Managing a company successfully today means something different than it did 20 years ago. Competencies lie elsewhere, demands are shifting, and the digital age requires ever new methods and techniques from superiors. This is a challenge for the so-called New Leadership.
The english term New Leadership describes nothing else than the ability of a boss to guide his employees in a contemporary way without restricting them. Employees demand autonomy, they want to be involved in decision-making processes and they want to be able to develop themselves. This requires a high degree of trust and a completely new approach to one’s own role within a company. Whereas in the past a supervisor had a very clear leadership position, today he or she is becoming more of a mentor. But what distinguishes him, what must he/she be able to do, and what are the limits of this new role?
Making New Leadership tangible
First of all, we need to clarify what a boss should no longer be today. In a figurative sense, he should no longer sit alone at the top and control, guide and “lead” his employees from there. Instead, he should meet his employees at eye level, recognize and promote their abilities, and thus help the company achieve greater economic success. Employees at this time need to feel that they themselves have achieved successes, are valued and receive recognition. This motivates creative work processes and makes them happy to show up for work. Motivation is the key to self-determined action and this in turn is a valued factor in the company.
Giving impulses, giving trust
Charisma is one of the most important qualities in a leader. A charismatic approach to employees not only creates a secure basis of trust, it can also motivate and steer all processes. If you are not born with this quality, you can learn it and practice appearing self-confident and clearly stating your claims. This is where the fine line of New Leadership must be explored. A boss remains a boss. He must not become the best friend, because then the employees may no longer take him seriously. A sensible way out of this obvious dilemma is mentoring. In this role, the boss can be the one who leads by example. Leading the employees with a loose leash, but still giving them enough freedom for their own experiences. This works best as a team.
Teamwork in New Leadership
Teamwork is a good basis for future success. Working together makes it possible to gather many ideas, discuss them among each other and find the best solution. Always against the background of the tasks to be accomplished, of course. What a team needs is professional leadership. This should only get involved where it is necessary and the individual team members may get a little lost. Otherwise, it is important to act together, valuing each individual with his or her ideas and wealth of experience. The perfect task for a charismatic mentor.
Digital workplaces require training
In order to best manage and oversee a business while keeping everyone’s interests in mind, it is not enough to be a good mentor. Rather, it is essential not only to recognize the opportunities of advancing digitization, but also to take advantage of them. The competition never sleeps, and it can be more than helpful to use all the advantages of the digital workplace that it offers for tasks. This means investing in the future and moving the company forward. In the best case, this creates an ideal connection between analog and digital aspects, both of which flow equally into the tasks of the supervisor. Even if this means understanding new leadership as a progressive process of learning and further training.
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