I. A hierarchical leadership style will be inadequate in the future

Since the beginning of industrialisation, managers have had the primary task of increasing production and demanding top performance from their employees. Achievement of this has required a purely performance-oriented management style; an employee-oriented management style has rarely been adopted. For decades, most companies have practised a working method that leads to a strong performance culture. As such, the current predominant management style is still based on a strict hierarchical model, with a top-down leadership approach.

However, in recent years, the world of work has changed considerably. Restructuring within companies and cost-saving models are intended to render companies fit for the future. Virtual cooperation with international teams, at different locations and from different cultures, has become commonplace. Digital change is important and welcome; however, it also presents managers and employees with significant, often unpredictable, challenges. In addition, after many years of relatively reliable predictability, national and international political situations have become progressively unstable and often difficult to assess. Consequently, managers and employees are often overworked and pushed to their limits. Everyday corporate life and working atmosphere are increasingly characterised by uncertainty and stress. The traditional tasks of managers, to assign and distribute work, are no longer sufficient for maintaining a company’s competitive edge. The long-standing hierarchical management style does not have enough scope to cater for modern companies.

But what is the alternative?

In order to find an answer to this question, today’s managers must ask themselves the following three questions: Are they in a position to lead and support their employees even in unstable times? How can they build trust across multiple continents via email and video calls? And how can a hierarchical leadership generation work with millennials who categorically reject a hierarchical method of leading? Digital and political changes clearly demonstrate that an employee-oriented leadership style, which has been largely neglected thus far, is precisely the style that can decisively influence the future viability of a company.

As we are no longer restricted by the previous limitations of machines, systems and capacity utilisation, we must address our own personal limits and redefine new possibilities for the world of work. The gap that the hierarchical leadership style has created over decades, between leaders and employees, can only be closed through transparency and closer relationships.

My seminar and book ‘Unlearning Hierarchy – Learning Transparency’ with the Six Leadership Competencies will help to close this gap. Leaders, in search of orientation and support during this new journey, will therein find approaches for a contemporary future-oriented way of thinking, as well as suggestions on how this can be implemented for a more transparent leadership style.

Rob G. M. Bots is a Senior Management Trainer and Executive Coach. He was born in Holland and currently lives in Germany and teaches in Europe and the Middle East.

[email protected] | www.onlinecoaching-manager.de | www.trustconsulting.eu