Leadership | Leadership responsibility
Leadership is not an end in itself! So what is the point?
From Sabine Walter, Head of netzwerk managementberatung | coaching
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.
There are different ways to approach the meaning of "leadership responsibility". We take the route via language. Leadership responsibility has two parts: "leadership" and "responsibility". What does one word mean? What does the other one mean? Here are the answers:
What means "Leadership"?
We understand by Leadership the responsible management of teams and organisations. This includes:
- A goal in mind, treading the path,
- protect themselves and others from danger,
- have the courage to tread unknown paths,
- have the awareness to manage the available resources in such a way that the goal is achieved and there are still "reserves of strength".
Good leaders are distinguished from less good leaders by the fact that they have an have an inner compassthat makes it easier for them, Develop attractive target images and select the path that is richest in experience and most resource-efficient. Good leaders seek the Destination that mobilises and does not destroy forces. And they discuss the way forward together with their team. They make sure that the stages build on each other. They make sure that it is a path that challenges but does not overtax and they make sure that - to use a cycling image - everyone in the team can ride in the slipstream for a while before going back to the front and pulling the others along.
Good leaders, together with the team, ensure that the journey becomes one that everyone looks back on with pleasure.
What does "responsibility" mean?
When leaders act in the way just described, they do one thing: they take responsibility.
- Responsibility for the achievement of objectives,
- Responsibility for keeping the team "healthy",
- Responsibility for resource conservation,
- Responsibility for change of perspective,
- Responsibility for new experiences, development and growth.
These leaders do something else: they are part of the team.
Leadership is more than the springboard for one's career
Responsible managerswho live leadership in the sense of its meaning, take the same path as their team, pursue the same goal - without a hidden agenda. They experience the same situation when treading the path, are part of the team resources and make them available just like everyone else to achieve the goal. They are neither better nor faster. They have neither more nor less at their disposal, but are Part of a whole - of a whole that is developing.
And we often experience this differently in practice. Leadership is often understood as an end in itself and exclusively as a springboard for one's own career.
We are increasingly working with Managers who want to change precisely this attitude and thus be role models for a new generation of leaders. They lead because they have internalised the responsibility that comes with leading a team, an area or a company. They lead with their head and heart. They have the courage to question themselves and to go new ways. They openly admit mistakes and are curious about what ideas others have. These leaders are the leaders of the future!
With some We speak of them and present them on our site in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned!
Read more
Interviews with executives on the topic of leadership
During the guided tour "is about people. It's about understanding who they are and what drives them and letting that inform your own thinking and actions.", says Silke Kirsch, team leader at the international stand construction company Max Rappenglitz.
For the Head of Innovation & Technologies at the Oberderding-based company E.G.O. Elektro-Gerätebau GmbH, Dr Patricie Merkert, is called "leadership", Thinking in a visionary way and giving employees space to develop their potential. Read more:
Read our interviews with leaders:
Silke Kirsch - Why do you lead?
Dr. Patricie Merkert - What does leadership mean to you?
Dieter Furch - What does leadership mean to you?
Further training for managers
Leadership Coaching for greater leadership effectiveness
You would like to reflect on your leadership effectiveness with a sparring partner and receive impulses on how to increase it.
Our leadership coaching offers the appropriate space for this.
Whether you are changing companies or want to take time away from your day-to-day work to reflect and develop in your existing role, we will work with you on the issues that will take you forward as a leader.
Executive Coach, Sabine Walter, has herself accompanied responsible leadership tasks in industry for many years. She is a valuable sparring partner for you when it comes to guiding you out of your comfort zone with tact and absolute clarity of purpose, thus making growth and further development possible.
Boards of directors, managing directors and companies trust her.
Sabine Walter, Executive Coach – Profile
"Sabine Walter accompanied the management of mediaprint gruppe for one and a half years within the framework of executive coaching and sparring. (...) In this successful change process, Ms Walter was a trustworthy sparring partner and coach for the management. Personally, I was impressed by the way in which Ms. Walter adapted to the individual manager and his or her challenges and yet worked towards a common goal with impressive clarity."
Markus Trost, at the time Managing Director of the Mediaprint Group in Mering.
