Jansen 2 Unternehmensberatung

We are constantly leading!

Be it our own way of doing things, our concept of life, or in our kids who strive to be on their own – we are in a position of steady readiness to help someone close to us by giving sound (or not so sound) advice. Though we may not think about it, it is true that our leadership qualities contribute to the successful mastering of other people’s problems.

Actively observing or leading other people is an exception to the rule. In the majority of cases where people give and receive advice, some exchange of information and knowledge takes place, but the process as such runs unknowingly. Most of those who have served in military should be familiar with leadership by a firm hand, which is a good example of the clearly articulated downward sequence of instructions believed to be indispensable in situations of uncertainty, such as combat operations. By contrast, anti-authoritarian or anarchic ways of leading people constitute the other end of the spectrum working best in some of the business models which utilize the internet.

We are less comfortable, though, with an obvious lack of leadership or, even worse, “mis”-leadership. We have an internal mechanism of defence that will give a warning in such cases. As a result, employees start to get overly cautious and projects become unnecessarily  prolonged. In the worst case, this situation saps their confidence and they will boycott future projects as well.

To prevent these blockades from obstructing accomplishment of the company’s goals, employers are well advised to invest in people who can ensure working conditions beneficial to the company and can work well with the majority of employees and business partners. In this way, companies use vision statements and open structures of communication to actively gain and maintain the trust and support of their employees.

You want to be a leader? Well, then you should be very clear about who is going to be the subject of your guidance and what it is you want to accomplish. In this context, management literature speaks of leadership objects and breaks it down into three subgroups:

1. Leading People: When providing guidance, it’s mainly people who are the subject of our leadership; even if we think we are dealing with something completely different. We can differentiate between the different degrees of independence or autonomy of the people we are leading, which is vital as it determines the level of guidance they need. See also: Coaching Special “Leading According to Levels of Maturity” 
2. Leading Business: Leading a business or company in an integrative way always poses a great challenge. This is because a company not only reflects the attitudes and values of its employees, but is also part of a greater marketplace or society in which it develops more or less independently. Thus, it is imperative to, firstly, balance these two perspectives and, secondly, involve the stakeholders and provide them with a clear target as to where the business should be heading.
3. Leading Customers: Today, sales and service functions are getting a taste of being able to lead their customers. Moreover, in times when the cost of sale is on the rise, company leaders realize the potential of their sales staff to provide integrative customer support and maintenance. Customers tend to favour the provision of situational leadership and the mapping of alternative approaches.