#24 "No strategy without leadership and no leadership without strategy"
Chaos and order, yin and yang... leadership and strategy! Have you ever noticed that almost everything in the world has an absolutely necessary opposite pole, two opposing forces that are in harmony with each other? What sounds like esoteric stuff here also influences our everyday business life. There is no doubt that no other terms are as popular in a business context as leadership and strategy, but can one exist independently of the other or are they as fundamentally connected as ebb and flow? Christian and Jürgen agree: without leadership there is no strategy and without strategy there is no leadership. If you don't have a strategy, then the organization doesn't know where to go. If, as the top manager, you don't set a direction (note unpopular opinion - apart from all the agility, and even if it's really nice that everyone loves each other, it's really necessary for there to be someone else to point the way in the right direction), then it's like sailing around on the sea and not knowing which port you want to head for. So you always have to know how to get to the destination and how to make the organization successful, even if we are facing tough times with lots of swell and several icebergs. You can find out more about this, and where exactly the connection between good leadership and strategy lies, in our new episode of the strategy discussion of Hope is not a strategy.
SHOWNOTES:
Christian UnderwoodProf.JürgenWeigandandhttps://www.juergenweigand.comUnderwoodGmbHHopeis not astrategyWHUPaterAnselm Grün
The book Hoffnung ist keine Strategie jetzthiervorbestellen.
Detailed episode description:
Table of contents:
- Connection between leadership and strategy
- The terms strategy and leadership
- What makes good leadership
- Shared leadership
- The Leadership Credo
- You never stop learning
- The role of humility
- Advice: Get feedback
- Contact us
- Shownotes
Today's episode focuses on the key question: Does good leadership even need strategy?
The connection between leadership and strategy Jürgen Weigand has a clear credo on this topic: without leadership there is no strategy and without strategy there is no leadership. Because without leadership, it is not clear in the organization what should be done. Everyone would do what they think is best and right. If the top manager does not set a direction, it is comparable to a boat that is sailing on the sea and does not know which harbor it wants to and should enter, whereas in the other case, when there is leadership but no strategy, the question of the goal is less important. In this case, the focus is on the question of how to achieve precisely this goal. How can the organization be successfully shaped and kept alive even in difficult times? This is precisely what requires the combination of leadership and strategy.
The terms leadership and strategyThe close connection between the terms can already be seen in the historical context. Both terms used to be combined in one word. The strategos was the leader of the army, stratos was the army and strategia was the strategy. At that time, the question was how the army could be led to the set goals. This question can also be applied to companies today, and the close connection between the topics of leadership and strategy can be clearly seen in current, business-relevant specialist literature. A word search by the Harvard Business Review came to the conclusion that leadership strategy is at the top of the search terms. At the same time, however, it was found that top managers have extremely little time to spend on strategy. Less than 10% of their total working time is spent on strategic thinking, which is a worrying trend. If leadership and strategy are equal, but little time is spent on leading strategically, then deeper investigation should take place. What are the circumstances and why is it developing in this way?
What constitutes good leadershipGood leadership is when you are aware of the different dimensions of leadership. The best-known dimension is: "I lead others and I am qualified to lead others." However, there are two other dimensions - the dimension of self-leadership: "I lead myself. I believe I can only be a very good leader if I am able to lead myself very well." and the dimension of "letting others lead": being prepared to let others lead you. Even as the CEO of a large company, you are not free to decide what you want to do. Formally, a supervisory board keeps an eye on activities anyway. Nevertheless, it is always advisable to listen to others who want to support you in your leadership. The outside view can sometimes be very helpful in order to better understand yourself and your own approach. It can happen that you think you are leading well, but those you are leading see things very differently. This view from the outside is very important in order to check how well your own leadership is assessed, and there are also situations and ways of being led in private life. One option, for example, is to allow yourself to be led by God. But there may also be a partner at home who guides you to a certain extent and it can be very helpful to take a closer look at this perspective. With partners who do not work in your own company, things can be thought through and questioned differently. Everyone can benefit from doing this for themselves.
Shared leadershipCurrently - at least in discussions in companies - leadership is changing a great deal. There are often old-school managers who have gone through an old, hard school in the last 30-50 years. There were top-down decisions, the strategy was set by the board and the decisions then had to be implemented in the company. In other words, command and obedience - the most classic of all methods. The current trend in organizations, on the other hand, is that there is almost no longer an individual who leads. Management often takes place in teams or teams manage themselves. In order to implement a functioning strategy in such a context, communication and a strategy discourse are key. Ultimately, however, decisions must be made by someone and, above all, one person must bear the responsibility for these decisions.
However, shared leadership and the involvement of team members from different hierarchies can make perfect sense. It's not about ranks, but about competencies and skills in certain decision-making situations. If someone else is the subject matter expert, it is sensible and smart not to make the final decision alone, but to seek the advice of the subject matter expert. However, it is always important to make it clear that not only must responsible decisions be made, but that responsibility for these decisions must also be borne. With shared leadership, it can easily happen that if the plan does not work, a blame game takes place and the team is blamed, which should not happen. This is why every responsible leader should be aware of the responsibility and accept the consequences. In practice, it is often the case that managers blame their team. However, even in this case, a good manager must stand in front of their own team and take responsibility, because either the team was put together incorrectly by the manager or they were unable to motivate or communicate properly. In any case, the manager must bear the main responsibility, which unfortunately often does not happen. Managers have often come to their position through a certain level of professional competence, but that does not mean that this leadership competence is present.
The Leadership CredoThe Leadership Credo is the final degree in the MBA programs at WHU. To better explain its purpose, we need to look back to the beginning of the program. There, the participants go through the course "Personal Development, Personal Growth". In this course, they are confronted with the fact that they should not think about others or present knowledge from others, but rather generate knowledge about themselves. The focus is on the questions: Who am I? What do I stand for? What are my values in life? How do I want to apply these values in my daily actions as an employee or later as a manager so that what I do is really consistent? Only then will I be authentic. What I present to the outside world, what I say and do, is what I really feel and want to do. The participants are always very shocked at first that they have to think about themselves and open up. But they learn relatively quickly that this can be very helpful. Of course, the whole thing takes place in a protected environment. Everything that is said remains in a room and the participants can develop freely. There are various elements throughout the program where this is continued and at the end comes the Leadership Credo. There, all participants have to say what they believe in. After all, credo stands for "I believe". The aim is to shed light on one's own principles and principles. The presentation is linked to a personal story. So they can't just tell any story from someone else, but have to tell their own story, an element from their history, and link it to what they stand for - for example, a value or a leadership principle. They should show the group what they stand for, who they are and how they want to lead others and themselves authentically and ethically and morally correctly in the future.
You never stop learningDuring the financial crisis a few years ago, we saw that not everyone always acts ethically or with integrity. This authentic leadership is also quite exhausting, as you also have to present yourself at this point. There are currently a number of articles about Volkswagen CEO Mr. Diess, who, so to speak, contributes to the company's strategic goals in social media and therefore cannot be that authentic personally. This is an exciting point that is often encountered in companies, where managers often want much more, even name it, but then sometimes stand in their own way. Even when it is pointed out to them, they don't manage to take the step of really jumping over their own shadow and being themselves. The fallacy is that you can learn this once - for example in a coaching session - but this is a process, a never-ending learning journey.Many managers think at some point that they have internalized everything in their position. They know and can do everything. Then you experience situations where you discuss with them who could participate in such a program and then they suggest an employee because they think that they have already learned everything and therefore no longer need it. The most important thing is always to question yourself regularly, to realize that you are always a student and can always learn something new - especially about yourself. This insight, which some people then gain, is very helpful and they then push through and put things into practice. Unfortunately, for others, words are rarely followed by action. In addition - to return briefly to the CEO of Volkswagen, Mr. Diess - it must be said that he is of course acting under restrictions. The turnaround in strategy that he is supposed to bring about is being massively demanded by the Supervisory Board. He is under great pressure, regardless of what his personal values are. The pressure comes from above, so it's not always easy to go your own way. You also have to have courage when you realize that you can't do it. A general piece of advice can be derived from this: The greatest power we have is the power to walk away and say no - The power to walk away. This must also be followed through if your own authenticity is no longer congruent with what you find in the company. Then consequences must be drawn and you should leave. Of course, this also depends on your position and age. Basically, you have to remember that if you are a person of integrity, both things really have to harmonize.
The role of humilityOne very important thing that can be taken away from the program and that has also been mentioned frequently in our podcast episodes is humility. A fitting quote from Father Anselm Grün on the subject, which can certainly be found in reality, is: "Humility is the courage to look at your own shadow". The priest and prolific writer of the Benedictines in Lower Franconia, who is certainly known to some, always emphasizes the concept of humility in his seminars. In other words, very good leaders can be recognized by the fact that they are humble, that they are grateful for what they have achieved and what good things have been done for them. This is not primarily about what good they have done for others, but what they personally have to be grateful for. These leaders have a different outward appearance than those who consider themselves omniscient. Humble leaders are those who do not stop learning and want to go one step further when they notice a shadow or two in themselves. Shadows are something that cannot be seen alone, but require others to point out their own shadows. For example, you should be a little careful with people who are overly friendly, as they could have something negative or aggressive in their shadow. If you are not aware of your own shadows, you need others to make you aware of them. If you are willing to go beyond that, then you are also humble.Father Anselm Grün is linked in the show notes, for those who don't know him yet and haven't heard of him - which is almost impossible. But there are still things you can rediscover and that's what the podcast is for. It is difficult to take part in Father Anselm Grün's seminars, the waiting list takes a few years. However, there are some really highly recommended videos, books and audio books by him.
Advice: Obtain feedbackThe easiest way for managers to regularly review their leadership is to obtain feedback. This should not only come from those you trust anyway, such as friends and family. But possibly also from critical spirits who may come from within your own organization or from outside. Feedback can hurt. Everyone wants to hear good things, but then it can also happen that a critical comment is made, which should make you think. You should question why this person thinks this about you. So get feedback and process the feedback productively. Afterwards, if you think you have implemented the feedback well, you should go back to this person, show them the changes and ask for their point of view again - have you really developed further or where is something still missing?
ContactWe also want to pass on the topic of feedback to our listeners - please give us your feedback. What do you want to hear? Do you like what we do? Do you have any topics that are of particular interest to you? Then be so kind and write your feedback in the comments or ratings, on all social media channels or as an e-mail to christian@underwood.de. We look forward to your honest feedback and will be happy to address it in one of the next episodes.
SHOWNOTES:
Prof. JürgenWeigandandhttps://www.juergenweigand.com
The book Hoffnung ist keine Strategie jetzthiervorbestellen.