Leadership has to be clear and it has to be accepted. Only if the leader no longer
has to struggle for his or her appropriate status are they able to redefine their role
and act for example as facilitator, mentor or coach for their employees. Successful
managers know intuitively what means of acquiring and exercising power are seen
as legitimate by other people, and what obligations are associated with their power.
They accept that power is a part of leadership (see Kotter 1999b, pp. 94–113).
In order to manage processes of change, a leader also has to have the strength
and courage to accept a temporary loss of power in order to gain power in the long
term. They may not however infringe on the power of others in order to feel
powerful again, or seize everything and seek to defend their territory (see Kanter
1998, p. 157).
Even in stable times – if they still exist – a leader must not neglect his or her real
task, namely producing results. Precisely because it is so obvious, they think the
least about it and therefore quickly lose sight of this goal. Leadership is not
a purpose in itself but a means to an end. A recent study by Droege & Company
shows how necessary it is to remind managers to return to the purpose of their work
and to stay focused. The results show that 81% of managers do not consider their
projects successful. Only 2 of 217 indicated that their project objectives had been
fully achieved. The reason for this poor performance is primarily a lack of project
supervision. Many projects are on track, and then nobody pays attention to when or
whether they arrive at all (seeFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, July 28, 2003).
A well known exception is the CEO of Porsche, Wendelin Wiedeking. He is
a responsible leader, sets clear goals and monitors the results. He does follow-up
work and makes good use of his authority and power, considering not only the
numbers but also the people involved. And he is very present, not just in his own
business but also in the public, by means of which he in turn strengthens the Porsche
brand.
3.2.9.1 A New Power
Today, effective leadership is not based on formal power. Formal power is only
borrowed and manifests mainly in position titles, status symbols and boxes on the
company’s organizational chart. The demand for flat hierarchies, teamwork and
cooperation could even give the impression that the modern company should be
declared a power-free zone. This impression is wrong. Rather, the term “power”
should be redefined (see Kotter 1999b, p. 94 ff.).
The traditional sources of power are drying up and the landlord’s authority is no
longer needed and no longer enforceable. In addition to the formal power, however,
there are still other forms of power that are not awarded, but that must be earned or
embodied: power through vision, charisma and strength of contact, in other words:
power through meaning. This power is person-based and arises from the personal-
ity. It is the power of the modern leader (see Pinnow 2003b, p. 7).
This productive power, which is exercised through a network of interest groups,
differs fundamentally from the power that executives exercised in traditional
176 3 Systemic Leadership or: Designing a World That Others Want to Be Part Of