How the holistic flow leadership approach strengthens teams, creates clarity and makes sustainable change possible – a practical report from Munich Airport.
‘We have achieved our goals.’ Vera Jakobsen summarises at the final meeting, four months after the start of our collaboration.
‘We have developed a clear positioning and a clearer understanding of our role and responsibilities.’ It is also noticeable that the team’s self-image and behaviour have improved significantly. The team no longer talks about ‘we’ and ‘you’, but only ‘we’.’
The manager, who works at Munich Airport, is also pleased about another aspect: ‘‘The onboarding of the two new team members who joined the team development process was enormously shortened; there was practically no warm-up phase.’
The initial situation: growth and change
Four months earlier: When we clarified the assignment, we learnt the following: Vera’s team — the digitalisation department — had grown considerably over the previous two years. New functions, such as innovation management, data-driven marketing and process management, had been added, resulting in the number of employees more than doubling. The team had also gained two new managers: Vera and her colleague, Julian. However, the cross-sectional department had lost its clear-cut positioning in the growth process. This had resulted in unclear interfaces, a certain loss of orientation, and an increasing need to optimise the distribution of roles and tasks. It was not only a challenge to clarify responsibilities, but also to strengthen team spirit and establish a common understanding of the team’s portfolio of services within the group.
The team in Flow: Structure, Reflection and Experience
The right tool was quickly found in the flow toolbox. The flow leadership approach provides a solid foundation for team and organisational development processes. We often use it as part of our change management consultancy work and teach it to managers in our in-house seminars. What makes our approach special is that it focuses equally on the organisation and the people working in it. This achieves something that few other methods can: the flow leadership approach brings all relevant management perspectives to the table and makes them easy to discuss in a short amount of time without oversimplifying or overwhelming.
This is how we approached the project at Munich Airport:
In an initial consultation with the team management, we identified the necessary perspectives for the change and derived suitable key questions. These formed the basis for a structured discussion with the management team. This discussion, in which the team leader received guidance from the next management level up, was crucial for the success of the consultation.
The discussion with the management clarified the department’s expectations, organisational framework conditions and strategic freedom. ‘Thanks to the structured approach, we quickly gained clear insights into the expectations of our role,‘ Vera said after the meeting.
This was followed by a two-day team workshop. During this, we held various dialogue sessions in which the team adopted the management’s perspective on each relevant dimension of the flow leadership approach and developed it into a shared understanding. For the team, this was primarily about exchanging ideas and ‘updating’ the implicit views of individual team members. The managers also used the workshop to develop explicit results for internal and external communication tools.
The results: “We have achieved significantly more clarity within the team.”
A few weeks later: We returned to the beginning of the article — the final meeting with the managers. Vera draws her conclusion:
‘Many team members didn’t realise how many demands were coming at us from all sides. The workshop helped everyone to understand this complex situation; it was vivid and easy to understand. This also led to greater mutual appreciation and personal responsibility from each individual. We have now achieved a significantly improved state within the team.’
Armed with this new clarity, the team can now act more effectively in other areas. As a result, they provide something very valuable, particularly in a constantly changing environment: direction, stability and operational strength.
flow leadership approach: The Success Factor
The key to this success was the flow leadership approach. Unlike traditional leadership models, our approach takes equal account of the organisation and the individual. It recognises that leadership occurs not only between individuals, but is also influenced by the distribution of resources, structures, and other frequently overlooked factors. flow leadership is therefore particularly beneficial for organisations that have previously focused solely on leaders and leadership styles. The flow leadership approach broadens the view of leadership. This usually results in immediate ‘aha’ moments and eliminates the frustration that prevents managers and teams from achieving flow.
Conclusion: More clarity, more us, more efficiency
The internal team feedback after the workshop was positive. Although it was noted that the time available was limited, the results speak for themselves: the new clarity has not only led to more effective collaboration within the team and with other teams in the company.
The clients rated the transferability of the flow leadership approach as high. ‘The method is not only valuable for our team, but could also help to clarify roles and responsibilities in other areas of the Group.’
With the flow leadership approach as a guideline, it is clear that successful teamwork is created through reflection, dialogue and systematic orientation. I can therefore strongly recommend flow leadership to any organisation that wants to solve its problems and develop further.
Best regards
Graphic: Claudia Hurtig
Picture: Klaus G. Kohn
