But who exactly belongs to these younger generations? If you’re a leader over fifty, then just about anyone under thirty is a youngster. But painting all younger gene-rations with the same brush can create enormous problems. Each generation brings a unique composition of values, expectations, personal visions and communication styles to their workplace.

Knowledge management is an important aspect of this topic. Increasing insight into the economic significance of knowledge has intensified the conscious inclusion of employees’ knowledge and skills in strategic and operative leadership and personnel activities. The ability to learn faster than its rivals could eventually become a company’s only remaining long-term competitive advantage.

After meeting with their American business partners or colleagues, our German clients are usually enthusiastic, praising the meeting’s general atmosphere and fully satisfied with the excellent results. Shortly thereafter, their euphoria takes a dive when a decision is communicated from the States that defi es what they agreed to in the meeting.

In general, a crisis is perceived as something negative. Some people, and companies, too, handle crises well, opening themselves to the possibility of transformation a crisis offers and emerging stronger than ever. Others are ruined, losing their very existence. An old aphorism teaches: Ignore the chances a crisis offers – it becomes a threat. Ignore the fears a crisis triggers – it becomes an opportunity. In resilience research, the ability to see the opportunity a crisis aff ords is called a positive appraisal.

Many companies fail to separate Distribution and Sales, unaware that each calls for different capabilities, skill sets and character. . It’s comparable to claiming two colleagues – one from Product Development, the other in Maintenance – could easily trade positions since both have technical expertise. The two positions operate with completely different attributes and personalities.

Most of us covered the subject Communication in school, so when we come with Friedemann Schulz von Thun’s 4 Ear Model at training sessions or seminars, you can be sure some will roll their eyes and sigh, believing they already know more than enough about communication.

Trends are not exclusive to the fashion world, there’s plenty of them in the trainer and consulting business. […] Today, it’s agile leadership that’s hot. Everything either is, is becoming or always was agile. Everyone’s talking about it – with us, too – and some believe agile is the cure-all for every possible problem, without really knowing what it is. But if agility is more than a fad that’s not going to go away, than we should find out exactly what’s behind the concept.

Should leaders push the panic button the moment they hear of a conflict in their team or workforce? Of course not. There’s nothing unusual about conflicts amongst human beings. Whether in your private or professional life, all human interaction is shaped by consent and dissent. When two people come together a conflict can (and will) arise.

Just as it does today, in our professional dealings: We are more willing to say yes to or collaborate with someone who has done us a favor in the past. The law of reciprocity is deeply anchored in most human relationships and children apply it intuitively. We see it this way: Life is give and take – in precisely that order. Our clients are not our payroll, they are people we can serve. We’ll explore this concept more in Sales and Marketing, but the fact remains that small and large favors rendered in the past often facilitate business negotiations. […]

To enhance your employees’ willingness to achieve, or to maintain their high-performance level, they should have as comprehensive an idea as possible of what drives you, their leader. At the beginning of this book we described the significance of a leader’s vision and how she should share this spirit with her team, inspiring them to discover their own motivating force.

It is a leader’s duty to foster his employees’ continued development, which can just as well take place within a given position. Most people find it gratifying and highly motivating when they see their own productivity improve, fulfilling their assigned tasks even better than before. An annual talk is not nearly enough interaction to gain this end. Conversations on development must be regular items on the agenda, all year round.

Many supervisors may be in the right position, but does that make them the right function? The terms leader and manager are often used interchangeably, although there is a big difference.

Happiness is also attitude-business. It is a matter of accepting the status quo. The British say, “Love it, change it or leave it.” If a situation cannot be changed or evaded, then it should be accepted. Mourning the past will get her nowhere. Many people focus their attention on the future. This is basically a good thing, but also entails putting off happiness, treating it as a reward – reaped sometime in the future – for deeds well done.

Seine unbedingte Hingabe für die von ihm ausgeführte Tätigkeit gibt der Leader an sein Umfeld weiter. Dadurch gelingt es ihm auch, ein Bild der Zukunft zu zeichnen – eine unverzichtbare Eigenschaft, wenn es um Employee Engagement geht. Natürlich haben auch Manager Visionen, doch sie unterscheiden sich von denen des Leaders in einem entscheidenden Punkt: Die Visionen des Managers sind rationaler Art und deshalb vielleicht auch eher als Ziele zu bezeichnen, während der Leader ein klares Bild vor Augen hat.

This study probes into employee expectations the younger Generations Y and Z have on their employer and their supervisors. Furthermore, the study compiles the extent to which employees perceive their expectations as fulfilled at their workplace as well as the extent to which their leaders are aware of and willing to fulfill them. Six primary factors are investigated, and improvement suggestions derived by juxtaposing expectations, employees’ perceived reality and leaders’ perspectives.

Commonly carrying a negative connotation, the adage betwixt and between depicts an inability or hesitation to make a decision, or to be caught between two opposing forces. Neither condition is welcome since they force us out of our comfort zone. You could say Sandra Hunke’s comfort zone is precisely betwixt and between. And she doesn’t just sit there. She is extraordinarily active and extraordinarily successful. In her own words, “Success is not a matter of luck!” At our 5th Think Tank on February 6th, Sandra Hunke’s presentation was enthusiastically received by our guests. Reason enough for us to print her talk here in our blog. Enjoy!

Nowadays, it’s no secret that good health among your employees plays an essential role in the business theater. And you, as their leader, are the star of the show when it comes to your employees’ good health and well-being. This goes beyond providing healthy foods and rest periods, it also presupposes that you supply plenty of drinking water and ensure that break times are upheld. These things you do as a matter of course. There are, however, other aspects that go far to establishing and safeguarding your employees’ health.

What is that – Happiness? How can I get my piece of the pie? Can I increase or influence my personal happiness? Why is it that some people are never really happy? For many of us, happiness is our number one priority. It encompasses a fulfilling job, perhaps a family, a meaningful partnership and the feeling that we are needed. Often, the things we do, the decisions we make are motivated by our wish to be happy.

Are your company’s management and leadership positions held by those best equipped to do the job? Productively allocating leadership positions is certainly not one of the easiest tasks you face, although the most suitable employee in the right position can be a boon to your profits and productivity. But how to go about finding the best person?

We are often more willing to accept changes in our private lives than we are when change comes to our professional environment. Businesses looking to alter, improve or evolve their practices are more often confronted with employee resistance than with employee enthusiasm. Yet, if you want your business to keep up in the race, you must be perpetually prepared to initiate and successfully implement change.

Leaders often succumb to the erroneous belief that a team’s success lies solely with its members’ skills and competence. Far too often they brush aside personality traits, giving little or no credence to the significance of personal preferences and values. Yet, an employee’s attitude decides how smoothly (and successfully) he or she merges into the team – Hire attitude and train skills!

Coaching is a common term in the working world and can be heard on every corner. But what precisely is coaching? Conceptually, coaching is a structured, one-on-one dialogue intended to awaken the coachee’s inner reflection during a transitional process, opening the gateways to options and alternatives. So what does that mean concretely?

There you are at a presentation, hiding behind your slides, camouflaged with your content or literally tucked away in a corner of the room. You are passing up the chance to leave your audience with a strong impression, which in turn drains your message of its power. Many presentations hold a golden opportunity to pitch yourself, to strengthen your current position in the company or even to convey your readiness for the next rung up the ladder.

The word leadership is a commonly accepted and intellectually understood term. It does not need any further definition. Or does it? Do we use the word too casually, without understanding is true meaning?

Your coach is a horse and you, the leader, are on your way to self-awareness. Horse-assisted coaching is a hands-on learning experience, directly reflecting your leadership competence and leadership style.

We are convinced that many enterprises are not fully tapping into their, theoretically accessible, productivity potential because their leadership positions are held by the wrong people. For example, a staffer excelling in process optimization and systems maintenance is not automatically a good leader. Working with people calls for altogether different strengths and values. An economically successful business, striving to leave their competitors in the dust, needs managers and leaders – each in the proper proposition. The manager builds the house, the leader creates a professional homeland. An outstanding company drawing fully on its potential needs both the mason who can put up perfectly aligned walls as well as the interior architect designing a comfortable living space.

Liscia enthused with simple tips and sustainable strategies. “Wolff trifft Jaeger, a Hamburg agency for creative communication consulting, drew attention to its third annual information evening ‘Spring in Your Head’. Under the title ‘Home Away from Home, My Work Place’, decision makers from all branches of industry met to hear exciting guest speeches and trends from Live-Communications and Marketing. Topics on this evening were among others leadership cultures, health at work as well as WtJ-product Beat Kantine.

The magazine “wirtschaft+weiterbildung” allowed 4 pages to present A.P.F.E.L.-Strategie® as a part of their special on burn-out. “wirtschaft+weiterbldung” is one of the leading magazines on leadership, personnel development and E-Learning. Its main readers are trainers and coaches but above all managers and human resource departments. The edition April 2012 focused on health and the prevention of burn-out.