In these troubled times how can managers keep a cool head and radiate the
necessary level of security that signals to employees, officers, shareholders and
customers: here is someone who has the reins in their hand and determines where
we go from here”? “In a world full of uncertainty you have to try a lot of things. One
can only hope that some of them will work,” advises the American economic
historian and Nobel prize winner Douglas North quite succinctly. He observed
the best performance in executives who try to understand insecurity as a message –
to themselves as well as to others.
It is no longer realistic to move from one secure position to the next. Everyone
who wants to move forward must therefore plan on insecurity. This is the first step.
Courage alone characterizes a daredevil, but not a leader. Successful managers
know about their own insecurity, and working from this position they make
decisions and communicate not only the outcome of their considerations, but also
how they got there. The days are gone when you could hide behind anonymous
working instructions, messages and endorsements. Today people do not want to
face afait accompli; instead they prefer direct communication with their superiors.
Therefore, communication professionals must be leaders in the best sense and
deal with criticism. Here at the latest it becomes clear that “communication skills”
means more than just rhetoric and flashy language. They include self-confidence,
dialogue and the ability to question yourself. Only those who are aware of their own
power of leadership and are self-aware have the courage to admit or reveal their
own errors and insecurity to their employees.
Let’s not misunderstand this: today, timidity, weakness and fickleness are
not part of the good leader’s character; they never have been. But the ability to
recognize your own feelings of insecurity, fear and doubt, to identify them and to be
able to use them, is the edge that distinguishes good managers from the mediocre
and certainly from the bad in the twenty-first century. Communication training and
rhetoric classes are good things when they help you to talk to employees directly
and to clearly express your feelings and thoughts.
This gives employees trust and confidence. Crises are the best test of a personal
leadership approach. In good times good leadership is hardly an art form. I have
noticed, however, that in bad times many managers feel they can no longer afford
employee-oriented management because of financial and time constraints. They
seek refuge in being authoritarian, but often then feel they are betraying their
principles. A good leader needs to preserve their autonomy and must not be infected
by outer confusion. Especially times of crisis show who the true leaders are.
They are still standing in front of their people when the going gets tough. For
their part, employees can very well sense whether they can trust their leader,
or whether they will “fold” with the first stiff breeze.
3.2.10.2 Everyone at Their Own Pace
Opening free space, providing latitude, enabling personal responsibility – these are
key tasks of leadership. But that is only one side of the coin. Before calling for
3.2 Leading with Your Head and Heart 179