Leadership – Food for thoughts

Partizipation, aber bitte „richtig“

Partizipation ist in aller Munde und wird oft inflationär verwendet, ohne dass sie tatsächlich gelebt wird. In der heutigen Zeit ist es entscheidend, die verschiedenen Stufen der Partizipation zu verstehen, um effektive Zusammenarbeit zu fördern.

𝗗𝗶𝗲 𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗲: 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁-𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Diese Stufe umfasst oft 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘯, wie 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘯 oder 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘦 z.B. zur Erhöhung der Kundenfrequenz. Auch 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘪-𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘯, etwa rhetorische Fragen während eines Vortrags, fallen hierunter.

𝗗𝗶𝗲 𝘇𝘄𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗲: 𝗩𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

In dieser Phase gibt es drei wesentliche Ebenen:

➡ 𝗧𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗲: Teilnehmer diskutieren in kleinen Gruppen, etwa in Murmel-Gruppen.

➡ 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: In Vorlesungen wird neues Wissen vermittelt, das die Teilnehmer selbst durch Quizze reflektieren.

➡ 𝗠𝗶𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗿𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗴: Arbeitsaufträge werden an kleine Gruppen vergeben, die ihre Ergebnisse im Plenum vorstellen.

𝗗𝗶𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗲: 𝗘𝗰𝗵𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Diese Stufe beinhaltet:

➡ 𝗠𝗶𝘁𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻: Methoden wie „𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦“ ermöglichen es den Teilnehmern, aktiv Themen mitzugestalten.

➡ 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗴: Teilnehmer wählen, ob sie an bestimmten Themen teilnehmen möchten.

➡ 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗯𝘀𝘁𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗴: „𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘴“ sind ein hervorragendes Beispiel, bei denen die Themen von den Teilnehmern selbst kommen und die Durchführung selbst organisiert wird. Oft wird dies als Schritt über die Partizipation hinaus betrachtet.

„𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘴“ sind besonders interessant für eine wirkliche Partizipation, da sie ein übergreifendes Thema in den Vordergrund stellen und auf die Interessen der Teilnehmer abgestimmt sind. Arbeitstagungen kombinieren häufig verschiedene Stufen der Partizipation und funktionieren als dynamischer Prozess, der sowohl kleine als auch große Gruppenaktivitäten umfasst.

Detailliertere Informationen finden Sie in meinen beiden Büchern:

Was wir von der Sesamstrasse lernen können

„Der, die, das. Wer, wie, was? Wieso, weshalb, warum? Wer nicht fragt, bleibt dumm! Tausend tolle Sachen, die gibt es überall zu sehen. Manchmal muss man fragen, um sie zu verstehen!“ Genau das ist es, was wir brauchen, um die komplexe, volatile, unsichere und mehrdeutige (VUCA) Welt zu begreifen. Unsere eigene Perspektive reicht nicht mehr aus, und unser Wissen ist begrenzt. Nur gemeinsam mit verschiedenen Perspektiven und Lösungen können wir die bestmöglichen Vorgehensweisen entwickeln. Wichtige Voraussetzungen für den Erfolg:

1. Vielfalt der Perspektiven: Es sollten relevante Menschen mit unterschiedlichen Erfahrungen und Ansätzen zusammenkommen. Als Beispiel: Ein Salat ist erst dann interessant und nahrhaft, wenn verschiedene Zutaten kombiniert werden. Ein Salat aus nur Salatblättern kann unseren Körper nicht ausreichend versorgen. Je bunter und vielfältiger die Zutaten, desto nährreicher wird das Ergebnis.

2. Wirkliches Zuhören: Zuhören ohne Vorurteile, Stigmata oder hierarchisches Denken ist entscheidend. Es ist wichtig, neugierig zu sein und nicht nur zuzuhören, um die eigene Meinung zu bestätigen. Oft hören wir nur das, was wir hören wollen, und wichtige Aspekte bleiben verborgen.

3. Fragen stellen: Fragen sind der Schlüssel zu tiefgründigen Gesprächen. Das Titellied der Sesamstraße listet viele offene Fragen auf, die zu ausführlicheren Antworten führen. Hier sind einige Arten von Fragen, die über die oberflächlichen W-Fragen hinausgehen:

➡ Erzählfragen: „Erzählen Sie doch einmal, als…“

➡ Gesprächserhaltende Fragen: „Was ist konkret geschehen?“

➡ Steuerungsfragen: „Sie haben erwähnt, dass… Wie ist Ihre Meinung dazu?“

➡ Deutungsfragen: „Habe ich richtig verstanden…?“

➡ Widerspruchsfragen: „Sie sprachen von… Wie hat Ihr Gesprächspartner darauf reagiert?“

Fragen zu stellen, erfordert Mut. Es ist wichtig, die Angst abzulegen, als unwissend dazustehen. Fragende Menschen wirken interessiert und aufgeschlossen. Nur durch Fragen und intensives Zuhören können wir gemeinsam passende Lösungen entwickeln. Seien Sie mutig und gelassen!

Detailliertere Informationen finden Sie in meinen beiden Büchern:

Systemic Leadership SANTIAGO

The quote for this article comes from Buddha: „If you stretch a string too tight, it will break. If you stretch it too weakly, you won’t be able to play it.“

This can be applied to all situations in life. Especially when raising your own children or in leadership. As a manager, this is particularly relevant in business. This reminds me of the SANTIAGO model by Prof. Dr. phil. Dr. h.c. Rolf Arnold. SANTIAGO is a systemic leadership approach. In this approach, the change comes from within the person themselves and is not attempted to be brought about from the outside. By asking questions, the string of change is slightly tightened so that a „play“ is possible. SANTIAGO is an acronym (but works only in German) and means the following:

S = Vicarious leadership: The leader motivates self-leadership. Leader and follower accept each other and recognise each other’s expertise. Managers understand that they cannot actively control their employees and move away from feeling responsible for everything. They develop expertise in the team. This includes two aspects: 1. facilitation-orientated, which means that goals are developed and clarified in a participative manner. 2. potential-orientated, i.e. training needs, and development potential are regularly assessed and supported.

A = Autopoiesis means that systems, including people, are self-regulating and cannot be controlled from the outside. Managers only intervene when intervention is necessary. The disruptions to the system are appropriate through e.g. coaching questions with the knowledge that the solution should come from the employee. Holistic, networked thinking is crucial here. Knowledge acquisition can only be self-directed, and employees take responsibility for their own learning and their learning competence. Knowledge is not only acquired, but also actively demanded and applied.

N = Sustainability means that everyone in the team is allowed to be authentic so that changes are established in the long term. Team members are stimulated by challenging tasks and projects to be worked on independently and by questions that are questioning to interrupt patterns of the team members. By interrupting patterns, the previous reality is scrutinised and the previous world view is changed. This takes place in three stages: Reflection on the action, the behaviour, analysis of the situation and consideration of a new, changed action. These three stages circulate and thus form learning loops.

T= Transformation stands for questioning interpretation patterns and interpretations and making the team aware that their own point of view is only one possible view. As a manager, you are there to de-escalate through looking for arguments for different points of view. Reflection is encouraged. Existing mental models are critically analysed and adapted. Adaptation can only come about through intrinsic motivation, which the manager encourages by asking coaching questions and setting appropriate tasks in order to leave the comfort zone.

I = Interpretation means that perception arises on the basis of one’s own patterns of interpretation. These patterns of interpretation are the basis of attitudes and therefore of actions. For the team, it is important to recognise the patterns of interpretation in order to then irritate the familiar processes based on experience. So that the team member begins to question these themselves. In order to change the interpretations, a link with the organisational values is necessary. The values are thus guidelines for new interpretations to be learnt, and thus for the attitude that then brings about the action.

A = Arrangement serves to create the space for reflection, irritation and reinterpretation of interpretation patterns and interpretations. Managers need suitable strategic arrangements to enable their employees to learn and lead themselves. This requires clarity of purpose and clear transparency. The key question is: „What do we need to do today to remain successful?“

G= Serenity is a crucial point, as actual change can only come from within. As a manager, you cannot bring about a change in a team member yourself; each team member can only bring about change on their own. It is important to focus on the essentials and wait for the right time to irritate the reality of the individual.

O = Organisational development the change of thinking patterns and interpretations of the individual gradually changes the organisation. The organisation itself is an autopoetic system that can be changed by the members of the organisation. Changes occur through so-called double learning loops. Projects that are not successful or do not succeed change actions in the first learning loop. If the projects are not significantly more successful, a change in attitude and values is required. This is how organisational development comes about. The central question is: „Why do we need this?“

Others influence us more than we assume

The quote in the article comes from Rachel Carson: „In nature, nothing exists on its own.“

Everything depends on each other, especially in the area of learning, which includes mental and spiritual growth, it is not only our own will to learn or not, but the entire environment, the atmosphere and the group dynamics play an essential role. Looking at learning and learning content alone is not enough. It also plays a role whether what has been learnt can be applied directly.

The behaviour and actions we exhibit are also not possible on their own, as these also depend on many other factors. According to Lutz von Rosenstiel, behaviour is subject to four factors that cause us to exhibit a certain behaviour or perform certain actions. (Lutz von Rosenstiel, Erika Regnet, Michel E. Domsch: Führung von Mitarbeitern. Handbuch für erfolgreiches Personalmanagement. Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag. Stuttgart, 7., überarbeitete Auflage. 2014.)

The four factors influence each other, and the expected behaviour/action will only occur if they are in a favourable relationship. These are:

Personal ability: own abilities and skills
Individual will: own motivation, values and attitudes
Social permissions: social rules and norms
Situational enabling: inhibiting and facilitating factors, such as the environment and the context of the situation

Social permissiveness and situational facilitation are dependent on other factors that are beyond one’s control.

Epictetus‘ circle of influence also fits in with this above quote. (Epictetus. (2007). The art of living: The classical manual on virtue, happiness, and effectiveness (S. Lebell, Trans.). HarperOne.)

It divides three circles that lie on top of each other.

The smallest inner circle symbolises the area over which we have complete control. This is the Circle of Control. For example, our own thoughts, our own decisions
The centre ring is the area that I can influence, i.e. the Circle of Influence, e.g. the people we work with, the environment in which we live/work
The largest, outer area is that which lies outside our own control, i.e. the Circle of Concern e.g. the thoughts of others, the weather

We humans are also dependent on others. We can influence some things, but not others, so the sentence is fully transferable to us humans, as we are also part of nature.

The jewel of wisdom lies in you

The weekly quote is from James Allen and reads: ‘Serenity of mind is one of the most beautiful jewels of wisdom.’

When the mind can be serene, you realise that everything that happens only happens in a limited time and will also pass again. It’s like the weather. When it rains, you get wet, when the sun shines, you can get burnt, when there is thunderstorms, you can even get hurt as energy is discharged, when the wind blows, you can be shaken. But what all the weather fronts have in common is that they pass. It’s annoying to get wet, it hurts to get burnt, it’s normal to seek shelter in thunderstorms, and it’s normal to have to fight against a headwind to reach your destination. But when it comes to the weather, we realise that the next weather front will come, and then it can get better or worse. This is serenity in relation to our own situation.

Serenity in relation to another person is, when you accept that everyone reacts differently to an identical situation. People react based on their experiences and interpretations of situations. Situations are initially neutral. They are neither good nor bad, they are simply there. What makes them bad or good is our interpretation and the meaning we give to the situation.

A simple example, in Chinese culture the number four has the meaning of misfortune and death, which is why the number four is not used in public buildings. On the other hand, it also signifies the holistic and the four seasons. The number four shows that one and the same thing can have two meanings. (▷ Was bedeutet die Zahl 4 für die Chinesen? | (entdeckechina.com ))

For me, serenity of mind means recognising both sides of a situation and accepting serene that other people may only perceive one side or even recognise something undiscovered for oneself. Being serene also means accepting that someone knows or can do more, or that someone knows and can do less and yet enjoys more prestige than you.

If you look at the world in this relaxed way, you stop comparing yourself and imitating others and start going your own way.

You understand that the fulfilment of life or your destiny in life does not lie in your profession, but in yourself. The greatest jewel in life lies within yourself.

Standing still and reflecting, brings us forward

The quote of the week comes from Friedrich Nietzsche and reads: ‘You have run too fast for your happiness. Now that you are getting tired and walking slowly, it is catching up with you.’

For me, it’s a quote that gives me hope. Ultimately, life is not straightforward, there are downs and ups, as well as stagnation and life in the fast lane.

What’s interesting is that when we ride a rollercoaster, it’s the downhill rides that are exciting and cause the tingling in our stomachs. The uphill rides are more the full excitement and anticipation of the downhill ride. Only when we stand still, we perceive the environment and the marvellous things in the world. If we are travelling at high speed, we can hardly see anything that is happening around us, we even get tunnel vision. Perhaps this is precisely why we fear the downhills in life, as we then develop tunnel vision and focus on our fate. Instead of realising that the downturns, i.e. the times when we were too fast for our happiness, make us rethink our lives and reorganise and realign ourselves and our lives. In this way, we can grow and develop a new self.

Nietzsche also says that although happiness has left us, we often continue to run in the direction we believe to be the lucky one. When we get tired and slow down, we realise that we have lost our way and are running after something that we cannot achieve.

Standing still is important, perhaps even more important than movement. Because growth is only possible at a standstill. Growth and change can only come about through reflection and stillness. Living beings grow little by little, and you only notice the difference from a distance. If you have the feeling that you have run out of luck, this could be a decisive phase in which growth and reorientation can occur. If this happens, happiness will come back to you because you have adapted to the new situation.

Mistakes have the potential for greater

The quote of the week comes from James Joyce: ‘Mistakes are the gateway to new discoveries.’

This quote is wonderful. Recognising mistakes as learning opportunities is something we all know. It is certainly one of the most frequently used quotes in education. The quote is a simplified form of John Wooden’s

‘Mistakes are only mistakes if you learn nothing from them.’

There is much more to James Joyce’s quote. He says in his quote, in my opinion, that there are new discoveries in mistakes. Some inventions have come about because of mistakes, including the rubber in car tyres, dynamite, Teflon, self-adhesive notes, vaccinations, pacemakers, Viagra, etc. (15 Erfindungen, die nur dank Fehlern gemacht wurden | Beobachter)

Mistakes therefore have great potential to result in something extraordinary.

It is therefore necessary to see mistakes as an opportunity and not as something negative. Everything has its positive and negative side, it depends on your perspective and your own attitude. So it is with mistakes.

Mistakes can hide treasures, you just need an alert and open eye.

When have you made a mistake that was more of an opportunity?

Indicator of appreciative teams

The quote of the week comes from Theodor W. Adorno and says: ‘You are only loved where you are allowed to show yourself weak without provoking strength.’

I find this quote very fascinating, and it got me thinking. Love should be unconditional, free and nurturing. Love is not only the love in a relationship, to the ‘love partner’, but also to children, to other people, if you look at it more broadly, to all those who support us and are entrusted to us. Being loved can perhaps be equated, at least for this quote, with being recognised, respected and valued, with one’s whole personality.

If you relate this quote to the professional context, it could represent the relationship between superiors and employees. This is a fantastic indicator, whether you have a real team or only a group with individuals and ego driven behaviour.

As a manager, the tendency to lead people is to be a servant leader. This means that as a manager, employees are empowered to take responsibility for the tasks assigned to them in a self-organised and independent manner. To this leadership style belong a mistake culture and learning culture from things which are not perfect. It’s the way to lead as human with emotions strength and learning fields.

Being courageous as a manager means showing ´weaknesses´ the own learning fields, for example showing emotions such as concern, admitting `weaknesses` in some task the employee has to or having a bad memory for specific things or not knowing something and making mistakes. In such moments, the manager shows that he / she is a human being.

If the manager is accepted, the team will see such behaviour as a strength and show the manager understanding. In this case you have a real team working with respect, loyalty, acceptance and role understanding. They interact in an eco driven way and not ego driven.

In a team that does not tolerate the manager or a team member informally claims the position of power, the manager’s ´weakness´ or emotional behaviour is exploited. Mistakes are blown out of proportion, emotions are over-interpreted, or mistakes or other issues are made fun of – not directly, of course, but rather indirectly.

That would be a provocation of strength. To turn human sides and thus ‘weakness’ against the person, who has shown it.

If this provocation happens, it’s time to work on acceptance within the team, address the issue openly and demand the respect that everyone deserves. In such team, it will be necessary to work on trust and role responsibility.

What is your belief?

The quote of the week comes from the Bhagavad Gita: „All actions, all works, all karma belong to nature, not to the divine. It is man who determines his earthly fate. People seal their fate themselves.“

These quote reminds me on „locus of control“ according to J.B. Rotter. A distinction is made between two control beliefs.

One is the internal locus of control, which is based on a high level of self-efficacy. The above quote refers to this locus of control belief.

The other is the external locus of control, which is based on low self-efficacy. People with an internal locus of control assume that they can influence events and are responsible for how something develops. People with external locus of control assume that they are controlled by higher powers, fate or given circumstances.

Control beliefs are formed through experiences and social circumstances, which then become entrenched and lead to fixed assumptions and attitudes. This changes behaviour and the experience of situations, as every situation is evaluated and interpreted by one’s own unconscious control beliefs.

Typical characteristics are as follows

Internal locus of control:

Takes responsibility for own actions
Is less influenced by other opinions
Work hard to achieve their goals or visions
Feels able to face challenges with confidence
Feels independent and happier

External locus of control:

Holds outsiders / powers responsible for own circumstances / experiences
Success is attributed to luck or an external change
Do not believe they can change their own situation through effort
Feels hopeless or powerless when faced with difficult situations
Tends to learnt helplessness

To find out for yourself which control belief you tend to belong to, this test can give you a little clue: Locus of Control (studylib.net )

Positive feelings: The result of questions

Feelings are the result of emotions. Positive feelings are a result of our thinking. According to Barbara Fredrickson, everyone can enable positive feelings through self-exploration:

Happiness: what observation would make me happy under different circumstances?
Gratitude: What can I be grateful for in this situation? What have I learned and what will I be grateful for in the future?
Cheerfulness: How can I change the context so that it cheers me up? What elements would I enjoy under different circumstances?
Interest: What was unexpected, what made me curious and what would I like to understand better?
Hope: What can I change to make a difference next time? What can I do to make it more fun?
Pride: What was I proud of in this situation? Which skills did I use best? What thought patterns got me this far?
Pleasure: What could I have laughed at because it came as such a surprise?
Inspiration: What behaviour, what message from my conversation partner did I find inspiring?
Awe: What was so fascinating, wonderful, and heart-warming and made a deep impression on me? What is the big picture that is different from normality?
Love: Was there a moment when all the above feelings came together?

This is challenging in many situations, but it helps us to build resilience. Practicing this promotes positive feelings, which lead to positive thinking, which leads to behaviour change.

In the long term, such thinking will transform challenging and static thinking patterns and beliefs into a growth mindset and positive thinking, and appropriate, empowering behaviour.

Give it a try!

For more information, read my book from side 114 forward:

Erfolgreich Gespräche im Berufsalltag führen:
Der Einfluss von Haltung, Deutungsmustern und Unterbewusstsein auf Gesprächssituationen
| SpringerLink