How does a manager with years of experience deal with the issue of role diversity? Listen to our latest podcast episode (German language).
Business Talks on leadership roles in organisations
The (German) Businesstalks am Ku’damm are a platform for exclusive interviews and panel discussions with leading business experts. My colleague Silke Engel discussed three topics with the moderator that are highly relevant to flow consulting’s consulting practice:
– Attitude and resistance to change
– Leading Change – Challenges in Change Management and
– Leadership roles in organisations
We don’t want to “stew in our own juices”, but we appreciate the opportunity to discuss such topics with managers and to check their practicality again and again. Dr. Thomas Litz has kindly agreed to be our sparring partner on the topic of leadership roles for this podcast episode. He has been a middle manager in an international company for decades and is also a certified coach and systemic process consultant. But before we take a practical look with him, we’ll briefly explain the model we’re using – because there are countless leadership roles.
Four leadership roles – one model
The variety of roles in theory and practice is just as difficult to keep track of as the number of models in circulation. It is in the nature of things that models simplify, which is why we have limited ourselves to four leadership roles in this matrix:
4 roles of managers (based on Armin Trost)
Silke describes specific examples of how managers might act in their respective roles both here in the podcast episode and in Businesstalk. But now to our conversation with Thomas Litz.
How can managers fulfill their leadership role?
Thomas Litz started out as a scientist and for many years, numbers, data and facts were much more important to him than soft factors. He didn’t think much of this for a long time. However, thanks to his further development in coaching and his coaching training, he says that people are now clearly at the forefront of his leadership role. In his experience, no matter how good the numbers are, they are useless if teams have conflicts or work at the interfaces of their own area of responsibility does not progress because there are misunderstandings. For him, living up to his leadership role means living the values of honesty and authentic interaction and standing up for them. The advantage of the model described above is that managers can express their values in each of these four roles without having to bend themselves. Thomas Litz’s clear favorite – and this is hardly surprising given his background – is the role of coach.
Possible limits of the coach role
But what does “manager as coach” mean in practical terms? Thomas answers: “Employees must be empowered to take responsibility for what they do and decide. The prerequisite for this is continuous professional and personal development as well as appropriate backing for the decisions made. Even and especially if these may differ from the manager’s original ideas. This is where a negotiation process begins, which should be characterized by the ability to reflect and openness. We will go into this in more detail in the next interview. When asked about the limits of his “favorite role of coach”, Thomas describes his experiences with employees who have recently joined his department. Being able to handle a “long leash” first has to be learned and mutual trust has to grow. His conclusion in a nutshell: The better and more independently his team members act and make decisions, the less stress he has as a manager. From his mouth, this sounds impressively logical and based on many years of experience. Incidentally, even if the role of coach is the clear favorite in our conversation, there are certainly situations in which clear decisions need to be made and priorities set. Which brings us to the next challenge.
How role clarity arises
Roles are not just there, or to put it another way: they do not create themselves. Rather, they are the result of intensive discussions and negotiations with the respective counterpart. What are the expectations of those involved in which situation?
Depending on the situation, managers would do well to realize what needs are at stake. The role they then consciously choose depends on this. Role clarity therefore does not mean stubbornly sticking to one role, but rather choosing the role that seems appropriate in the respective situation from the many options available. So there is no one best role, but there is one that suits both sides best.
Shaping communication processes together
None of this works without communication. The simple question “What do you expect from me now?” is all too often not asked. Misunderstandings are inevitable and managers often have the reputation of not living up to their leadership role. At this point in our conversation, it sounds so simple once again: actively ask questions, listen carefully, give feedback, hold regular appraisal interviews to discuss mutual expectations – then one of the most important foundations for a trusting working relationship has been laid. For Thomas Litz, there are no compromises here: “The employees’ concerns come first. Specialist topics can wait – my employees can’t!”
A final tip
The greater the range of roles you can draw on, the greater your flexibility as a manager. It is worth experimenting with the different roles (always within an appropriate framework, of course) and getting to the bottom of internal resistance in particular. In executive coaching or leadership training, we often find that it seems almost unthinkable not to make a decision straight away. “That’s what I’m a manager for” is the typical comment here. Perhaps this conversation with Thomas Litz has made it clear how beneficial it is to consciously use other roles.
If you have any comments or would like to share your experiences with us, please get in touch.
We look forward to hearing from you!
