“The courage to lead” – between self-evidence and incomprehension
What is “the courage to lead”?
What do you think of when you hear the term “the courage to lead”? Many people will say that it is the ability to make difficult decisions as the leader of a company or a team, to stand by them and to face adversity and change.
That is correct. However, the definition should be expanded. Beyond these elements, courage to lead also means having or developing the ability to create a tangible connection between the leadership and the teams and ensuring that everyone is on the same wavelength.
A concrete example
Let’s take a public institution with almost 100 employees as an example. The organization consists of a five-member management board, around ten middle managers and the teams. Despite this rather simple organization, the management board notices that the teams are becoming detached from their direct superiors and de facto also from the management. The teams resist change and do not make any suggestions. The management has the feeling that middle management “lacks courage”.
The implemented approach
As an external consultancy, we found that dialogue within the organization was limited or even non-existent in many places. This lack of interaction led to misunderstandings and frustration on both sides.
The aim of the project was to re-establish this dialog and to clarify the expectations and understanding of each individual. The proposed approach was to initially work with each target group separately, i.e., a group for senior management, a group for middle management and several sub-groups for employees. Each group was asked to formulate their expectations of the other two groups.
After this first step, the expectations of each group were compared with those of the others. This made it possible to determine, for example, whether my own expectations as a manager match what my superiors and my team on site expect.
The courage to deal with the expectations of other groups
In our specific case, the middle management team realized that their management and their teams had the same expectations. In particular, they were expected to take on more responsibility and form an independent level between the management and the local teams.
On this basis, an action plan was developed that enabled middle management to dare take his place as manager and adopt an assertive attitude. At the same time, there was the opportunity to receive individual coaching to develop the desired skills. In this case, this led to managers involving their teams more frequently in decision-making and adopting a more collaborative management approach. This also enabled managers to be bolder in their expectations for more initiative and suggestions to employees.
Depending on the size of the organization, the process can also be complemented by a meeting of all members of the organization (employees, managers, and executive management). The aim is to conduct a debriefing. On the one hand as a working session and on the other hand as a social event. This promotes exchange and breaks down any existing hierarchical barriers.
Get in touch with us
Is there a potential gap between teams and managers in your organization? If so, we will be happy to provide you with a proposal that is tailored to your needs and adapted to your working environment. We will work with you to develop a convincing solution. Do not hesitate to contact us.
