Alpha Collaboration: Leadership and Collaboration in Transition
A new study by IFIDZ shows that, partly as a result of the changes in collaboration in companies, the demands on leadership are also changing permanently. The future will belong to alpha collaboration.
In addition to the topic of virtual leadership or leadership at a distance, the topic of lateral leadership, i.e. leadership without authority to issue directives, is becoming increasingly important in companies. Eighty percent of managers are convinced of this. This is the conclusion of the study "Alpha-Collaboration - Leadership in Transition; Perspectives for Collaboration in the Future," which was conducted by the Institute for Leadership Culture in the Digital Age (IFIDZ), Frankfurt. For this study, 482 executives in the DACH region were surveyed online and 51 in in-depth interviews.
As a cause for this, the executives cite the fact that the core services of the companies are increasingly being provided in cross-divisional and often even cross-company team and project work. This increases not only the importance of online communication, but also its dependence on employees from other areas and on external suppliers and service providers to achieve goals.
Managers are in demand as relationship managers
Managers have no authority to issue directives to these partners. They are therefore increasingly faced with the challenge of inspiring and "leading" people whose superiors they are not. In their view, the leadership roles of "influencer/relationship manager" (76 percent) and "leader/spiritualizer" (80 percent) are gaining in importance accordingly.
Almost all managers also expect the demands on leadership to continue to rise - particularly in the areas of "team leadership" (80 percent) and "employee leadership" (68 percent). A correspondingly large number see a great need for development in the area of "self-leadership/management" (37 percent), in addition to "digital competence" (53 percent). They also see a great need for development in all areas that are closely linked to their ability to build sustainable relationships - for example, relationship management (44 percent) and communication/motivation (41 percent).
Leading at a distance is often viewed critically
As a central point as to why they will need different competencies in the future, the managers repeatedly refer to virtual leadership and increased work in the home office. It is striking that this is the case: Most managers consider remote leadership to be a "necessary evil" due to the general conditions. Only 30 percent believe that this form of leadership has more advantages than disadvantages.
Three quarters of managers (78 percent), on the other hand, see a risk of a decline in the quality of the relationship between employees and themselves when managing at a distance. Other risks identified by many include a decline in identification with the company (52 percent), excessive demands on employees (42 percent) and a drop in their motivation (29 percent). With regard to the topic of leading at a distance, many managers see a need for development in the areas of communication (43 percent), digital competence (38 percent), team leadership/development (33 percent) and motivation (32 percent).
The signaled need for development largely corresponds with the results of the study "Alpha Intelligence: What tomorrow's managers need", which IFIDZ conducted back in 2014. It came to the conclusion that managers in the modern working world must develop into relationship managers or "alpha-intelligent personalities" who are characterized by a high level of "personality intelligence," "relationship intelligence" and "digital intelligence.
The future belongs to "Alpha Collaboration
Many managers also see it this way, partly because a change in awareness has obviously taken place among them. For example, it was noticeable in the personal interviews: When managers talk about team leadership today, they usually refer not only to the employees who report to them in disciplinary terms, but also to such network partners as employees and managers in other areas as well as external partners such as service providers and customers. In other words, they have overcome the classic divisional or pillar thinking and instead think in network-like contexts.
In addition, many executives have obviously already internalized that leadership aimed at improving alpha collaboration - i.e., cross-divisional, cross-functional and cross-company collaboration - also requires a partly changed self-image as a manager. This is indicated by the fact that the majority of them expect the leadership roles of "leader/starter" and "influencer/relationship manager" to continue to gain in importance.
"Alpha Collaboration" requires a culture of trust
This is relevant insofar as mutual trust is a central success factor in both distance and lateral leadership. The study concludes that companies already have a culture of collaboration and leadership, which is increasingly relevant for success in the VUCA world. These need to be expanded.
For more information about the study "Alpha Collaboration - Leadership in Transition; Perspectives for the Collaboration of the Future", please visit the IFIDZ website (www.ifidz.de). There you can also order the 58-page study and a free management summary for 39 euros.
