Leadership | Leadership competences in change
Time for change! Three key leadership competencies in the 21st century.
From Sabine Walter, Head of management consulting | coaching
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 shift 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 competencies which help rethinking the topic and are part of and a prerequisite for this paradigm shift.
Taking responsibility is a central task of leaders. In today's article, we take up three aspects that we believe are often lost in everyday life, but are of central importance for the understanding of leadership in this century:
Central competencies of managers
Advancing one's own development
Leaders who promote the development of others are only credible if they themselves develop continuously and learn permanently. That is why it is the core task of every leader, to live a continuous learning and development process. This includes above all
- the development of one's own personality,
- the loosening of rigid behavioural patterns,
- the expansion of the emotional intelligence and
- the Developing and strengthening intuitive skills.
These skills help to see others in their entirety and to let them be value-free as a personality. Furthermore, these skills help to recognise developmental blockages and to solve them in an appreciative and very effective way.
Create development spaces
People who lead take responsibility for ensuring that their fellow human beings shape their own development and follow their own individual path with full confidence in themselves. That is, leaders:
- give space instead of constricting,
- Encourage rather than demand,
- let be, instead of patronising,
- listen and ask instead of telling.
In order for this to succeed, it is necessary for managers to to train cognitive and emotional perception, to feel one's own needs and to take them seriously. Only then are leaders able to see and respond to the needs of others.
Encourage lateral thinking
Albert Einstein put it in a nutshell: "You can never solve problems with the same mindset that created them." It is therefore elementary that leaders encourage lateral thinking and consciously promote it. This presupposes a self-evident and comprehensive trust and Culture of encounter ahead. At the same time, it requires a different kind of team composition than has been practised so far. Lateral thinking only works in interdisciplinary teams that are burning to achieve a common goal or vision. This requires freedom from fear, passion and courage. Furthermore, it requires an unconditional Acceptance in dealing with each other and with the ideas expressed.
Encounter culture in digital times
Leaders who succeed in freeing themselves from their own fear of rejection and accepting themselves as they are also manage to accept others as they are and to give space to new ideas without prejudice.
Conclusion: Being a role model - as a person and as a leader
Leadership in the 21st century means promoting development and innovation. Both are indispensable if we want to survive as a society and thus as humanity. The key people for this are the leaders.
We interview leaders at regular intervals who have recognised this and have aligned their leadership behaviour accordingly.
Read three interviews about this:
Silke Kirsch - Why do you lead?
Dr. Patricie Merkert - What does leadership mean to you?
Dieter Furch - What does leadership mean to you?
Personal coaching: The next concrete step for leaders
Leaders, especially top management, rarely have sparring partners in the company who give them honest and sincere feedback on their leadership behaviour.
This makes our role as executive coaches in this process all the more important. Our Leadership Coaching offers a a trusting framework, your Leadership Effectiveness and, above all, to address the issues that are currently taking away some of this effectiveness.
We rely on Sound coaching expertise, Own industrial and management experience and advise our clients at eye level, pragmatically and provide innovative impulses.
Take your own development process to the next level and be one of the leaders who help shape the 21st century and develop solutions for societal and business challenges.
Book your coaching with us!
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