Adieu Chef - bonjour Leader
On January 10, 2020, the Kurszentrum Aarau invited to the 3rd Feierabendgespräch on the topic of "New Forms of Organization and Leadership Cultures" and posed the question: "A better working world fit for the future or just hype?" Moderated by Danièle Zatti Kuhn, Anne Bickel and Hartmut Kretschmer, two experts with practical experience, gave insights into their experiences with the new organizational forms and leadership models.
The topic is burning under the nails - this alone was shown by the large number of interested people who showed up: the large hall in the Course Center Aarau was filled to capacity. How should companies react to a rapidly changing environment? How does a company organize itself optimally to keep pace with change and survive in competition with others? New organizational forms also mean that bosses must rethink their leadership role and employees must rethink their role so that new forms of collaboration come to life. "Agile organization" - this is the most heard answer at the moment. Meaning: Maximum self-organization and self-responsibility, instead of acting on instructions. Away from strict hierarchy and silo thinking, toward entrepreneurial decision-making and action at all levels.
"Goodbye boss" in practice
Anne Bickel from the development organization Swisscontact has been supervising and going through this process in her institution for a good year. She knows how challenging such a change is, since it confronts managers in particular with a new situation that is quickly accompanied by the feeling that previous routine patterns no longer work in an agile organization. But subordinate employees also often feel insecure when they are now expected to make decisions independently: "Can I initiate this without asking a superior?" This requires courage and the willingness to take on responsibility. Such change processes cannot be implemented overnight, as Anne Bickel impressively demonstrated in her report. Only with great openness to this reorganization on the part of everyone involved can the change succeed. The expectations of how these tasks are to be fulfilled occupy an important place in many discussions. At Swisscontact, the function of role coaches in each organizational unit was created specifically for this purpose.
Employees have a need for security
As a coach, Hartmut Kretschmer supports companies in such transformations - and takes a self-critical view of his own profession. Many coaches can present the new organizational forms as highly enticing in theory. In practice, however, it is much more demanding to accompany the employees. In addition to role responsibilities, questions about team understanding and communication must be clarified. It is particularly important to meet the employees' need for identity and security.
Agile strategy is not grassroots
Does every company now have to trim its organization to "agile"? - Bickel recognizes a great increase in value in role-based collaboration - both in terms of efficiency and personnel management. Kretschmer is also convinced that companies that do not integrate the principles of the new forms of leadership will be left behind. Nevertheless, both also see limitations: A role-based organizational structure with little to no hierarchy cannot be implemented equally well everywhere. And it cannot be applied to every size of company. It seems advisable to implement agile forms in smaller companies as a whole and in large companies in specific organizational areas. And: An agile strategy is not a grassroots approach. Ultimately, management and the board of directors are still liable.
