Companies today are confronted with enormous challenges. The tempo of change is forcing them to adapt their processes so that they will be able to keep up with the international competition in the future. At the same time, unforeseeable events such as the Corona pandemic and the disruption of the supply chain that it triggered require companies to re-think and examine decisions. How can organizations keep succeeding nevertheless in uncertain times? Forward-looking strategies, lean structures, and efficient processes form the basis for managing changes. But in the end, the transformation can only succeed with a long-term cultural change at the company. This poses new requirements for the leaders.
Just being the boss isn’t enough
“In order to make changes successfully, leaders themselves must be able to lead the organization and the employees effectively,” says Remco Peters, Partner at Staufen AG. This is a problem at companies that have difficulty supporting change with suitable leadership methods. Frequently, the leader is still only the “boss,” as the Staufen study “Companies in transition” shows. In cooperation with the team, there is too little communication and motivation; mutual trust is lacking.
Source: Study ‘Companies in Change – Change Readiness Index 2022, www.en.staufen.ag/studies
Leaders require the right tools
“That’s why the development of employees is one of the central leadership tasks today,” says leadership expert Peters. “Only as a team can we succeed in overcoming the current challenges.” How successful a team is therefore depends largely on whether leaders change habits and flows and create structures that are required for optimal cooperation. Thus far, many companies are lacking not just programs for systematic development of leaders, but also coaching and supervision that communicate the right tools.
The Staufen Academy offers an extensive training program with which leaders can develop their mindset and capabilities. With training as a lean leader, they learn to increase their own effectiveness and establish a culture that encourages performance at the company. The training is organized in various elements and includes several training courses, a practical phase, and a final exam. Corporate consultant and coach Remco Peters: “It’s not one’s own career that is the focus with Lean Leadership. Instead, the concern is to encounter oneself and other people with sympathy. If employees are empowered to do the right thing, in the long term, the whole team will perform on a higher performance and quality level.”
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