It’s a classic real life challenge coming out of our workshops: You are part of a team becoming their manager (maybe even overnight) suddenly being in a completely different role with different benefits, challenges and implications.

Suddenly all the things you always wanted to change are in your hands. Your former worries as a team mate are yours now. You are suddenly your colleagues superior. Some of the individual habits that weren’t really your problem before are now maybe an issue.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s exciting and great that you’ll be able to change things and take responsibility now. But still: clear and transparent communication is crucial if you want to stay in a good personal relationship and be a good and fair manager. Here is what you should have in mind navigating the transition, because the shift in dynamics can introduce complexities. But with the right strategies, you can navigate this transition smoothly and successfully.

Role...

What do you think is the impact of leadership development in your organization or industry?

A Remarkable ROI of $7 for every $1 spent one of the standout findings from the 2023 study by BetterManager is the return on investment (ROI) that accompanies corporate leadership development programs. This substantial ROI highlights leadership development as a strategic investment with the potential to significantly impact a company's bottom line.

So what influences of leadership development affects your ROI?

• Direct Revenue Growth: Leadership development equips you with the skills to make strategic decisions, optimize operations, and enhance sales techniques. These improvements directly translate to increased revenue for your organization.
• Cost Savings: Your effective leadership can minimize operational inefficiencies and reduce errors, leading to significant cost savings.
• Employee Retention: As a well-trained leader, you can create a positive work environment, leading to higher employee...

To optimize our customers' hybrid collaboration we are more and more using Gustavo Razzetti's Culture Design Canvas. Let me share a little about that powerful tool that we are often using as a template to help teams and leaders develop a cohesive and vibrant workplace culture.

Here’s a closer look at what this tool entails and how you as a leader can effectively utilize it in a workshop setting:
The Culture Design Canvas is a strategic framework created by Gustavo Razzetti, aimed at helping organizations visualize, design, and implement their culture. It comprises various elements such as purpose, values, behaviors, rituals, and more. By addressing these factors systematically, teams can forge a unified culture that drives both engagement and performance.

In case you want to facilitate a workshop yourself you can download the canvas at https://www.fearlessculture.design/ and follow the following steps to make a workshop out of it:

1. Introduction: Begin by explaining the...

For sure i know what we are doing - how we support teams, how our product works and what our USP is. But to take time and really define a vision is helpful to understand better where we want to go. A clear vision and defined values are essential for the success of a team and a company. They provide orientation, strengthen the sense of community and promote a positive culture. 

You can imagine a business vision like a compass. Just as a compass guides us on a journey, pointing us in the right direction and keeping us on track, our vision provides guidance and clarity. It shows us where we want to go and helps us navigate through challenges.

So for example Amazon´s vision is: "To be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices." 

But what does this mean for the HR Team? What many people don´t think about is a team vision...

In our increasingly interconnected world, effective communication is more than just exchanging information; it's about understanding the nuanced ways in which people express themselves. Two pivotal concepts in this realm are low-context and high-context communication. 

If we would be effective robots we could basically only use low-context communication:
It’s direct, clear, and relies heavily on explicit verbal messages. Countries like the United States, Germany, and Scandinavia often favor this communication style. Here, the value is placed on precise words and directness. Texts, emails, or any form of written communication is preferred to convey messages accurately, leaving little room for interpretation. If you would ask to make a portrait of someone you’ll most likely get the left version of our picture.

People communicating like that can cut all the social “bullshit” and could appear super rude in some situations. If you want ChatGPT to give you the...

How much ad hoc feedback do you give in your remote working team? 

In many teams that work remotely, interim feedback is forgotten or has never really been practiced. Organizations often assume that quarterly or annual feedback are sufficient for developing a team culture. 

But that's not quite the case ... 

Regular feedback shows that you as a leader are aware of and value the work of your team. 

What other benefits does regular feedback have for you as a leader? 

1. Motivation and commitment: By regularly recognizing successes and identifying areas for development, team members can stay motivated and strengthen their commitment to their role.
2. Quick problem solving: Daily feedback allows problems to be identified early and resolved quickly before they escalate into bigger issues. You save time in the long run!
3. Building trust and relationships: Regular interaction and sharing of feedback helps build trust between you and your team members and strengthen...

Today's newsletter is going to be very short!

We are currently working on an OpenAI based Digital Leader AI (beta version) - our AI coach with links to handouts, books, online whiteboards and videos that we curated or made ourselves. 

Since we are still in beta phase we really need your support - feel free to check out our assistant for free and give us your feeeeeedback please!

https://www.digital-leader-program.de/en/digital-leader-ai

Der heutige Newsletter ist wirklich super kurz!

Wir arbeiten derzeit an einer OpenAI-basierten Digital Leader AI (Beta-Version) - unserem KI-Coach mit Links zu Handouts, Büchern, Online-Whiteboards und Videos, die wir kuratiert oder selbst erstellt haben.

Da wir uns noch in der Beta-Phase befinden, sind wir auf Eure Unterstützung angewiesen - teste unseren Assistenten kostenlos und gib uns bitte Dein Feeeeeedback!

https://www.digital-leader-program.de/digital-leader-AI

Future oriented leads need moderation skills to get more out of their teams and themselves by supporting an autonomous working style.
If you learn how to moderate your meetings and workshops better you will be able to:
- get better and more ideas
- gain more trust between your teammates
- reach more commitment and motivation
- get more “we-feelings” and by that psychological safety
- support individual growth
- establish better decision making processes (where you don’t need to be a part of anymore)

The more autonomy an individual in a team is supposed to have, the clearer the goals, rules, values, own motivation and self-responsibility should be.
We need to make sure that we have everyone on board and on the same page. Having the feeling of being part of the team and being heard. Therefore it’s important that leads learn to create situations where the team takes the stage, has time to work together in a structured way and feels comfortable and guided to shape their...

The homo sapiens is about 300.000 years old - the commercial internet about 30 years - about 20 years ago some companies were already working in a hybrid setup (for example my former employer IBM) and since covid we have the technological infrastructure to work remotely in most of the white collar jobs in theory. Even before the age of the homo sapiens there was collaboration and we were in touch with one another working together on “projects” at the same geological location. 

We are right now in the middle of a change of how collaboration is working and will work in the future and we will need to adapt on every level and in every role and play our parts if we want to make remote work work. Leaving old habits and beliefs behind opening up for the challenges that remote work brings us.

Fortunately it’s already proven that there are surroundings where remote work already had its breakthroughs. For many companies the sales process changed completely in the last...

In our workshops, we are often asked how leaders can develop their teams towards autonomy. 

Well - this is primarily down to leadership. Every organization needs a framework that allows employees to make their own decisions and, above all, to make mistakes. 

Are you actively involved in your team's tasks or do you largely leave the execution to your team members? 
Do you make decisions alone or in collaboration with your team? 
Does the hierarchy in your team follow a strict chain of command, or is there more flexibility and freedom in decision-making at different levels?

Based on these questions, you can recognize a tendency as to whether you tend to lead with authority or autonomy.

But what does autonomous leadership actually mean? And what is the good thing about it?

An autonomous leadership style means that you as a leader allow a lot of freedom and personal responsibility. You delegate tasks to your team, trust that your team members can complete their tasks...