Leading Together

A Personal Journey

I recently came across an inspiring post on LinkedIn Pulse: ‚Bosses vs. Leaders: Companies need neither’ by Niels Pflaeging. Niels has a closer look at the "be a leader - propaganda“ and notes that being a leader is not about leadership at all: It is still about dependency, steering, and command-and-control. His partly provocative observations made me think about how I myself interpret and live leadership.

One of the current challenges, in my view, is the confusion between hierarchically management roles and organically developing leadership. Managers often grow into their responsibilities because they are passionate and they show commitment to the company. The management role is often the only option for career progression and very often the organization misses the chance to prepare the newbies, to train and coach them accordingly. For example, the skills that made someone a great designer are almost wholly unrelated to the skills that make them a great manager. And a hierarchically people management position does not necessarily have anything to do with leadership because leadership is something each employee contributes to.

I myself was given a lot of responsibility early in my career. Like so many others, I figured it out as I went along, stumbling towards a set of principles that work pretty well for me. Only today I understand that experience, personality and passion are not enough. It is above all a mindset change.

Leading Together

A Personal Journey

I recently came across an inspiring post on LinkedIn Pulse: ‚Bosses vs. Leaders: Companies need neither’ by Niels Pflaeging. Niels has a closer look at the "be a leader - propaganda“ and notes that being a leader is not about leadership at all: It is still about dependency, steering, and command-and-control. His partly provocative observations made me think about how I myself interpret and live leadership.

One of the current challenges, in my view, is the confusion between hierarchically management roles and organically developing leadership. Managers often grow into their responsibilities because they are passionate and they show commitment to the company. The management role is often the only option for career progression and very often the organization misses the chance to prepare the newbies, to train and coach them accordingly. For example, the skills that made someone a great designer are almost wholly unrelated to the skills that make them a great manager. And a hierarchically people management position does not necessarily have anything to do with leadership because leadership is something each employee contributes to.

I myself was given a lot of responsibility early in my career. Like so many others, I figured it out as I went along, stumbling towards a set of principles that work pretty well for me. Only today I understand that experience, personality and passion are not enough. It is above all a mindset change.

Leading Together

A Personal Journey

I recently came across an inspiring post on LinkedIn Pulse: ‚Bosses vs. Leaders: Companies need neither’ by Niels Pflaeging. Niels has a closer look at the "be a leader - propaganda“ and notes that being a leader is not about leadership at all: It is still about dependency, steering, and command-and-control. His partly provocative observations made me think about how I myself interpret and live leadership.

One of the current challenges, in my view, is the confusion between hierarchically management roles and organically developing leadership. Managers often grow into their responsibilities because they are passionate and they show commitment to the company. The management role is often the only option for career progression and very often the organization misses the chance to prepare the newbies, to train and coach them accordingly. For example, the skills that made someone a great designer are almost wholly unrelated to the skills that make them a great manager. And a hierarchically people management position does not necessarily have anything to do with leadership because leadership is something each employee contributes to.

I myself was given a lot of responsibility early in my career. Like so many others, I figured it out as I went along, stumbling towards a set of principles that work pretty well for me. Only today I understand that experience, personality and passion are not enough. It is above all a mindset change.

Leading Together
A Personal Journey

I recently came across an inspiring post on LinkedIn Pulse: ‚Bosses vs. Leaders: Companies need neither’ by Niels Pflaeging. Niels has a closer look at the "be a leader - propaganda“ and notes that being a leader is not about leadership at all: It is still about dependency, steering, and command-and-control. His partly provocative observations made me think about how I myself interpret and live leadership.

One of the current challenges, in my view, is the confusion between hierarchically management roles and organically developing leadership. Managers often grow into their responsibilities because they are passionate and they show commitment to the company. The management role is often the only option for career progression and very often the organization misses the chance to prepare the newbies, to train and coach them accordingly. For example, the skills that made someone a great designer are almost wholly unrelated to the skills that make them a great manager. And a hierarchically people management position does not necessarily have anything to do with leadership because leadership is something each employee contributes to.

I myself was given a lot of responsibility early in my career. Like so many others, I figured it out as I went along, stumbling towards a set of principles that work pretty well for me. Only today I understand that experience, personality and passion are not enough. It is above all a mindset change.