Leadership in the Digital Age

© PTS

© PTS

© PTS

Waiting idly for the end of COVID-19 or developing strategies for remote leadership during and after the crisis?

The Corona crisis makes it clear: Leaders must face new demands and adapt quickly and purposefully to changing conditions. New skills and competencies in leadership are required. These are primarily soft skills, which are especially crucial under the current circumstances. Cooperation and communication structures need to be reconsidered, and teams as well as supervisors must take on new tasks. These tasks include defining goals, assigning competencies, delegating work, and monitoring completion in the digital age. Friction points and problems in collaboration and information exchange in the digital world must be identified and appropriate solutions implemented.

Supporting change processes

However, the necessary change processes can only be successful if they are understood and supported by supervisors and employees. Engaged and motivated employees are the prerequisite for the further development of the company and its economic success, even in the digital world. Understanding, acceptance, and the willingness to actively shape the company's development do not arise automatically in the current situation. Motivated employee behavior must be encouraged and specifically developed against the backdrop of the existing corporate culture, especially in the digital world. Leadership and leadership behavior play a particularly important role in this context.

Leading remotely

Leadership in the digital age is no longer solely about actively visiting employees at their workplace, providing praise and criticism in a shared presence and experience situation, but increasingly "from a distance" via digital media. Collaboration within teams and managing these teams in the digital world by supervisors is not witchcraft. It requires knowledge of one's own leadership strengths and weaknesses and awareness of one's leadership style. Additionally, knowledge about the importance and effects of communication in virtual teams and mastery of the necessary tools are needed.

Which tools should be used?

Intentionally developing these tools and realizing new ideas means more than just copying soulless techniques. It is about recognizing one's own communication and leadership behavior, deliberately expanding the behavioral repertoire, and transferring it into the digital communication world. Based on this, helpful tools such as the "virtual morning walk," the "general mood survey," or the "virtual coffee corner" can be employed.

Digital transformation and leadership as a challenge

Greater attention must be paid to the importance of digital transformation for employee leadership in the future. The energy invested in optimizing leadership in the digital world will pay off for companies. The optimization process can be specifically promoted through seminars and coaching to prepare for future challenges. Experienced psychologists and trainers bring both psychological expertise and relevant professional experience to this effort.