Joachim Sauer, President of the German Association of Human Resources Managers (BPM) has developed together with Prof. Alexander Cisik, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics of the University of Applied Sciences Niederrhein, Germany, ten theses on the topic “Leadership in Crisis”. They intend to start with their ten theses a discussion on leadership, an issue that has a major impact on any economy.
Sauer states: “For good leadership, we don’t need those who are strong in their subject/profession, are already working since many years with the company and are flexible. We need leaders that have social competence, empathy and the capability to reflect.”
Below are Sauer’s and Cisik’s ten theses on the current status of leadership in Germany:
Thesis 1): Often, the wrong people are in leadership positions.
Often those are promoted to leadership positions who have strong specialist skills, have been with the company for a long time and are assertive. However, in the promotion process of the candidates, the social competence, empathy and the ability to reflect are more or less ignored.
Thesis 2): There are no real alternatives to a career as a leader.
Most of the career paths are aiming at high leadership positions while careers as specialists or project leaders are perceived as clearly less valuable (and less paid).
Thesis 3): Leaders lack trust.
Trust is the foundation for good leadership. You can grow trust through effective communication. However, many leaders don’t possess good soft (emotional) and communication skills.
Thesis 4): Leadership is too “German”.
Many leaders in Germany lack a deep understanding of cultural differences (despite their experience abroad and their international contacts).
Thesis 5): Leadership is too “male”.
Although in recent years more women have been promoted to leadership positions, the huge majority of leadership positions in Germany is held by men.
Thesis 6): Leadership is too conventional.
Men are mainly thinking first with their head and not with their heart. They act based on informations and facts and are efficiency-oriented. However, too much of rational thinking might lead to management and leadership mistakes, because emotions play an important role.
Thesis 7): Leadership lacks clarity.
Goals and values have to be clearly defined. Responsibilities and expectations must be clear; open communication is important.
Thesis 8): Success in leadership cannot be guaranteed.
The complexity of economic, technical, and social processes, the high number of players, and fast changing economies make it impossible to lead only with one leadership model. A leadership culture that is also suitable for crisis situations needs to be developed.
Thesis 9): Failing leaders face too rarely the consequences.
A new study shows: as long as the operative result (financial numbers) is acceptable, the failure of leaders is too seldom identified, named and punished. Too often, leaders get away with their poor leadership performance.
Thesis 10): Leadership competence can be learned only to a certain extent.
Although many leadership competencies can be learned, it is crucial that a person is willing to lead and has leadership talent.
The ten theses have been developed from a German perspective. Nevertheless, I believe they offer “food for thought” also in other countries. Don’t you agree?
