Management alone is no longer enough to push boundaries in times of upheaval

And what one can learn from a good mountain guide

Management in the classical sense deals with business logic, efficient processes, and optimizing operations. In times of upheaval, a company cannot do without good management. However, this is no longer sufficient if you want to successfully navigate a company through a complex and unpredictable environment – or if you want to operate successfully in an organizational world that resembles a fluid, hardly controllable system. For this, you need an expanded and changed understanding of leadership. The focus shifts from a very strong person-centered view to leadership in leadership and management teams. Leadership becomes a team effort that is jointly provided by the leaders. This means above all: Agile and future-oriented leadership replaces rigid goals and plans. Leadership that also harnesses the diversity within the team. Unexpected situations call for creative solutions that overwhelm an individual. Leadership therefore requires "multi-brain thinking," where different minds are connected. In many companies, this is not an easy task, as the CEO must now admit to his employees, "We are looking for a solution together, I alone cannot do it."

The post-heroic mountain guide

When a mountain guide loses orientation during a weather storm, how does he react? Basically, he has two options: He relies on his intuition and chooses a path – expecting that the chosen way is correct and that he safely leads the entrusted people out of the danger zone. This is the type of "Daring Guy" who not only braves the elements alone but also withstands the toughest conditions. The second option: He acknowledges his uncertainty and consults with the other participants of the mountain tour. He asks for their opinions and incorporates their knowledge into his decision-making. As a type, he remains calm, asks for the opinions of those entrusted to him, and also shows them how they can save themselves independently in the worst case scenario. Together, they overcome the adventure. The first reaction represents the heroic leader. They are convinced that only they alone have the abilities to make the right decisions even in a confusing situation. The second reaction, on the other hand, illustrates post-heroic leadership: The business leader recognizes that in a complex and uncertain world with constant surprises, things can go very differently than planned. Therefore, he involves his employees in leadership and guides them to unfold their potentials and use them to the advantage of the company. Wolfgang Zimmermann, The leadership expert for times of upheaval, Speaker and visionary for entrepreneurially led organizations.