The German Benedictine priest and leadership trainer Anselm Grün described it like this:
“Above all, leadership means awakening life in people, drawing life out of them”
Society is giving companies more and more responsibility, business cycles are becoming shorter, things are becoming more complex and the ambiguity of information is making it increasingly difficult for managers to find the “right” course of action. The term “Zeitenwende” (word of the year 2022, chosen by the German Language Society) stands for the beginning of a new era and can be understood as a phase of upheaval for a new quality of time and as an analogy for a change in thinking, which is also often evident in everyday business life and is increasingly discussed and visible, especially at management level. As a result, the framework conditions for managers have also changed significantly. A change in values has taken place, transformative leadership has taken centre stage and the new framework conditions, such as technological networking, including artificial intelligence, and the constant change in the geopolitical distribution of power, are leading to changed demands on leadership and are increasingly creating excessive demands or even a lack of direction for individuals. The turn of an era also highlights the relational turn (intersubjective attitude) as a paradigm shift in science and purely mechanistic and causal models are increasingly showing us the limits of holistic thinking. How can managers develop the required competences and strengthen their ability to lead themselves? Self-leadership enables beneficial, mindful leadership and enables a holistic way of thinking, which can be seen at various levels in an organisation. In the context of the relational turnaround, science speaks of “agency”, which in this context is primarily orientated towards “trust, courage and discipline” in order to take the next sustainable steps and move towards the desired future. A holistic view enables managers to develop the necessary competences for the required future management. This is how you can leave your mark and bring life to people.
