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- Herausgeber: Haufe Lexware
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Serie: Haufe Fachbuch
- Sprache: Englisch
The increase in volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity in business and society is confronting many managers with the question of which skills they need to adapt or relearn to act effectively as managers in the future. The authors show you that the key to this does not lie in the learning of new management concepts. On the contrary, effective leadership is much more about homing in and focusing on what has not changed, namely the core attitudes and patterns of action inherent in human beings. Content: - Leadership as a transformation process - A basic framework of patterns of action as a basis for effective leadership and personality growth - Morality as the inner orientation and basis for economically sustainable leadership - Courage as a catalyst
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Seitenzahl: 167
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
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Table of contents
Copyright NoticesCopyrightPrologue1 Introduction2 Transformation3 Patterns3.1 The goal getter3.2 The dreamer3.3 The team player3.4 The golden child4 Archetypes4.1 The warrior4.2 The magician4.3 The lover4.4 The king4.5 The role of the archetypes in personality development5 Four5.1 Ancient theories of four5.2 Contemporary theories of four5.3 Clusters of four6 Four+16.1 Self-leadership6.2 Purpose6.3 Implementation6.4 Relationship6.5 Awareness6.6 Mindfulness6.7 Key takeaways7 Orientation7.1 Is something else missing?7.2 What is morality?7.3 How does morality develop?7.4 Morality in business7.5 Leadership teams as moral authorities8 Courage8.1 How do we define courage?8.2 Courage as a catalyst for self-leadership, effectively leading others, moral leadership and personality growthBibliographyAuthorsCopyright Notices
All rights are reserved. Production and distribution of this e-book is allowed only with explicit permission of the publisher.
Copyright
[4]Bibliographical Information of the German National Library
The German National Library lists this publication in the German National Bibliography. Detailed bibliographical data can be accessed on the internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
Gorbach / Dannath-Schuh / Cusumano
Orientation for Leaders
1st Edition 2019
© 2019, Haufe-Lexware GmbH & Co. KG, Freiburg, Germany
www.haufe.de
Product management: Bettina Noé
Copy-editing: Stephanie Shellabear
All information/data has been compiled to the best of our knowledge but with no guarantee for its completeness or correctness. All rights, including but not limited to printing of excerpts, photomechanical reproduction (including microcopy) and analysis using databases, are reserved.
[7]Prologue
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
George Orwell
For a long time, growth has been a main premise in our society. Mankind and society to a great extent long for continuous progress. Having largely overcome the major problems of recent decades (starvation, epidemics and wars), humankind is now striving towards new goals such as immortality, self-actualization, happiness and divinity. Historians have already begun to speak of a shift in human development from homo sapiens to homo deus or human god1. The challenges brought by this ongoing social transformation have been significantly shaped by numerous technological revolutions, revealing a new dimension of complexity.
To begin with, we are now witnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, our paradigm has already shifted three times in response to major leaps in development (industrial revolutions). While previous booms in development have been characterized by mechanization, electrical power and digitalization, the new era is being shaped by key principles of organizational design (e.g. self-organization and decentralization). These principles must now take the highest priority, if we are to enable ourselves to make selective use of the countless, increasingly sophisticated technological advances and their far-reaching potential, and successfully implement them into our economic system.Secondly, the rise of complex, international economic frameworks has resulted in ever greater organizational interdependencies. For example, the various individual components of many products are being produced in different regions of the world before finally being assembled at one location. All it takes is a single weak link in the chain to wreak havoc and cause production delays. Meanwhile, the Earth’s natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce. »Earth Overshoot Day« is the date each year on which the human consumption of natural resources surpasses the Earth’s capacity to supply and replenish them. This date falls earlier every year. When it was introduced in 1971, the first Earth Overshoot Day occurred on December 21. By 2017, it had already moved up to August 2!Thirdly, a new generation (the millennial generation) is taking the job market by storm, often calling existing values into question and prioritizing new values for itself (for example, through a new emphasis on the meaningfulness of the work [8]they do). Furthermore, global differences in cultural values seem to be becoming increasingly prevalent. These differences are not new, yet they now seem more striking than ever. As globalization blurs the lines of production, the individual sources of labor become harder and harder to track, and these differences suddenly become a problem for multinational corporations.Social and economic developments pose new kinds of problems for human beings and companies. Organizational changes must be implemented, scarce resources must be compensated for and the new generation must be integrated.
Organizations must gradually adjust to these ongoing, multifaceted and universal changes and upheavals. The inherent lack of stability, combined with fundamental uncertainties brought about by constant change and an unpredictable future, now represent the greatest challenges facing humankind.
There is a major risk that these developments will have an immensely destabilizing impact on many individuals and organizations. Faced with complex changes, people are breaking loose from some of the anchors that once held their behaviors and lives in place, and, in the worst cases, are spiraling into individual identity crises. In response, people are naturally taking refuge in the search for a stable, strong constant. We search for a community that can replace this meaninglessness with a clear opinion and a strong sense of solidarity, offering us an anchor and a guide to cling to in these uncertain times.
Such acts of compensation can be clearly seen in many places. For example, radical religious groups and extremist political parties have gained influence. Countless followers are rallying around leaders who pursue a clear purpose with strength and consistency, offering uncertain individuals something to hold onto.
The consequences of these ongoing challenges can also be clearly seen in the organizational context. Traditional companies are under siege from new, disruptive competitors who operate with unprecedented dynamism, flexibility and speed. Companies — and particularly their management — are now tasked with shouldering the current ambivalences and offering firm footing and orientation.
During these tumultuous times, human beings naturally look for a strong anchor. Yet, to navigate these waters safely, a map and a rudder are far more crucial. That is why strong, direction-setting leadership is more necessary than ever. Leaders must be capable of authentically adjusting to the rapidly changing context if they want to offer lasting orientation to employees in need of certainty. Attention must especially be [9]given to the ability to update envisioned goals, making them more inspirational and incorporating diverse sets of values into their development, so that they provide the forward momentum necessary to move all employees through difficult times and uncertainties.
In leadership, clear, moral guidelines are becoming increasingly important. At a time when powerful demands materialize from multiple directions, in which it is tempting to take the »easy way out,« leaders must display unprecedented strength of character and will-power to remain true to their own moral compass and resist the temptations of »indecent proposals.« Leaders have a great, systemic responsibility, precisely because people follow them. Their actions serve as examples and can be highly contagious within the organization. If people in leadership positions do not act in accordance with the values and ideals of the company, it is clearly felt. Bad behavior trickles down into the system where it is imitated and accepted. In such cases, the leaders only add new instability to the system. Rather than setting the direction, they have a destabilizing effect. Even seemingly »minor« unethical decisions can therefore have a major impact on the company as a whole. Therefore, completely in the spirit of George Orwell, it takes great courage, bravery and strength to resist the many »moral temptations« of our times and lead the way forward as an exemplary leader.
Tomáš Sedláček2
1 Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus, 2018.
2 Tomáš Sedláček (*1977) is a Czech economist, university lecturer at Charles University in Prague and known for his 2011 book Economics of Good and Evil.
[11]1 Introduction
Digitalization is just one of many developments currently influencing the way we live and work. New technologies appear every day, a life without smartphones has become unimaginable, and the disruptive changes around us are becoming ever more frequent.
As we witness this rapid evolution of technologies, a new generation is also on the rise. Following the baby boomers, generation X and the Xennials, the millennials — also called generation Y or digital natives — are now making their mark on the job market. They not only bring attractive new skillsets with them, but also new goals, new expectations and a whole new set of personal values. For example, whereas older generations are still willing to heavily invest their energy in all kinds of tasks without ever really exploring the »why« behind them, the new generation is increasingly concerned precisely with the question of »What for?« »What is the purpose behind what we are doing?«
The ability to act and react quickly is becoming more important, while at the same time, the existing legal frameworks are becoming progressively rigid, demanding greater attention as new regulations take effect. For example, antitrust laws are becoming increasingly prevalent, along with new rules for technologies, data protection, or emissions standards for the automobile industry. Simultaneously, new competitors are storming the markets, many of whom are entirely new to the business and threaten to change the game completely.
We have never lived in a world more complex and rapidly changing than the one we live in now. All the while, our lives are being defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (abbreviated as »VUCA« and summarized by Bennett and Lemoine as shorthand for »Hey, it’s crazy out there!«). This new way of life is characterized by encounters with »unknown unknowns,« challenges involving many interconnected parts and variables, or unstable situations which we lack the information to fully grasp.3
So, what does it all mean for today’s leaders? It seems obvious to conclude that we must redefine our understanding of how leadership works, and that a world shaped by VUCA requires new leadership skills. The market for leadership education seems [12]to wholeheartedly advocate this approach: every year, new leadership books take their place in the pantheon of acclaimed nonfiction. Traditional and online bookstores are practically overflowing with books lauding the latest groundbreaking leadership research results. And there are not only books, but also podcasts, conferences and keynotes — there is no end to the chorus of voices proclaiming the need to adapt to an ever-changing world or perish on the scrap heap of business history. No wonder today’s leaders feel alienated, confused and disoriented, as they are constantly confronted with the message that being a good leader means throwing out everything you have ever learned and starting over again.
Constantly reinventing the wheel, however, is not the true solution to the challenges of the VUCA world. To counteract this, we can choose the path of once again sharpening our focus on ourselves, our organizations and the constant, unshakable core of things. That is exactly the approach we take in this book. We argue that the leadership skills needed today are exactly the same as those that have always existed and been relevant, because they are based on the fundamental characteristics of human beings and are anchored deeply in each of us. This is something that not even a VUCA world can change.
The only thing that really is new today is the complexity and speed of the current challenges we face. To continue to succeed, we do not need any new skills. What we need is to enhance and enrich the leadership skills we already have, as well as the ability to apply these skills flexibly. This will require the ability to realign ourselves, to incorporate the bigger picture and precisely assess which leadership skills each situation calls for.
Based on these considerations, this book is structured as follows:
Chapter 2 begins by explaining what we mean by »leadership,« particularly what we mean by a »good leader« and what VUCA means for leadership. At the most fundamental level, we describe leadership as a transformation process with four cornerstones.In chapters 3, 4 and 5, we turn to the question of how to achieve good leadership in people. Since the human being is at the center of our understanding of leadership, our analysis focuses on human drives and motivations: what moves us as human beings? To explore this, we look at four typical patterns in chapter 3 which can be used to categorize people, especially leaders, based on their behavior. These four patterns correspond with four specific psychological structures (archetypes) from the theoretical principles of pioneering analytical psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, which we explore in chapter 4. These can be seen as the basic framework of [13]human self-concepts and patterns of behavior. They influence human behavior and its underlying conscious and unconscious aspects. Chapter 5 continues to build upon this discussion, offering the possibility to gain access to what defines and moves the human being, independently from our observations and Jung’s work. Here, we examine various approaches from science and religion, which humankind has used over the last 2,000 years to try to make sense of its behaviors and the forces that drive it. Interestingly, these lead us time and time again to the same clusters of four which correspond with the four archetypes.In chapter 6, we examine the concept of leadership in depth. We begin by focusing on self-leadership. Our understanding is based on the assumption that we must first learn to lead ourselves before we can ever be capable of leading others. We continue then with what is actually the central element of this book: our model for leading others. Here, we identify four dimensions of leadership which correspond with the structure that we have laid out up to now: the definition of leadership as a transformation process (chapter 2), the observed patterns of leaders (chapter 3), the Jungian archetypes (chapter 4) and the other approaches to categorizing human behavior (chapter 5). We also describe a fifth dimension (what we call a »4+1« dimension, because it ties all the other four together). This is precisely the ability which enables us, regardless of what is going on around us at that moment, to choose exactly the right skill out of all the skills that the four dimensions have to offer.Chapter 7 expands the leadership model further to include what we consider a fundamental element of inner orientation as the basis for economically sustainable leadership: using morality as the compass. In our view, it is essential that leaders develop a strong inner compass and make decisions based on their own moral convictions. To begin with, we describe what we mean by »morality« and look at how morality can develop in a person, why it has always been so important in the context of leadership, and why it is more important today than ever.Chapter 8 summarizes the book by highlighting one character trait of humans that catalyzes the skills required for self-leadership, the effective leadership of others, as well as moral and thus economically sustainable leadership: courage.3 Bennett & Lemoine, 2014.
[15]2 Transformation
Most businesses have always been subjected to constant change. It is nearly impossible for companies to ever reach a steady state as the playing field keeps changing, whether we are talking about the customer, the market environment, the competition, the evolution of technologies, legislation or even a shift in attitudes from one generation to the next. This leads to the constant challenge for companies to adapt to change, as well as the pressure for leaders and employees to adjust. If a company fails to rise to the latest challenges, it risks going under. Sometimes, it is a slow demise: from a lengthy decline in profits, to mounting pressure on the margins, and misguided strategies or management fumbles. Other times, the end comes swiftly, brought on by strategic blunders, misguided investments or even disruptive revolutions throughout the sector or industry.
However, it is not necessarily the market that has destroyed businesses when they fail. Companies do not lose their right to exist because they have the »wrong« identity, but because of how they project themselves outwardly and bring their potential to bear. This is »reactive« change: an internal reaction to changes outside the business.
»Active« change occurs whenever leaders try to influence their teams and guide them toward a target, such as stronger growth and profitability. Even if the playing field surrounding the company were completely stable, which is highly unlikely if not impossible, then active change from within would still force the system to keep adjusting. Therefore, this second basic form of change is the path from the inside to the outside, the carving out and sharpening of the inherent potential within the company. This is the foundation for internally anchored, sustainably effective change processes. Active change is just as essential and ongoing a task for the leadership team of a company as reacting to outside changes.
In reality, leaders are usually confronted with both the need for active and reactive change. The sum of all these reactions and actions is what we refer to as a transformation process.
Resisting the need for transformation would mean that all external push factors have no impact on you or your business and that you have reached a desired state that you consider sufficient for now and the future. While such a state may be observed in very few cases for a short period of time, we strongly believe that it is not sustainable, as it [16]hinders learning and growth. To assure long-term success, transformation is inevitable.
Successful, sustainable transformation always leads from the status quo in the here and now to a desired state in the future. This movement occurs along two pathways. One pathway is the factual side which focuses on steering the company’s business development. We will refer to this as the »content-logical« path. The other pathway is related to the leaders and employees as human beings at the center of change processes. This is the »psychological« path toward transformation (see Figure 1).
Fig. 1: The transformation process
On the factual, content-logical path, organizational change happens in accordance with the value chain. This is a strong point for most leaders. Content-logical or business targets can be described in terms of facts and figures; the progress of the transformation can be measured by performance indicators; required actions can be defined in terms of timelines and deliverables; decisions can often be based on calculations.
Meanwhile, at the psychological level, organizational change is dependent on the personal development of the leaders and the quality of the collaboration between them. The human being lies at the center of this because what a company needs is also rooted in what the individual needs. As human beings, we experience fulfillment when we feel we are contributing to something greater than ourselves. Corporate [17]development is therefore closely linked to the development of individuals and teams. In short, if it is not happening at the leadership level, it is not happening anywhere else in the company either, whether we are talking about positive behaviors or negative ones. The example set by the leadership is reflected in the lower levels of the company. That is why the psychological side of transformation is concerned with exploring, developing and nurturing what the enterprise is really made of, from the individual’s perspective, and incorporating this into the organization through relationship design and team development. Whenever the leadership’s concerns are made clearly visible and tangible to the employees, this insight cascades over different organizational levels and its effect multiplies.
