Leadership & Soft Skills

The influences of the VUKA environment can only be mastered and controlled to a limited extent and pose a particular challenge to managers in an entrepreneurial context to make decisions and processes dynamic. A flexible way of thinking and acting is required and a sovereign behaviour is more important than ever before. In this training you will learn how employees need to be accompanied and supported in an uncertain and constantly changing work environment. You will get to know the basic conditions for leadership in the VUKA world and know how to lead with visions. You will be able to develop networks, know how to communicate effectively and purposefully and ensure that information is provided. You will develop coaching qualities and know motivation, reflection and development strategies for your team. You can also build up failure cultures and know strategies to learn from them.

• Elements of the VUKA world: dealing with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity as well as disruption as a success factor
• Networking within the company and community building
• Basics of a failure culture
• strengths and weaknesses analysis
• Building trust in the team
• Self-organisation, empowerment and competence development
• Leadership 4.0
• Defining visions, missions and goals
• Digital tools and methods for collaboration
• Feedback methods, reflection and recognition

High Performance Teams are on everyone's lips in today's fast-moving society in a business context. Team success comes first, flexibility and problem-oriented behavior are expected. But what are the characteristics of such a team and what development measures are needed to form a high-performance team? In this training you will learn how roles in these teams can be designed flexibly and how work processes can be optimized efficiently and effectively.  You will learn which conditions must be met to set up a high-performance team and in which situations these are particularly helpful. In addition, you will know which mindset your team needs in order to be able to fully exploit its potential. You will be familiar with various team development methods, whereby you reflect on strengths and weaknesses in the team, analyse challenges and promote group dynamics.

• Definition of general framework of a high-performance team
• Understanding the roles of the individual members and team composition
• Finding a common vision of the team
• Importance of team success and flexible design of work processes
• Personal attitude, mindset and motivation
• Strengths-weaknesses analysis for team members
• Team Communication
• Accept responsibility

The first phase as a new executive is an exciting and eventful time, which brings with it just as many challenges. The motto is - the first impression counts.  In this training you will learn how to make a professional impression on your new team, superiors and colleagues and how to deal with the expectations of others. The demands placed on a new manager as well as the understanding of the role will be conveyed to you by means of practical examples. In addition, you will learn methods to build trust quickly and effectively and you will know how to set up an information network within a short time. With the help of best-practice examples, you will learn which mistakes need to be avoided and how you can build on your personal strengths.

• Dealing with the new role as a manager and personal objectives
• Focused use of management tools, such as communication, goal setting, involvement and delegation
• Methods for effectively building trust and strategies for personal networking
• Questioning techniques for the initial phase to help build up information
• Active self-reflection and own strength-weakness analysis
• Prioritization and definition of fields of action and planning of changes
• Conducting appraisal interviews and giving feedback

To be a good manager means to invest a lot of time in yourself, to reflect and to strive for continuous development. This requires initiative and commitment. In individual 1:1 coaching you will learn how to develop your skills and shape your personality. In a familiar environment you will learn how to improve your interaction with employees and colleagues and how to gain sovereignty in challenging situations. You will also gain insights into topics such as stress management, career development and success factors in leadership. You will know techniques to build motivation and know how to act as a role model. During the coaching you will create a personal development plan and regularly measure and discuss your success with your coach.

• Personality and competence assessments ( actual/target) and strengths/weaknesses profile
• Development plan with personal goals and concrete measures as well as success and progress control
• Defining personal values and visions
• Requirements for a manager
• Receive and implement feedback
• Development of the leadership approach
• Getting to know management instruments
• Conflict and problem management
• Improve team performance and prioritize tasks
• Addressing change effectively

In this training participants learn how to solve problems in a creative way. You will get suggestions for the creation of a creativity-enhancing environment and  can apply concrete creativity techniques (e.g. brainstorming, six-hat method, headstand method, mind-mapping). You will learn how to anticipate possible obstacles and respond to unpredictable difficulties in the problem-solving process

• Overview of a problem-solving process (according to G. Pólya)
  1. Orientation phase: Understand the problem
  2. Creative editing phase: Make a plan
  3. Solution phase: Execute the plan
  4. Evaluation phase: Review
  5. Enlargement and networking phase: Outlook
• Background knowledge about dealing with resistances / obstacles in problem-solving processes:
  1. Theory of action control (according to Kuhl)
  2. Dealing with ambiguities through ambiguity tolerance
  3. Dealing with new, possibly conflicting goals

In your everyday work you are constantly faced with the challenge of making complex decisions under time pressure. In this training you will discuss the decision-making process and its phases. You will get to know instruments that help you to make responsible decisions. Together you will discuss wrong decisions and learn how to identify sources for misguided decisions and learn from mistakes. You will learn how an openly lived failure culture in the company influences decision making and how this affects the handling of wrong decisions.

• Decision making: Good and bad decision making with focus on the process (not only on the result)
• Decision making process
• Analysing needs
• "Framing" (analyse situation, define problem)
• Define goals and success indicators
• Develop options for solutions
• Analyse and evaluate information
• Making a decision and communicating it
• Implementation decision (and adaptation)
• Learning from the decision
• Sources for misguided decisionsfde and failure culture