls there are and how you can avoid them.

We are on the way to a new age. Digitalisation is the number one topic.

That is why it is often used and brings to light language creations that are worth looking behind: Digital Natives and Digital Leaders. What is behind these terms? And what skills do leaders need to successfully shape the digital transformation?

In agile organisations, decision-making responsibility is handed over to teams, because by including multiple perspectives, more robust solutions emerge and delays caused by the "bottle neck" boss are reduced. This raises the question: What do employees need so that they can actively accept this extended responsibility and also make decisions productively in the group?
In this article we present the consent decision-making process and outline the process that this cultural change requires.

Competence development is not yet strategic enough in many companies and is often delegated to HR. Similar to German education policy, many companies still fail to recognise that the actual assetwhat they have, the know-how and competences of their employees and managers is. Since in many companies decisions are still purely numbers-based, this asset goes down. This is because it is not accounted for as an asset, but appears in the income statement in the form of costs. One more reason to once again emphasise further training and competence development as a central management task.

"Delivering quality, handing over responsibility, involving employees and letting them do what they burn for - with a common goal, freedom of design and trust." so according to Dieter Furch, Managing Director of Stingl GmbH in Munichleadership. Read the interview to find out what this looks like at Stingl.

Corona requires it more than before. What was previously a marathon of successive meetings is now one too. A meeting marathon - only digital. In themselves, telephone and video conferences offer the chance to get to the point more quickly. The prerequisite for this is that they are conducted correctly. Here are some tips on how to do this.

Crises demand drastic changes in a short time. In these changes lie opportunities. To exploit these Opportunities to is used by, a healthy Balance between savings and investments be found.

The Corona crisis has forced many companies overnight, Traditional forms of work in virtual structures and digital processes to transfer. The tools and platforms that enable digital working were quickly accepted.

Now it is a matter of maintaining leadership effectiveness, productivity and team spirit even under virtual conditions. How does that work?

We explain in the article six key success factors for leading virtual teams.

For the Head of Innovation & Technologies at E.G.O. Elektro-Gerätebau GmbH in Oberderdingen, Dr Patricie Merkert, includes Leadership has two aspects: Enabling the development of potential and visionary thinking. In an interview with Sabine Walter, she explains what attracts her to leadership and how she manages to get the best out of people and her teams.

Silke Kirsch, executive at international exhibition stand builder Rappenglitz says: No matter who you lead, children, customers or employees, it is always about people. When we see them, value them and give them space for developmentthat would be a big leap towards a better corporate culture and ultimately also towards better togetherness in our society.

Taking on leadership responsibility is defined by many people as a career goal. They want to lead. They want to take on responsibility. But what does it mean to take responsibility in a leadership role? For what and for whom? As executive coaches who accompany leaders in their personal development and that of their teams and companies, we explain in this article what we mean by leadership responsibility.

We are located at the beginning of the 21st century in a fundamental social change. In order to shape this in such a way that we survive as humanity, a fundamental Paradigm shiftl required. We need a culture of trust instead of fear, as well as genuine encounters and sustainable relationships. We need courage and the willingness to take responsibility. - for themselves, for others and for society. In this article we focus on the Leaders in the 21st century and on three key leadership competencieswhich are part of and a prerequisite for this paradigm shift.

Richard Edelman, head of the eponymous American communications agency Edelman, put it very clearly in his interview with Chelsea Spieker on 22 October. "Stand up and lead!", he urged the leaders from the German business community. The reason for this call was the result of this year's "Trust Barometer", which was compiled by the Edelman agency for the "Made in Germany" seal of quality. It makes clear that the brand "Germany" has suffered damage. This article is therefore about leadershipwhat this means at the beginning of the 21st century, and how it can help to restore confidence in "Made in Germany".

Meetings are the number one time eater in many organisations. On average, managers lose more than one working day per week to unproductive meetings. This can be changed if meetings are adequately prepared and really conducted. In our Seminar "Talk.Clarify.Decide" you will not only learn how to get to the point in 10-minute meetings.You will also get an overview of three different leadership philosophies: Lean, Management by objectives, Agile leadership.

The figures of the latest Gallup Engagement Index are as sobering as ever: About 85% of all employees have little or no emotional attachment to their companywhich translates into "service by the book" or even internal resignation.

An essential The cause of this lack of emotional connection is leaders who do not live up to their role.

Agility is the new buzzword in the leadership world. Anyone who is not agile has obviously not yet understood it. Agility, it seems at the moment, is - along with digitalisation - the panacea for all problems that companies have. As we experience it, this often leads to grotesque situations. But Agility Is a Mindsetno tools. If companies want to become agile, the main thing is to embody this attitude and create structures in which this attitude can be effective.

Trust is the basis of a benevolent relationship, of good cooperation. It is even the basis of our own successful further development.

If we trust ourselves and our strengths, we will make different decisions. as if we lack this self-confidence.

Termination and separation processes are a great challenge for all involved. This leads to the talks being delayed or insufficiently prepared.

With these tips you can shape your separation processes in an appreciative way.

Executives spend between 60-90% of their working time in meetings. They lose more than one working day per week to unproductive meetings, according to a study by the market research company Harris. This is often because meetings are often inadequately prepared, not really led and the simplest ground rules are not followed.

The following tips will help you to increase the productivity of your meetings so that you can make good use of your working time and that of your colleagues.

Mobile working has become an integral part of our working world. But there are companies that, after initial generosity with regard to working hours and work location, restrict mobile working again. One reason for this is the fear of many managers of losing control.

In this article we give Tips as you also lead at a distance in such a way that the result- and goal-oriented work is maintained.

Managers spend up to 60% of their working time in Meetings. Half of this time is unproductive.

In our seminar "Reden.Klären.Entscheiden. the participants made meetings from their everyday life more productive by using concrete tips and techniques and thus saved up to five hours per week.

Staff appraisals are a key management toolas the regular exchange improves the cooperation. Our Logbook is a workbookIt Gives structure to your conversations and offers space at the same time, Document important information.