How do I deal with conflicting demands on leadership?
The short answer is that there can be no general answer to this question as it is necessary to balance interests in order to resolve conflicting requirements. For situations that are not so extreme, this consideration depends on too many parameters and no general formula can be applied to all situations. There is no static pattern for leadership behavior – which is what makes successful leadership so difficult to learn. It is much more important to face contradictions and accept them, otherwise any attempt to resolve them is doomed to fail.
Leadership is different at each level of the hierarchy
When talking about leadership, it is important to ask for which level in the company. Because leadership is not the same at every level. Whereas managers at the top stand for trust in success, middle managers stand for trust in relationships. At the grassroots level, it is essential to be confident in the ability to implement actions.
Leadership creates platforms for sorting differences in meaning
In any change process, managers gain appeal as facilitators. Regularly organized platforms to clarify differences in meaning reduce resistance. Particularly in the case of company-wide change initiatives, a “sounding board” is useful to promote a mutual understanding at an early stage. Shared knowledge then becomes collective consciousness. But even in ordinary life, managers recognize when they are “losing” employees and might need to clarify misunderstandings.
Leadership aligns expectations, interests and needs in the system
All employees are integrated into one (corporate) system. The interests of the company and its members may be conflicting. Balancing these interests requires a representative – you guessed it: the manager.
There is no static pattern for leadership behavior - which is what makes successful leadership so difficult to learn.
Frank Krause
Senior partner, Staufen AG
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Author: Frank Krause, Senior partner Staufen AG