44 Business Spotlight 3/2020 BUSINESS SKILLS
Illustration: tomozina/iStock.com; Foto: privatBOB DIGNEN
is a director of York Associates
(www.york-associates.co.uk) and author
of many business English books. Con-
tact: [email protected]AUDIO + PLUS
You can try our
exercises on this
topic on Business
Spotlight Audio
as well as in our
exercise booklet,
Business Spotlight
Plus. To order, go
to http://www.aboshop.
spotlight-verlag.dedecisions redirect strategy or reorgan-
ize structure without giving sufficient
information about the rationale behind
it or the desired result. Organizations
are complex, and it can be difficult to
get messages across to large numbers of
people located in different locations. But
that doesn’t mean leaders shouldn’t try to
communicate the big picture. In regular
monthly or weekly meetings, extraordi-
nary staff meetings, email discussions
and coffee conversations, leaders should
take every opportunity to explain what is
happening, why it’s happening and how
everyone can play a part in bringing about
the desired objectives. This takes time, of
course, which leaders often claim not to
have. But not taking the time will only
make things worse.➻ Don’t perform, enable performance
One of the biggest lessons that senior
leaders have to learn is that the world
doesn’t revolve around them. Of course,
their performance is important, and even
critical in some cases. However, the bulk
of the work in an organization is done
by other people. And how they perform
ultimately determines organizational
success, not the 80-hour working week
of a senior executive. This partly explains
the rise of coaching as a leadership tool,
with its focus on unleashing the motiva-
tion and talent within an organization.
Learn coaching skills. You will find them
valuable for the rest of your personal and
professional life.➻ Take responsibility for leadership
The vast bulk of leadership literature
makes the fundamental mistake of locat-
ing leadership exclusively in leaders. In
the end, leadership is a shared responsi-
bility (see Business Spotlight 1/2020). Clar-
ifying goals, making collaboration work,
giving and getting feedback, supporting
team members under stress, delivering
creative decisions in meetings, building
relationships and trust across bordersabdication
[)ÄbdI(keIS&n]
, Verzicht, Aufgabe
big picture
[)bIg (pIktSE] US
, Gesamtperspektive
bulk [bVlk]
, Menge; hier: Großteil
critical [(krItIk&l]
, ausschlaggebend
diminish [dI(mInIS]
, abnehmen
face sth. [feIs]
, etw. gegenüberstehen
impregnable
[Im(pregnEb&l]
, unbezwingbar
make time for sth.
[)meIk (taIm fO:]
, sich für etw. Zeit nehmen
rationale [)rÄSE(nA:l]
, Begründung
regime [reI(Zi:m]
, [wg. Aussprache]
revolve [ri(vQlv]
, sich drehen
senior executive
[)si:niEr Ig(zekjUtIv]
, leitende(r) Angestell-
te(r); obere Führungskraft
thriving [(TraIvIN]
, blühend; hier: gut
funktionierend
unleash sth. [Vn(li:S]
, etw. freisetzen
vast [vA:st]
, großDON’T RELY
ON SUPERHERO
LEADERS TO
KEEP YOU
HAPPY AND
MOTIVATED
AT WORK
— these are tasks shared by everyone in
any organization. Relying on superhero
leaders to make our organizational world
a perfect place and keep us all happy and
motivated — and complaining when they
don’t — is in fact the abdication of leader-
ship. It’s the sort of behaviour that we nor-
mally expect in an authoritarian regime,
not in a thriving participatory environ-
ment with democratic values. Yes, there
are final decision-takers, but we can all as-
pire to be part of decision-making. Taking
responsibility for leadership — whatever
your position — is a key competence for
the networked organizational world.Final thoughts
The business world is facing challenging
times. Instability is increasing, from the
threats of global trade wars to the rise of
new digital technologies that may sweep
away organizations and industries that
have been seen as impregnable. For soci-
eties and individuals, the future will lie in
developing a blend of advanced human
and more technical skills that can deliver
sustainable economic prosperity.
Skills matter more than ever; yet the
time we make for skills development
seems to diminish year-on-year. The
choice is yours. Remain a hamster in the
wheel until the wheel breaks. Or take a
measured and structured approach to de-
veloping the skills you are going to need
in the coming decade.Take your share
of leadership
responsibilities