• MDI
  • German version
  • Contact us
MDI Management Development
  • Agile leadership
  • Lateral Leadership
  • Leadership Impact
  • Leadership Development
Select Page
5 measures for an integrative corporate culture

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture

by Desiree Jonek | Mar 6, 2023 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 comments

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture

In this interview, we ask Desiree Jonek , co-founder of WoMentor and the author of the brand new paper “5 effective measures to navigate the shift to an inclusive and performing corporate culture “, 3 big questions about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI):

(more…)

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders

by Hamza Khan | Feb 27, 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 comments

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders

According to Deloitte University Press, 86% of companies have identified developing new leaders as an “urgent” need. And upon closer inspection, it’s clear to see why. 

Incompetency as a Norm

When it comes to managers’ performance, alarmingly, the norm seems to be incompetence. In a recent study, Gallup found that companies fail to choose suitable candidates for management roles a staggering 82% of the time. Now to be fair, there are not many qualified potential people to choose from in the first place.

In another report, Gallup revealed that only 1 in 10 people possess requisite management talents, such as the ability to build relationships that create trust, open dialogue, and full transparency. And of those who do end up becoming managers, their talent is seldom nurtured. 

A survey by Career Builders found that a whopping 58% of managers receive little-to-no management training. Alas, most bosses aren’t necessarily good at making the people around them better. And how this plays out in workplaces across the planet is disheartening.

For instance, a Harvard Business Review study uncovered that 58% of people trust strangers more than their bosses. So arguably, they are more willing to let their children get into an Uber driven by a complete stranger than they are to let them work with their boss. In light of these findings, it’s no surprise that most employees—upwards of 80% according to some of the most comprehensive studies—are disengaged, looking for other jobs, and ditching traditional employment to pursue entrepreneurship. 

Who is your Leadership Inspiration?

As it happens, the modern workplace is overrun by bosses who aren’t qualified to lead. Reflect on your career for a moment by thinking about the best boss you worked for, as well as the worst boss you worked for. Once you’ve visualized them, ask yourself: whose leadership style do you strive to emulate?

If you picked the best boss you worked for, then you have an innate understanding of the complex problem at hand, as well as its embarrassingly simple solution.

On one side, it’s heartening to see organizations worldwide upgrade from simple Corporate Social Responsibility commitments to more holistic and comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance commitments, as well as aspire to B-Corp status.

Glimpses of a positive-sum thriving future are visible through the cracks of the prevailing zero-sum failing system. A full year before we plunged into the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, made this urgent appeal to his contemporaries at the 2019 Business Roundtable Forum: 

“The purpose of business now transcends shareholders. We need a reinvented system focused on employees, customers, communities, and the planet.”  

Leadership Inspiration

Meaningful Leadership

Benioff believes that companies should use their power to advance meaningful causes. And chief among them is the fight against climate change. In doing so, he joins a small but rising list of industry captains—including Patagonia Founder Yves Chouinard, who made headlines for relinquishing his entire stake in the company to fight climate change—who speak up about the necessary structural changes required to stand a chance against the world’s most pressing issue.

So on one side, it seems that leaders have their hearts in the right places as far as environmental sustainability is concerned. But on the other, a peculiar problem is intensifying: organizations are living shorter and shorter lives. Consider that in 1958, the average age of an S&P 500 company was a healthy 61 years. But in 2023, that number is down to a mere 18 years.

In fact, McKinsey calculates that most S&P 500 companies will disappear by 2027. I suspect that this rate of decay has a lot to do with the aforementioned issue of bad bosses. As I wrote about extensively in my pandemic-inspired book, “Leadership, Reinvented,” during times of change and crises, people don’t “step up”—they actually “fall back” and “sink” to the level of their values, training, and preparation. 

Given that most managers are incompetent and that our world is becoming increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, the problem becomes clearer: overwhelmed and incompetent bosses are reverting to and doubling down on a counterproductive style of management—a remnant of the early Industrial Revolutions, known in the leadership literature as “Dominance.” 

Dominance-Oriented Leadership

Dominance-oriented leadership it’s a one-size-fits-all style of management which relies on force and intimidation to induce fear. Below are common traits of this leadership style:

  1. Assertive
  2. Highly Directive
  3. Top-Down
  4. Traditional
  5. Command-And-Control
  6. Hierarchical 
  7. Coercive
  8. Intimidating
  9. Punitive
  10. Authoritative

Dominance-oriented leaders are inclined to enjoy giving orders, intimidating subordinates, overly relying on reward and punishment, and prioritizing the organization’s needs over those it employs. The one critical problem with this management style is that it doesn’t replicate.

And so, in the truest sense of the word, it’s an unsustainable approach to managing. After all, think back to the bad boss you visualized earlier—you’re actively choosing not to replicate their management style.



Dominance-oriented leadership

Caught up in Dominance cycles, most companies—whether on the S&P 500 or FTSE Eurofirst 300—haven’t committed to comprehensive measures to fight climate change, such as running net zero carbon operations. Staring into the abyss of time, afraid, the managers of these companies are making the grave mistake of prioritizing greater profits.

All the while, they’re exacerbating the very problem that will upend their business. Intimidation can beget compliance, but relationships based on Dominance are less stable. Getting out of unstable survival mode involves looking to the opposite approach to Dominance, namely, Prestige. 

Prestige-Oriented Leadership

This style of management involves the sharing of expertise or know-how to gain respect. Prestige-oriented leaders are servant leaders who care about relationships with their team, avoid intimidation and coercion, strive to be role models, use soft power to influence subordinates, and create more organizational leaders. Below are common traits of this leadership style:

  1. Transformational 
  2. Humble
  3. Non-Directive
  4. Empowering
  5. Egalitarian
  6. Inspiring
  7. Generous
  8. Admired
  9. Supportive
  10. Authentic

Benefits of Prestige-Oriented Leadership

Compared to Dominance, Prestige is more tedious to manifest, for it requires substantial tailoring to the needs of individuals. But the caveat is that of the two, Prestige is the only style that is widely and willingly replicated. In this way, it’s the only sustainable option. But putting aside the question of ease, Prestige is actually better for business.

A ten-year examination of stock market returns for the 20 best-ranked public companies on Glassdoor reveals that 60% have beaten the S&P 500, and 91% have had positive returns. And behold, Fortune’s Top 100 best companies to work at also outperformed the S&P 500 over the past decade. The top company, Adobe, beat the market by 9.5% each year and returned 1762% during this time.

And according to the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, companies that promote a culture of health, safety, and well-being also outperformed the market by 2% per year, with a weighted return on equity of 264% (compared with the S&P 500 return of 243%). It turns out that exceptional places to work create outstanding returns for their shareholders. So while Prestige may be a more challenging path to the top, it’s absolutely worth doing.



Prestige-Oriented Leadership

Dominance or Prestige?

Are there situations where a Dominance-oriented leader performs better than a Prestige-oriented leader? Yes. A top-down, dominant approach can be efficient when a solid plan is in place, and a highly coordinated, unified effort is needed to deliver it.

A dominant leader can make each part of a company adhere to clearly defined actions, and can save time through quick and firm decision-making. But all this assumes that there is a healthy relationship between managers and employees, and that good communication and buy-in have taken place.

Which, as we know, is simply not the case in the modern workplace. One way to rethink the Prestige-Dominance dichotomy is as a permission-based blend—the privilege of successful Prestige orientation is the earned ability to switch to Dominance as the needs of the organization and its people change. 

For Human Resources and Learning & Development professionals, the business case is clear. And it needs to be communicated to managers across the organization—potential managers, newly minted managers, and C-Suite alike: lead with Prestige. Early in my career, a mentor advised me that a leader’s true purpose is to “develop new leaders.”

A coordinated contingent of Prestige-oriented leaders is critical to navigating our world away from impending environmental catastrophe and toward a sustainable positive-sum future. And this global effort depends on every organization’s ability to develop new leaders. 

Hamza Khan

Hamza Khan

Keynote Speaker

Hamza Khan is a best-selling author, award-winning entrepreneur, and globally-renowned keynote speaker whose TEDx talk “Stop Managing, Start Leading” has been viewed over two million times.

The world’s leading organizations trust him to enhance modern leadership, inspire purposeful productivity, nurture lasting resilience, and navigate constant change.

This could also interest you:

Leadership Horizon powered by HR INSIDE SMMIT

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture

by Desiree Jonek | 6. March 2023 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture In this interview, we ask Desiree Jonek , co-founder of WoMentor and the author of the brand new paper “5 effective measures to navigate the shift to an inclusive and performing corporate culture “, 3 big questions about...
Read More

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders

by Hamza Khan | 27. February 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders According to Deloitte University Press, 86% of companies have identified developing new leaders as an "urgent" need. And upon closer inspection, it’s clear to see why.  Incompetency as a Norm When it comes to managers'...
Read More

Greater employee retention through generational diversity

by Karen McCullough | 27. February 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Greater employee retention through generational diversity Over the last few decades, generational diversity in the workplace has increased significantly. The youngest Generation Z brings in new energy, while the oldest - Traditionalist Generation - often clings to...
Read More

Being a servant leader – Servant Leadership

by Gunther Fürstberger | 14. February 2023 | Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

Being a servant leader "Servant Leadership" is a concept by Robert Greenleaf that describes the manager as a servant to their employees. What this model is specifically about and what its strengths are, you can read in this article. The origin of the approach In...
Read More

How to strengthen social capital in the workplace

by Jana Wölfl | 26. January 2023 | Digital Transformation, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Why do you like your job? Is it the work, the salary, or perhaps the interaction with your colleagues?  The latter is being neglected in many companies, especially during the pandemic. Until then, people had lunch together from time to time, chatted briefly at the...
Read More

How to maintain attention in online meetings

by Peter Grabuschnig | 10. January 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Tips, learning effectiveness | 0 Comments

Read this article to find out how you can get everyone to listen to you in online meetings and what you need to keep in mind in a hybrid setting. How to maintain attention in online meetings You know it - sometimes you are leading an online meeting and you get the...
Read More

Workation evaluation – lessons we have learned so far

by Jana Wölfl | 28. November 2022 | Agile Leadership, Best Practice, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

Vacation during working hours seems like a dream - but is it really? We provide a workation evaluation, weigh the pros and cons and look at the lessons we have learned so far.* Workation evaluation – Lessons Learned so far Workation - Work and Vacation - has become a...
Read More

How can I actively share knowledge as a leader?

by Anita Berger | 11. November 2022 | Leadership Tips, learning effectiveness, Learning Transfer | 0 Comments

How can I actively share knowledge as a leader? Knowledge management - I know that I know (nothing) How do you deal with knowledge management as a leader? What do we really know and how can we use it to our best advantage?  Mentoring & Knowledge Management Our MDI...
Read More

Agile mindset beyond company boundaries

by Book "Agile Leadership Development", Marina Begic | 20. October 2022 | Agile Leadership, Digital Transformation | 0 Comments

Agile mindset beyond company boundaries In order to compete in a constantly changing market, companies must be able to react quickly to changes.Strong networking, increased knowledge exchange and an agile mindset beyond company boundaries are crucial.Leadership in...
Read More

3 tips for efficient and sustainable OKR results

by Gunther Fürstberger | 17. October 2022 | Best Practice, Leadership Tips, Training Insights | 0 Comments

3 tips for efficient and sustain Do you want to learn more about OKR - Objectives & Key Results? Here are 3 leadership tips for efficient and sustainable OKR results. 1. Reserve the meeting dates for a year in advance Long-term OKR scheduling Long-term scheduling...
Read More
Dubai, Madrid and soon Bangkok – around the world with MDI

Dubai, Madrid and soon Bangkok – around the world with MDI

by Alina Helmlinger, Marina Begic, Nicole Altenberger | Jul 7, 2022 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Training Insights | 0 comments

Turbulent camel rides in Dubai, a heated scavenger hunt at the Madrid Palace and an exciting business rally

our L&D Consultants Marina Begic, Nicole Altenberger and Alina Helmlinger have experienced quite a bit over the past few months. Here they describe how it all came about, what exactly they did there, and what’s awaiting next for them…

Dubai, Madrid and soon Bangkok – around the world with MDI

Pitch 

In late November 2021, we were invited by a client to participate in an RFP for 4 regional meetings – an event of sales executives. Since this was a newly acquired company that we hadn’t worked with before, we didn’t think our chances were particularly high. In most tenders there is time pressure, we know that. Despite the end of the year, the high implementation risk (first major f2f events after Corona) and the usual pre-Christmas stress, we accepted the challenge. After all, this is exactly our playground 😉

At the pitch, we were able to convince them with an innovative presentation using an e-learning tool and a concept based on the 70-20-10 model, where the focus is on maximum practical benefit and integrated transfer assurance.

Here our agile mdi mindset was really beneficial. After receiving the confirmation that we won the project,  we were asked to start the planning right before Christmas – which was also new for us 😉 

Scope clarification

The detailed program was developed in close coordination with an internal project team and adapted to the current needs of the Western Europe+Canada and Africa+Middle East regions. The conference program was developed around the following guiding themes:

Leadership

High Performing Teams

Coaching

Here we were able to apply our experience from years of international rollouts and demonstrate our leadership development expertise. It was important for us and the international project team to always keep the key themes in mind, while at the same time considering the needs of the regions. To this end, regular project meetings were held with international and regional working groups during the cocreation phase, which lasted approximately 4-5 months. A quick response, high passion and motivation of all participants characterized the cooperation.

In the end, we had an exciting 2-day program filled with keynotes, panel discussions and goal-oriented activities- in addition to content inputs, there was also an experience factor.

Empowerment 

In the course of working with up to a total of 100 people, we were not only able to get to know the needs of the clients very well, but also the corporate culture. Thus, content and activities were created with and by all project members. The goal was to involve the target group as much as possible, both in the cocreation phase and then on stage itself.

The overall concept was developed with three levels of impact in mind:

Head

Hands

Heart

The interaction of these three levels of impact can be seen in this graphic.

The guiding themes of all events were identical, but based on cultural, corporate and situational backgrounds, the agenda was customized and tailored to the group of people on site.

Learning Objectives

The project was designed to address the following leadership learning objectives:

  • Leaders who think strategically and lead their companies with strong business acumen
  • Leaders who manage their company through their people and develop high-performing teams
  • Leaders who are flexible in their approach to inspire, coach and bring out the best in each member of their team

Agenda

A varied agenda with a mix of diverse methods provided the framework for exciting exchanges and experiential values:

  • Key Notes: Plenary on stage in front of all participants. A mixture of theoretical content and company-specific context. The goal is to inspire and creatively engage the audience.
  • Involvement of the audience in the plenary: to get audience input, participants were invited to share their assessment & opinion via “Slido” – in this case it was supported via the project’s own created app and QR code.
  • Activities: participants were actively involved in the implementation and experienced the impact/ content first hand.
  • Panel discussions: with key players within the company to facilitate translation into the company’s internal context. An interactive discussion to facilitate reflection and learning after the content and activities targeting key insights for the audience.

Individualization: Where were the differences ?

Although, it was the same client and there was a common theme and goal, it was exciting for us to observe the importance of individualization for the two regions Western Europe+Canada and Middle East+Africa. To achieve maximum impact, the “Heart” impact level was addressed more in Dubai and “Head” in Madrid. Both had a lot of “Hand” in common.

 

Dubai: (Midde East+Africa)

  • Target group: first Head of Sales, then changed to Crossfunctional teams (Finance, Marketing, Sales, Legal, HR, etc) and General Managers
  • Needs: new leadership, new composition of regions, networking between countries and functions in focus
  • Way of working: more agile, fast paced, short preparation time, no prework, longer transfer period
  • Social program: desert safari, saxophonist, gala dinner in the desert, camel riding, falcons, drumming workshop

Madrid: (Western Europe+ Canada)

  • Target group: Head of Sales, General Managers
  • Needs: to stay on the road to success, to strengthen the sales leadership force
  • Way of working: meticulous, longer preparation, extensive prework with thematic newsletters and tasks.
  • social program: scavenger hunt at the palace, evening event with exquisite dinner in an exclusive vineyard. Here we had our crowd favorite Gia Helena with us as Master of Ceremonies, who kept the audience of around 100 people in good spirits.

High competition factor

What was even more striking with the target group of sales executives was the competition factor. Not only did the content of the event have to be perfectly aligned with the current needs of the respective region under the global guiding themes, but it also had to be entertaining and produce clear winners. For this target group, we not only added competition components to the activities, but also designed a business rally

Here is a brief summary of our main activities:

Trust Walk

An interactive and entertaining activity that makes aspects of “high performance teams” tangible (in the sense of: own experience beats theory). It bridges the gap between “knowing” (logic) and “feeling” (emotional understanding), so that the inspiration to act (practical relevance) makes sense in the upcoming event elements (panel discussion, leadership camp). The focus is on generating experience, as a course has to be completed in different roles (leader, follower, observer) – with varying degrees of difficulty.

Coaching Game

This activity focused on learning the purpose of coaching and the benefits of coaching conversations. To raise awareness of coaching as a leadership tool and peer-to-peer empowerment and to get a “hands-on mindset” by having the opportunity to coach yourself in a small setting of 4 people, with the support of self-created card sets, with appropriate, challenging and pointed coaching questions. Participants are given the opportunity and the right framework for self-reflection as a leader.

Business Rally

Based on a scavenger hunt, company-relevant content was transformed into an entertaining and fast-paced business rally. The leader supports their groups to apply skills to address leadership challenges (behaviors from the CDF supported by experiential learning). The fun factor is supported with the help of a fictional frame story and with a competitive situation, ambition came out in all participants.

Leadership Camp

This activity is about deriving the content into actionable and concrete action steps (action steps in the areas of leadership, coaching and high performing teams). The goal is to achieve a definition of actions and key results for the next few months within a region. This 2-hour workation is used intensively and the results are presented in plenary – which are quite impressive. With this last activity all participants are motivated to start the implementation in their respective countries.

Our learnings 

  • Match the right people with the right skills to the project parts
  • Stick to the time and the project plan
  • Be flexible with the content and react to the audience´s needs
  • Always celebrate the milestones and the successes

81% NPS

We are highly motivated after these energetic events and thankful that face-to-face events are possible again. Looking back, “Teamwork makes the dream work” – and the intensive preparation time more than paid off. It was great to see how the thread of content ran through both regions – we took individual wishes into account and can therefore look back on two successful events. The cooperation of all participants as well as the co-creation with the content experts made a state-of-the-art event possible.

From the Team MDI we were actively supported by: Helena Gia Gutierrez, (Moderation Madrid), Peter Grabuschnig (Activity Manager Dubai & Madrid), Alina Olar (Project Management), Marilena Maris (Key-Notes), Ursula Weixlbaumer-Norz (Business Rally)

This is also reflected in a Net Promoter Score, a recommendation rate of 81%.

We thank you for your trust and are already looking forward to the roll-out in the regions – Bangkok, here we come 🙂

Marina Begic

Marina Begic

Digital Business Development Expertin und Senior L&D Consultant

Marina has been working on new, effective learning methods and the future of corporate learning for over 15 years. In her current role, she is responsible for Digital Business Development at MDI, where her focus is not driven by the current buzzwords, but primarily on the feasibility of digital transformation for clients such as Erste Group, Lenzing, Semperit, Deutsche Bahn, Andritz AG, Uniqa, Mayr-Melnhof, Frequentis, RHIM. Her greatest strength is bringing loose ends together, which she impressively demonstrates time and time again with her big picture view and multi-dimensional approach. Her greatest passion is to provide learners not only with an experience, but also with real, lasting value for their real challenges.

  • LinkedIn
Nicole Altenberger, BA

Nicole Altenberger, BA

Senior L&D Consultant

Since 2020 Nicole has been accompanying leaders and companies from all over the world on their journey and supports them in the creation and tailoring of suitable training and development measures. This highly diversified work has resulted in numerous different settings, in which she has had the opportunity to learn the most effective and target-oriented methods. In doing so, the personal learning experience has not been neglected either. Her clients include companies such as Agrana, Albelli, Coca-Cola, Erste Group, Frequentis, Migros, OMV, Rewe, RHI Magnesita, Swarovski, Voestalpine, Wienerberger. Her interest in the area of Learning & Development was deepened during her studies in “Business Consultancy International” and substantiated by relevant work experience within an internationally active group. Already at a young age Nicole Altenberger is one of the top Learning & Development Consultants at MDI and runs her own team.

  • LinkedIn
Alina Helmlinger, MA

Alina Helmlinger, MA

L&D Consultant

Since 2021, Alina has been working as an L&D Consultant at MDI and supports clients from various industries in the customized design of various management development programs and trainings. In addition to her practical knowledge and the experience she has already gained in the field of development, she can draw on sound theoretical knowledge from her Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management and her Master’s degree in Organizational and Personnel Development, which she successfully completed in June 2022. Alina maintains her balance, especially in challenging situations, and manages to reconcile the interests of different stakeholders in complex projects, enabling her to design tailor-made HR solutions that are aligned with the needs of her customers.

  • LinkedIn

What serves you next?

Digital training formats for leadership development

We help make leadership development more agile with our digital training formats:

  • E-learnings
  • e-consulting
  • Blended Learning Journeys
  • Virtual Leadership
  • virtual reality
  • digital learning transfer

– we have just the right thing for your needs!

Explore now!

or even …

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture

by Desiree Jonek | 6. March 2023 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture In this interview, we ask Desiree Jonek , co-founder of WoMentor and the author of the brand new paper “5 effective measures to navigate the shift to an inclusive and performing corporate culture “, 3 big questions about...
Read More

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders

by Hamza Khan | 27. February 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders According to Deloitte University Press, 86% of companies have identified developing new leaders as an "urgent" need. And upon closer inspection, it’s clear to see why.  Incompetency as a Norm When it comes to managers'...
Read More

Greater employee retention through generational diversity

by Karen McCullough | 27. February 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Greater employee retention through generational diversity Over the last few decades, generational diversity in the workplace has increased significantly. The youngest Generation Z brings in new energy, while the oldest - Traditionalist Generation - often clings to...
Read More

Being a servant leader – Servant Leadership

by Gunther Fürstberger | 14. February 2023 | Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

Being a servant leader "Servant Leadership" is a concept by Robert Greenleaf that describes the manager as a servant to their employees. What this model is specifically about and what its strengths are, you can read in this article. The origin of the approach In...
Read More

How to strengthen social capital in the workplace

by Jana Wölfl | 26. January 2023 | Digital Transformation, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Why do you like your job? Is it the work, the salary, or perhaps the interaction with your colleagues?  The latter is being neglected in many companies, especially during the pandemic. Until then, people had lunch together from time to time, chatted briefly at the...
Read More

Dubai, Madrid and soon Bangkok – around the world with MDI

by Alina Helmlinger, Marina Begic, Nicole Altenberger | 7. July 2022 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Training Insights | 0 Comments

our L&D Consultants Marina Begic, Nicole Altenberger and Alina Helmlinger have experienced quite a bit over the past few months. Here they describe how it all came about, what exactly they did there, and what's awaiting next for them...Dubai, Madrid and soon...
Read More

Our journey of becoming CO2 neutral – reasons and tips

by Alexandra Eichler, Gunther Fürstberger | 10. December 2021 | Leadership Impact, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

MDI is CO2 neutral The pandemic has made us more thoughtful. Adult education in presence is connected with traveling. Often these are only short distances, but we also had seminar weeks where participants came together from all over the world. With the Pandemic...
Read More

How can VR help with leadership training?

by Anita Berger, Dominik Etzl | 11. October 2021 | Leadership Impact, Leadership in the digital transformation, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

How can VR help with leadership training? Our Virtual Reality & Leadership Development Experts Anita Berger & Dominik Etzl talk in this Interview about Leadership Impact through VR.can help organizations address some of today's key leadership challenges.Why is...
Read More

Redefining the workplace as a new area of impact

by Marina Begic | 28. July 2021 | Impuls series, Leadership Impact | 0 Comments

Part 4 with Marina Begic: Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant Our Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant Marina Begic is currently focusing intensively on "The Future of Workplace Learning". Fast and targeted...
Read More

Virtual Reality for Leadership Development

by Aline Depoorter | 22. June 2021 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, learning effectiveness | 0 Comments

Virtual reality for leadership development on the riseIt's high time we use VR learning in leadership development. That's why MDI Management Development International and Jenson8 are partnering to transform leadership development through virtual reality. The new "VR...
Read More

Virtual Reality for Leadership Development

Virtual Reality for Leadership Development

by Aline Depoorter | Jun 22, 2021 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, learning effectiveness | 0 comments

Learning better with virtual reality

Virtual reality for leadership development on the rise

It’s high time we use VR learning in leadership development.

That’s why MDI Management Development International and Jenson8 are partnering to transform leadership development through virtual reality.

The new “VR for Leaders” portfolio includes solutions for recruiting, assessment and leadership development.

You learn better with VR

  • 4x faster training than in the seminar room.
  • 275% more confident to apply learned skills after training.
  • 375% more engaged with the content than learners in the seminar room.
  • 400% more focused than learning via e-learning.
Learn even more >

Using new technologies

The most important issue for L&D leaders right now is not just introducing new technologies to improve engagement and enable virtual delivery of programs, but rather using new technologies that will make a real difference for your teams.

Send leaders into space

Sending leaders into space may sound a bit like a stretch, but sending your teams into a completely foreign environment could be the best thing you’ve ever done for your talents.

Because it’s

  • the future,
  • it’s sustainable,
  • scalable
  • and can even be implemented solely virtually.

Immersive learning can help organizations address some of today’s key leadership challenges, such as identifying soft skills, retaining talent, and improving employee engagement.

VR learning can be 

  • anywhere,
  • at any time
  • and can be conducted in any country in the world.

The pandemic promotes new ways of learning

The pandemic has pushed HR to find ways to solve the problem of distance learning, as well as ways to still

  • Create closeness at a distance,
  • build trust,
  • improve communication
  • and improve collaboration.

These issues are not new, and long before COVID came along, HR and L&D leaders were wondering if it was really still necessary to get on a plane, take two to four days out of the office, stay in a hotel, and get everyone together to do a team-building exercise?”

New VR leadership training

The new leadership trainings offer an immersive environment that feels real to participants, as well as

  • Assessment,
  • Coaching,
  • Leadership,
  • Team building
  • and other L&D elements

Through machine learning, artificial intelligence and validated psychometrics, the multiple immersive applications enable leaders to learn by doing, not just seeing or hearing. So virtual reality makes content come alive, not just digital!

* PWC REPORT 2020

More Digital training formats for leadership development

We help make leadership development more agile with our digital training formats:

  • E-learnings
  • e-consulting
  • Blended Learning Journeys
  • Virtual Leadership
  • virtual reality
  • digital learning transfer

– we have just the right thing for your needs!

Explore some more now!

What serves you next?

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture

by Desiree Jonek | 6. March 2023 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture In this interview, we ask Desiree Jonek , co-founder of WoMentor and the author of the brand new paper “5 effective measures to navigate the shift to an inclusive and performing corporate culture “, 3 big questions about...
Read More

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders

by Hamza Khan | 27. February 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders According to Deloitte University Press, 86% of companies have identified developing new leaders as an "urgent" need. And upon closer inspection, it’s clear to see why.  Incompetency as a Norm When it comes to managers'...
Read More

Greater employee retention through generational diversity

by Karen McCullough | 27. February 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Greater employee retention through generational diversity Over the last few decades, generational diversity in the workplace has increased significantly. The youngest Generation Z brings in new energy, while the oldest - Traditionalist Generation - often clings to...
Read More

Being a servant leader – Servant Leadership

by Gunther Fürstberger | 14. February 2023 | Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

Being a servant leader "Servant Leadership" is a concept by Robert Greenleaf that describes the manager as a servant to their employees. What this model is specifically about and what its strengths are, you can read in this article. The origin of the approach In...
Read More

How to strengthen social capital in the workplace

by Jana Wölfl | 26. January 2023 | Digital Transformation, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Why do you like your job? Is it the work, the salary, or perhaps the interaction with your colleagues?  The latter is being neglected in many companies, especially during the pandemic. Until then, people had lunch together from time to time, chatted briefly at the...
Read More

Dubai, Madrid and soon Bangkok – around the world with MDI

by Alina Helmlinger, Marina Begic, Nicole Altenberger | 7. July 2022 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Training Insights | 0 Comments

our L&D Consultants Marina Begic, Nicole Altenberger and Alina Helmlinger have experienced quite a bit over the past few months. Here they describe how it all came about, what exactly they did there, and what's awaiting next for them...Dubai, Madrid and soon...
Read More

Our journey of becoming CO2 neutral – reasons and tips

by Alexandra Eichler, Gunther Fürstberger | 10. December 2021 | Leadership Impact, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

MDI is CO2 neutral The pandemic has made us more thoughtful. Adult education in presence is connected with traveling. Often these are only short distances, but we also had seminar weeks where participants came together from all over the world. With the Pandemic...
Read More

How can VR help with leadership training?

by Anita Berger, Dominik Etzl | 11. October 2021 | Leadership Impact, Leadership in the digital transformation, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

How can VR help with leadership training? Our Virtual Reality & Leadership Development Experts Anita Berger & Dominik Etzl talk in this Interview about Leadership Impact through VR.can help organizations address some of today's key leadership challenges.Why is...
Read More

Redefining the workplace as a new area of impact

by Marina Begic | 28. July 2021 | Impuls series, Leadership Impact | 0 Comments

Part 4 with Marina Begic: Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant Our Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant Marina Begic is currently focusing intensively on "The Future of Workplace Learning". Fast and targeted...
Read More

Virtual Reality for Leadership Development

by Aline Depoorter | 22. June 2021 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, learning effectiveness | 0 Comments

Virtual reality for leadership development on the riseIt's high time we use VR learning in leadership development. That's why MDI Management Development International and Jenson8 are partnering to transform leadership development through virtual reality. The new "VR...
Read More

Five Characteristics of Agile Leadership Development

Five Characteristics of Agile Leadership Development

by Gunther Fürstberger | Jun 22, 2021 | Agile Leadership, International leadership development, learning effectiveness | 0 comments

What does the future of agile Leadership Development look like?

MDI CEO Gunther Fürstberger has answers and shows you five helpful Characteristics.

In the past, leadership development was mainly carried out in the classic mindset of project management. To achieve specific goals, a project team led by the Learning & Development department defined multi-modular development programs and educational catalogs.

Lifelong learning

With the spread of e-learning, development programs were enriched with blended learning elements. With home offices, learning experience platforms and the need for lifelong learning, it is time for an agile mindset and toolset to take hold in leadership development as well.

Starting from the learner

L&D-driven training programs with a transfer concept will continue to exist, but no longer as a core component, but as a supplement to a development concept starting from the learner. The transfer of learning, which is at least theoretically held in high regard, is also part of the ‘waterfall view’ of traditional project management.

Learning that is demand-driven, tailored and up-to-date

In the meantime, Youtube, Netflix, etc. have enabled demand-driven, tailored and up-to-date learning. For example, if you want to learn to change the wheel of a micro-scooter, you can get immediately actionable offers on the Internet. Many programs learn as they go and suggest to learners, with AI support, what they will need next. Agile leadership development means enabling timely, appropriate learning experiences for ongoing leadership learning needs and is driven by five characteristics:

5 Characteristics of Agile Leadership Development:

  • Iteration
  • Empowerment
  • Purposeful learning motivation
  • Effective, transparent learning process
  • Use of current learning technology

1. Iteration

Agile methods such as Scrum or OKR are based on the principle of checking in regular, rather shorter intervals: “Where do we stand and where do we want to go?” The same principle makes sense in L&D: For example, reviewing once per quarter based on target competencies and results:

  • Where do we stand? (Review)
  • How was the learning process? (Retrospective)
  • What do we want to have learned in the coming quarter? (Goal setting)
  • During the quarter, we work towards the goals. Regular check-ins, e.g., weekly, are used to review learning progress, set next learning activities, and ensure that the importance of learning can prevail over the urgency of day-to-day business.

2. Empowerment

The learner as designer: in the past, companies mainly saw the L&D department as primarily responsible for operational learning. Today, it proves to be more efficient if the learners themselves take the main responsibility. L&D can support by making particularly attractive parts of the “learning ocean” accessible through research and negotiation with learning providers and can also ensure that the corporate culture and strategy are supported through pre-selection of content.

Planned training programs with consistent participants fit less in the agile learning world than in traditional learning environments. And in the trainings, the methodology also changes towards

  • Working with practical cases from the participants
  • More coaching orientation than teaching
  • Accompanying learners in practical applications through shadowing.

The consistent orientation towards the learner and the intensive involvement in the design of the learning process also increases commitment.

3. Meaningful learning motivation

Learners are no longer sent to seminars. The focus is on intrinsic motivation. In other words, learners know why they are learning something at a particular time in a particular way. Usually because they themselves have identified a challenge that they now want to overcome.

When the L&D department wants to promote a learning project, it focuses primarily on the “why.” What are the opportunities, what is the benefit of what has been learned? If employees understand for themselves that an agile learning culture brings more advantages than disadvantages for them, then the ball will keep rolling. In this way, a sustainable, agile learning culture can be built that is not lived by push from the outside, but pull from within.

4. Effective, transparent learning process

The meaningfulness of lifelong learning for leaders means that no quarter goes by without a need to learn. As a result, learning is a process in which 3 sub-steps are repeated on a regular basis:

Step 1

Define target competencies and learning outcomes: Learners define the target competencies together with their own leaders, L&D and, in some cases, colleagues and customers. A distinction can be made between two time horizons:

Long-term: this is a set of competencies valid for e.g. 2 years for the current function description. This long-term set of competencies is adjusted once a year for the next two years.

Short-term: effectiveness is increased by focusing on only a few competencies and expected learning outcomes within a quarter, e.g., 3 in total.

Learning objectives are defined as either intended learning outcomes or competencies. The recommended formulation is the future completed at the end of the quarter, “I will have learned X.” This envisioned image exerts motivational traction for the learning process.

Step 2 

Learning and measuring progress during the quarter: During the quarter, learners have a variety of asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities available to them:

Asynchronous offerings are e-learnings, learning videos, or learning audios from inside and outside the organization.

Synchronous offerings are face-to-face events and virtual measures such as webinars, master classes, etc., usually with the possibility of direct exchange among learners and with the trainer or coach.

Since learning preferences vary, it is largely up to the learner to decide which offerings, at what intensity, and at what times are best suited. Some prefer to learn via audio files while doing sports, others need personal exchange with colleagues or a trainer. Since many things are constantly changing anyway, learning is understood as a continuous process for which a certain time and financial budget is dedicated.

Those who see learning as a project could run the risk of valuable time being lost between projects and the learning projects themselves losing relevance even before they have been completed.

Measuring progress is done through check-in meetings with yourself and a learning partner. Many learning platforms offer an automatic reminder, but a recurring appointment in Outlook is also sufficient. Intermediate grading in percentages helps visualize progress, making it more present.

Step 3

Diagnose competencies at the end of the quarter, review and adjust intended learning outcomes: At the end of the quarter, learners take a final grading before the learning cycle begins again with the definition of new intended learning outcomes. Average goal attainment is less important than the process of continuous learning. It promotes motivation when the learning trend is made visible across quarters. Gamification of the entire learning journey with bonus games, treasure hunts, and continuous feedback will contribute to the joy of learning especially for younger learners.

5. Use of current learning technology

In the meantime, the use of e-learning to supplement other learning formats has become a common practice. There are hundreds of learning platforms on the market that aim to support different learning scenarios. LMS are mostly used to provide web-based learning content, track learning progress and facilitate communication.

Current developments are moving in the direction of learning experience platforms that use artificial intelligence to make learning suggestions to the learner based on his or her past queries. Internet applications such as Amazon, Booking.com, etc. observe user behavior and thus make suggestions that are as accurate as possible. AI is helping to get to know users better and better. It becomes more convenient for users because they are supported in their routines.

At the same time, atypical learning experiences should be maintained, since deeper learning involves confusion and breaking away from old concepts.

The original german article was written for Magazin Training by

Gunther Fürstberger

Gunther Fürstberger

CEO , MDI Management Development International

Gunther Fürstberger is a management trainer, book author and CEO of MDI, a global leadership development institute and managing director of Metaforum. His core competence is leadership in the digital transformation. He gained his own leadership experience as HR manager of McDonald’s Central Europe/Central Asia, among others.

  • LinkedIn

Do you want to master the most effective tools and concepts for innovation, productivity and growth?

Then shape your path to success in digitalisation with agile leadership!

Secure a place on the course now

What might help you next?

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture

by Desiree Jonek | 6. March 2023 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture In this interview, we ask Desiree Jonek , co-founder of WoMentor and the author of the brand new paper “5 effective measures to navigate the shift to an inclusive and performing corporate culture “, 3 big questions about...
Read More

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders

by Hamza Khan | 27. February 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders According to Deloitte University Press, 86% of companies have identified developing new leaders as an "urgent" need. And upon closer inspection, it’s clear to see why.  Incompetency as a Norm When it comes to managers'...
Read More

Greater employee retention through generational diversity

by Karen McCullough | 27. February 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Greater employee retention through generational diversity Over the last few decades, generational diversity in the workplace has increased significantly. The youngest Generation Z brings in new energy, while the oldest - Traditionalist Generation - often clings to...
Read More

Being a servant leader – Servant Leadership

by Gunther Fürstberger | 14. February 2023 | Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

Being a servant leader "Servant Leadership" is a concept by Robert Greenleaf that describes the manager as a servant to their employees. What this model is specifically about and what its strengths are, you can read in this article. The origin of the approach In...
Read More

How to strengthen social capital in the workplace

by Jana Wölfl | 26. January 2023 | Digital Transformation, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Why do you like your job? Is it the work, the salary, or perhaps the interaction with your colleagues?  The latter is being neglected in many companies, especially during the pandemic. Until then, people had lunch together from time to time, chatted briefly at the...
Read More

How to maintain attention in online meetings

by Peter Grabuschnig | 10. January 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Tips, learning effectiveness | 0 Comments

Read this article to find out how you can get everyone to listen to you in online meetings and what you need to keep in mind in a hybrid setting. How to maintain attention in online meetings You know it - sometimes you are leading an online meeting and you get the...
Read More

Workation evaluation – lessons we have learned so far

by Jana Wölfl | 28. November 2022 | Agile Leadership, Best Practice, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

Vacation during working hours seems like a dream - but is it really? We provide a workation evaluation, weigh the pros and cons and look at the lessons we have learned so far.* Workation evaluation – Lessons Learned so far Workation - Work and Vacation - has become a...
Read More

How can I actively share knowledge as a leader?

by Anita Berger | 11. November 2022 | Leadership Tips, learning effectiveness, Learning Transfer | 0 Comments

How can I actively share knowledge as a leader? Knowledge management - I know that I know (nothing) How do you deal with knowledge management as a leader? What do we really know and how can we use it to our best advantage?  Mentoring & Knowledge Management Our MDI...
Read More

Agile mindset beyond company boundaries

by Book "Agile Leadership Development", Marina Begic | 20. October 2022 | Agile Leadership, Digital Transformation | 0 Comments

Agile mindset beyond company boundaries In order to compete in a constantly changing market, companies must be able to react quickly to changes.Strong networking, increased knowledge exchange and an agile mindset beyond company boundaries are crucial.Leadership in...
Read More

3 tips for efficient and sustainable OKR results

by Gunther Fürstberger | 17. October 2022 | Best Practice, Leadership Tips, Training Insights | 0 Comments

3 tips for efficient and sustain Do you want to learn more about OKR - Objectives & Key Results? Here are 3 leadership tips for efficient and sustainable OKR results. 1. Reserve the meeting dates for a year in advance Long-term OKR scheduling Long-term scheduling...
Read More
Personnel developers as trusted guides  

Personnel developers as trusted guides  

by Marina Begic, Stefan Diepolder | Jun 21, 2021 | Impuls series, International leadership development, learning effectiveness | 0 comments

Impuls Series - The Future of Workplace Learning

Part 3 with Marina Begic (Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant) and co-author Stefan Diepolder (Content Curator and Digital Learning Expert) 

Our Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant Marina Begic is currently focusing intensively on “The Future of Workplace Learning”.

Fast and targeted learning, especially for leaders, is becoming increasingly important in an intensifying digital and agile world. Therefore, Marina shared her personal learnings with us in Part 1: “Digitization Boost” and Part 2: “Self-directed learning needs more than just an LMS!”

By the way, we’ll soon continue with part 4!

Hey, Marina is a member of our LinkedIn expert group

If you would like to exchange thoughts and ideas about “Agile Leadership Development”, please send us a request. We are looking forward to you and your valuable impulses!

Join us now!

Personnel developers as trusted guides

An international survey by the Corporate Leadership Council reveals that around two-thirds of respondents see the role of personnel development (PE) as having no effective impact on business results, because the measures do not match actual needs and because the company’s challenges are not addressed in a timely manner.

The pandemic has accelerated the need to acquire new skills and competencies. As a result, the role of HR developers becomes even more central than before. Investing in employee development in the workplace would thus have to be a must-do of corporate strategy. According to Mc Kinsey, however, the budget for qualification measures fell during the pandemic for 21 percent of respondents (in Germany, according to the degreed study, even 41%).

How does Learning & Development manage the balancing act

between more precise content in the face of rapidly changing needs and at the same time less budget?

Personnel developers must move much closer to the strategy and the situational needs of the company’s employees. In the future, personnel developers will have the following two main roles:

Learningabler

 

Trusted Guide

As learning enablers (or technological gatekeepers), they create suitable spaces and provide methods, formats and tools to ensure that knowledge gets to where it is needed quickly and efficiently.

The even more important role is that of the trusted guide or learning curator.

Trusted Guides are human filters, they are competent, trustworthy people through whom we can get fast, competent and straightforward help, who support us in obtaining and verifying relevant information.

How do we find relevant information that really helps us in the increasingly dense information jungle with manageable effort? Who can really help us?

The Learning and Development department must become the first GO-TO address for these challenges.

Personnel developers can act as trusted guides directly on topics for which they themselves are passionate, or indirectly in the empowerment of other internal trusted guides.

In this context, internal Trusted Guides should have authority over content

and with the support of the methodology specialists in the Learning & Development departments, recommend content that can be drawn from different situations and create settings and learning paths that meet the needs of the target groups and enable social exchange

On the one hand, these can be experts or, in particular, leaders. Successful leaders create trust and framework conditions through open spaces and networks so that employees can take responsibility for shaping the company’s development.

Inflexible prefabricated learning programs are insufficient

Inflexible prefabricated learning programs, which are planned and rolled out for two years in advance after a one-year development period, simply no longer meet these requirements.

In addition, 100% suitable content is not always available on the market, and sometimes adaptation is required. To produce the content, you often lack the resources, the time or the skills.

Curation becomes increasingly essential

In the future, curation will therefore become increasingly essential, as the focus will be on merging existing content with new experiences. Or, in other words, on the personalization of knowledge, i.e. the adaptation of content to one’s own needs, the needs of a department, a company, an industry in the open knowledge mindset (freely available and editable knowledge). 

The market needs more flexible learning platforms for this purpose

which are not only concerned with searching for and collecting their own content – and subsequently producing content – but also with filtering, organizing and enriching it with other content, i.e. curating. Open Sesame and Microsoft Viva are already moving in this direction, but their potential is far from exhausted.  

We will therefore need a combination of agile, supportive learning technology and a new functional understanding of L&D departments supported by trusted guides in order to meet the current and future challenges of learning & development.

 

Marina Begic

Marina Begic

Digital Business Development Expertin und Senior L&D Consultant

Marina has been working on new, effective learning methods and the future of corporate learning for over 15 years. In her current role, she is responsible for Digital Business Development at MDI, where her focus is not driven by the current buzzwords, but primarily on the feasibility of digital transformation for clients such as Erste Group, Lenzing, Semperit, Deutsche Bahn, Andritz AG, Uniqa, Mayr-Melnhof, Frequentis, RHIM. Her greatest strength is bringing loose ends together, which she impressively demonstrates time and time again with her big picture view and multi-dimensional approach. Her greatest passion is to provide learners not only with an experience, but also with real, lasting value for their real challenges.

  • LinkedIn
Stefan Diepolder

Stefan Diepolder

Content Curator and Digital Learning Expert

Since my time at university, I have been working on how learning should be stimulated and how (digital) learning spaces should be designed in order to be able to develop competencies and skills efficiently, self-determinedly and effectively. I am particularly interested in the interplay between (analog) social learning processes and methods and digital tools and relevant content, which in most cases can already be found on the internet. My passion is to help people to give back autonomy over their learning, to develop information competence and to be able to make well-informed decisions. To take advantage of the supposed abundance of information on the Internet and find the relevant gems for themselves and pass them on to others. I share how I got to this point in my podcast.

  • LinkedIn

Digital training formats for leadership development

We help make leadership development more agile with our digital training formats:

  • E-learnings
  • e-consulting
  • Blended Learning Journeys
  • Virtual Leadership
  • virtual reality
  • digital learning transfer

– we have just the right thing for your needs!

Explore now!

What serves you next?

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture

by Desiree Jonek | 6. March 2023 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture In this interview, we ask Desiree Jonek , co-founder of WoMentor and the author of the brand new paper “5 effective measures to navigate the shift to an inclusive and performing corporate culture “, 3 big questions about...
Read More

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders

by Hamza Khan | 27. February 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders According to Deloitte University Press, 86% of companies have identified developing new leaders as an "urgent" need. And upon closer inspection, it’s clear to see why.  Incompetency as a Norm When it comes to managers'...
Read More

Greater employee retention through generational diversity

by Karen McCullough | 27. February 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Greater employee retention through generational diversity Over the last few decades, generational diversity in the workplace has increased significantly. The youngest Generation Z brings in new energy, while the oldest - Traditionalist Generation - often clings to...
Read More

Being a servant leader – Servant Leadership

by Gunther Fürstberger | 14. February 2023 | Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

Being a servant leader "Servant Leadership" is a concept by Robert Greenleaf that describes the manager as a servant to their employees. What this model is specifically about and what its strengths are, you can read in this article. The origin of the approach In...
Read More

How to strengthen social capital in the workplace

by Jana Wölfl | 26. January 2023 | Digital Transformation, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Why do you like your job? Is it the work, the salary, or perhaps the interaction with your colleagues?  The latter is being neglected in many companies, especially during the pandemic. Until then, people had lunch together from time to time, chatted briefly at the...
Read More

Dubai, Madrid and soon Bangkok – around the world with MDI

by Alina Helmlinger, Marina Begic, Nicole Altenberger | 7. July 2022 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Training Insights | 0 Comments

our L&D Consultants Marina Begic, Nicole Altenberger and Alina Helmlinger have experienced quite a bit over the past few months. Here they describe how it all came about, what exactly they did there, and what's awaiting next for them...Dubai, Madrid and soon...
Read More

Our journey of becoming CO2 neutral – reasons and tips

by Alexandra Eichler, Gunther Fürstberger | 10. December 2021 | Leadership Impact, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

MDI is CO2 neutral The pandemic has made us more thoughtful. Adult education in presence is connected with traveling. Often these are only short distances, but we also had seminar weeks where participants came together from all over the world. With the Pandemic...
Read More

How can VR help with leadership training?

by Anita Berger, Dominik Etzl | 11. October 2021 | Leadership Impact, Leadership in the digital transformation, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

How can VR help with leadership training? Our Virtual Reality & Leadership Development Experts Anita Berger & Dominik Etzl talk in this Interview about Leadership Impact through VR.can help organizations address some of today's key leadership challenges.Why is...
Read More

Redefining the workplace as a new area of impact

by Marina Begic | 28. July 2021 | Impuls series, Leadership Impact | 0 Comments

Part 4 with Marina Begic: Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant Our Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant Marina Begic is currently focusing intensively on "The Future of Workplace Learning". Fast and targeted...
Read More

Virtual Reality for Leadership Development

by Aline Depoorter | 22. June 2021 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, learning effectiveness | 0 Comments

Virtual reality for leadership development on the riseIt's high time we use VR learning in leadership development. That's why MDI Management Development International and Jenson8 are partnering to transform leadership development through virtual reality. The new "VR...
Read More

Agile-based Competence Management – Learn and evolve with change

Agile-based Competence Management – Learn and evolve with change

by Josef Wegenberger, Oliver Wegenberger | Jun 18, 2021 | Agile Leadership, International leadership development, learning effectiveness | 0 comments

Site Assessment in the context of agile management development

Authors: Josef Wegenberger, Oliver Wegenberger

Society for Business Psychology and Organizational Dynamics

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a company from the 1980s. TECHNIK AG is a typical large company with several thousand employees. The order situation is stable, the personnel is well qualified for the tasks through school and professional training. All leaders are “masters of their trade”, have essentially all the necessary knowledge and are thus predestined to act as “superiors” in the respective department. Personnel development is limited to training and continuing education, and even this is the exception rather than the rule. Discussions with employees are event-driven, and structured employee appraisals do not actually take place in practice. Further training events for very specific target groups are “prescribed” and centrally controlled.

In the mid-1980s, training needs are surveyed – if at all – by well thought-out training needs surveys using questionnaires sent to all managers. The human resources department evaluates these and prepares a preliminary training budget. Budget planning is then decided for the entire company; changes and budget reductions are reported back to the divisions and departments. After this, the specific training and development measures are planned and implemented by the end of the year. The remaining planned measures are postponed to the next year or are no longer current. Short-term training needs are covered by reallocations or cannot be realized.

The case study is constructed. However, it shows the cycle of two to three years from training needs assessment to implementation and evaluation.

Let’s switch to the present.

Our case study – TECHNIK AG is still operating successfully in the market. It is now divided into numerous subsidiaries and cooperates with numerous partner companies and start-ups.

The environment is VUCA

  • “Volatility” 
  • “Uncertainty”
  • “Complexity
  • “Ambiguity”

The year 2020, with the COVID pandemic, has once again reinforced the rapid pace and dynamics of changed and changing conditions.

Statements, such as “speed kills” and “the big will not eat the small, but the fast will eat the slow”[1], are no longer slogans [but] reality.

[1] Based on Eberhard von Kuenheim [*1928] Chairman of the Board of Management [1970-1993] and Chairman of the Supervisory Board [1993-1999] of BMW AG.

Agile working methods – Learn and evolve with change

Rapid and flexible cycles in target management [agreement – delegation – implementation – review / evaluation], virtual leadership, networking, etc. are changing the world of work and thus teamwork management at all levels and in all areas. TECHNIK AG has already converted performance management to quarterly cycles and coordination takes place in “daily standings”, weekly and monthly team meetings and individual discussions between leaders and team members.

Talent and competence management is still lagging behind somewhat and still opts for the more classic methods of assessing the current situation – apart from a few exceptions and “experiments” – by means of standardized appraisal interviews and assessment centers or potential analyses. However, all those responsible in the company are aware that agile talent and competence management will become a critical factor for success in the future.

“Agile and flexible approach” is sometimes confused in practice with “implementation without planning”.

Exactly the opposite is the case. Only through precise planning as well as a goal-oriented and consistent approach can the benefits of agile management be exploited.

Target management must not be a “one-time” thing at the beginning of the fiscal year”, but must be an integral part of “daily business” at all levels.

This can be applied equally to agile leadership development.

However, the application of the various, small-scale methods of competence development, such as micro-learning, learning nuggets, e-learnings, webinars, intensive coaching elements, etc., requires a continuous assessment of the current situation. This includes the competencies relevant to the requirements [personal, communicative, methodological, special, technical and management competencies].

The “call” for targeted development of competencies

is also due to the fact that the investment costs are to be used efficiently and the “return on investment” is to be made at the earliest possible point in time.

The assessment of the current situation is the basis for recommendations for further development and clear development target agreements, which – analogous to target performance management – are evaluated, for example, on a quarterly basis:

The graphic shows the control loop of agile competence management, with the starting point of the site assessment (Standortbestimmung) in the form of the agile competence evaluation. (Kompetenzentwicklung) The result of the competence target/actual comparison (Erfolgskontrolle) leads to recommendations for further development. (Feedback) These are to be converted into concrete learning objectives, which form the basis of competence development

An essential component of the Continuous Learning Process

is the monitoring of the success and effectiveness of the learning content. The methods used for this purpose include self-assessments, specific test procedures, work samples, and even [interim] examinations as part of training courses. The feedback between manager and team member is the starting point for further competence evaluation and the continuous learning process can start again.

The role of the manager and their goals in this competence development process are to be adapted to agile leadership development:

  • “Strengthen” the employees’ “strengths”.
  • “Weaken” the “weaknesses” of the employees [i.e.: raise improvement potentials and neutralize deficits].
  • Developing employees in such a way that the actual competence profile ideally matches the target competence profile
  • Increased assumption of responsibility through competence development
  • Increasing flexibility
  • Increasing quality
  • Ensuring team-relevant competencies to achieve agreed team goals

The employees’ self-responsibility for their own development gains in importance:

The role image of team members continues to develop “from employees to co-entrepreneurs“. For the area of competence development, this means increased self-responsibility for their own development and career. Continuous learning will [have to] become a matter of course for all employees.

Goals of employees in the context of their own personal development:

  • Recognize, promote and implement own talents, strengths.
  • Foundations for own career development
  • Flexibility and mobility
  • Ensuring job-relevant competencies to achieve agreed goals
  • Adaptation of job-relevant competencies and qualifications to the requirements of the task area
  • Assumption of extended responsibility, more decision-making and action powers
  • Securing and increasing standard of living
www.gwo.at

www.gwo.at

What serves you next?

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture

by Desiree Jonek | 6. March 2023 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture In this interview, we ask Desiree Jonek , co-founder of WoMentor and the author of the brand new paper “5 effective measures to navigate the shift to an inclusive and performing corporate culture “, 3 big questions about...
Read More

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders

by Hamza Khan | 27. February 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders According to Deloitte University Press, 86% of companies have identified developing new leaders as an "urgent" need. And upon closer inspection, it’s clear to see why.  Incompetency as a Norm When it comes to managers'...
Read More

Greater employee retention through generational diversity

by Karen McCullough | 27. February 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Greater employee retention through generational diversity Over the last few decades, generational diversity in the workplace has increased significantly. The youngest Generation Z brings in new energy, while the oldest - Traditionalist Generation - often clings to...
Read More

Being a servant leader – Servant Leadership

by Gunther Fürstberger | 14. February 2023 | Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

Being a servant leader "Servant Leadership" is a concept by Robert Greenleaf that describes the manager as a servant to their employees. What this model is specifically about and what its strengths are, you can read in this article. The origin of the approach In...
Read More

How to strengthen social capital in the workplace

by Jana Wölfl | 26. January 2023 | Digital Transformation, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Why do you like your job? Is it the work, the salary, or perhaps the interaction with your colleagues?  The latter is being neglected in many companies, especially during the pandemic. Until then, people had lunch together from time to time, chatted briefly at the...
Read More

Dubai, Madrid and soon Bangkok – around the world with MDI

by Alina Helmlinger, Marina Begic, Nicole Altenberger | 7. July 2022 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Training Insights | 0 Comments

our L&D Consultants Marina Begic, Nicole Altenberger and Alina Helmlinger have experienced quite a bit over the past few months. Here they describe how it all came about, what exactly they did there, and what's awaiting next for them...Dubai, Madrid and soon...
Read More

Our journey of becoming CO2 neutral – reasons and tips

by Alexandra Eichler, Gunther Fürstberger | 10. December 2021 | Leadership Impact, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

MDI is CO2 neutral The pandemic has made us more thoughtful. Adult education in presence is connected with traveling. Often these are only short distances, but we also had seminar weeks where participants came together from all over the world. With the Pandemic...
Read More

How can VR help with leadership training?

by Anita Berger, Dominik Etzl | 11. October 2021 | Leadership Impact, Leadership in the digital transformation, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

How can VR help with leadership training? Our Virtual Reality & Leadership Development Experts Anita Berger & Dominik Etzl talk in this Interview about Leadership Impact through VR.can help organizations address some of today's key leadership challenges.Why is...
Read More

Redefining the workplace as a new area of impact

by Marina Begic | 28. July 2021 | Impuls series, Leadership Impact | 0 Comments

Part 4 with Marina Begic: Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant Our Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant Marina Begic is currently focusing intensively on "The Future of Workplace Learning". Fast and targeted...
Read More

Virtual Reality for Leadership Development

by Aline Depoorter | 22. June 2021 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, learning effectiveness | 0 Comments

Virtual reality for leadership development on the riseIt's high time we use VR learning in leadership development. That's why MDI Management Development International and Jenson8 are partnering to transform leadership development through virtual reality. The new "VR...
Read More

How to lead hybrid and virtual teams successfully

How to lead hybrid and virtual teams successfully

by Anita Berger | Feb 9, 2021 | International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 comments

Leading virtual and hybrid teams brings both opportunities and challenges.

But how do you lead hybrid and virtual teams successfully?

In this article on “Leading hybrid and virtual teams successfully”, Anita Berger writes about the latest developments. For many leaders and their teams, the form of leadership and cooperation has shifted to the virtual space due to home offices. Another facet is the hybrid setting, where one part of the team works at the location and another part in the home office. There are challenges and opportunities associated with these forms in equal measure.

This valuable contribution is full of practical tips for all those who want to take the opportunity to look at the topics of collaboration, communication and leadership and reflect on what they want to continue to do or what they want to focus on more in the future.

Leading hybrid and virtual teams successfully

Practical Tips

1. Be ready for different forms of working.

The saying of the American tennis star Arthur Ashe

“Start where you are! Use what you have! Do what you can!”

certainly provides a very pragmatic guide here for how to proceed. Your task is to lead by example, to moderate a constructive exchange and to strengthen learning from and with each other. Build on your experience, your strengths and qualities and those of the team. It is about being pragmatic, not perfect. The key is to learn from doing. Create clarity regarding tasks, responsibilities, scope for action, expected work results and the decision-making processes.

2. Design the communication processes and ensure the flow of information

2.1 Focus on “K D I”

Use everything that also makes effective and efficient face-to-face meetings and focus on K D I!

KDI stands for:

  • Clarity,
  • discipline and
  • interpersonal interaction.

2.2 Clarity

Ensure clarity on the following questions:

  • What is the specific objective of the meeting?
  • Is the meeting the most appropriate way to deal with the issue?
  • What is the outcome we want to achieve with the meeting?
  • What kind of meeting is it? (or information sharing, brainstorming, decision making, experience sharing).
  • Why am I in this meeting?
  • What is my task, my mission?
  • What contribution can I make?
  • What is expected of me?
  • Who else should be involved in the meeting? (or clients, decision-makers, specific knowledge holders).

Create a structure for your meetings to ensure that the participants can prepare themselves accordingly. 

2.3 Discipline & Focus

  • Preparation: If the objectives and nature of the meeting are clear, all participants will know what to prepare for the meeting. Set a good example and be prepared!
  • Punctuality and trouble-free environment: If a meeting is scheduled for 9am, everyone should be dialled in ahead of time and have secured the infrastructure and necessary equipment so that the meeting starts on time and trouble-free.
  • Keep to scheduled times: A one-hour meeting will also end after this hour. If it turns out that more time is needed, devote the appropriate time at the end of the virtual/hybrid meeting to clarifying how the open issues will be dealt with further.
  • Shorter meetings (45 to 60 minutes maximum): Concentrate on shorter meetings that have the full focus of all participants. If there are several topics to be dealt with that require more time, schedule virtual breaks after every 60 minutes at the latest.
  • Make sure that there is a documented summary of the results and agreement on follow-up activities. Use the various technical possibilities for this.
  • and well known, but not always so easy to implement: Make sure you really listen to each other and let them finish.

2.4 Interpersonal interaction

Up to now, there was usually the possibility of face-to-face interaction in addition to virtual meetings. Therefore, the focus in these virtual meetings was often “on the matter/topic”. Since the possibility of face-to-face interaction is currently very limited, dedicate time and virtual space to interpersonal interaction.

  • If possible from the infrastructure, the virtual meetings should be conducted in video mode because this creates more closeness. It gives you the opportunity to get more of the reaction of your interlocutors.
  • As a special feature in the hybrid setting: If some of the participants are in a meeting room and some in a home office, use two cameras (can also be two notebooks with camera function) in the meeting room. One camera is directed at the respective presenter, the other camera at the other participants. This way, colleagues from the home office also have the opportunity to experience an impression of the on-site interaction.
  • At the beginning of the meeting, deliberately plan time for social onboarding. These can be questions such as “What is your current energy level?” “What do you need to bring to the meeting in the best way possible?” “What does it take for us to get the most out of the meeting?” A check-in should not be done in a tokenistic way, but used to pick people up where they are at the moment and what is on their mind.
  • As a general rule, use questions more frequently to ensure involvement. In addition to open and closed questions, scale questions are suitable. You can use them to ask about a variety of things, from assessment to commitment to experience. For example, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how committed are you to implementing the proposed idea?” Then ask more advanced open-ended questions, such as “What does it take to get from a 6 to a 7?”
  • Use “one-word questions” to quickly solicit opinions or ideas.
  • If social onboarding is needed at the beginning of the meeting, a feedback loop at the end of the meeting is equally important. Ask questions like “What went well today? What should we keep?” “What should we change for next time?” help to continuously improve the quality and efficiency of meetings.
  • Ensure that there is a facilitator for each meeting who ensures adherence to the key principles of effective meetings.

3. Strengthening team identity and team spirit in virtual or hybrid settings

It is also possible to strengthen team identity and team spirit in virtual or hybrid settings. This requires openness and the courage to try out new things.

  • Consciously plan time and space for social, informal interaction. This can be at the beginning of a meeting, in the form of a virtual morning coffee or after-work drink or a joint birthday toast.
  • Develop collaborative activities, such as playlists and tips for quick cooking at home.
  • Be thoughtful and surprise your team. Send a postcard or a small surprise package with sweets, for example. Especially now, when a lot of things happen in virtual space, something “that you can get your hands on” is particularly pleasing.
  • Create clarity together with the team “what they stand for as a department” and “what the contribution of each individual is”. This increases identification.
  • Team workshops in virtual or hybrid settings can also offer the opportunity to strengthen cooperation.

4. plan onboarding for the virtual/hybrid context

A particular challenge that has arisen in recent months is the onboarding of new colleagues in the virtual/hybrid setting.

It is crucial to seek contact with new colleagues and express that you are looking forward to meeting them. Try to provide answers to as many questions as possible. It is helpful to change perspectives, i.e. consciously put yourself in the shoes of the newcomer and try to understand what he or she is thinking about when starting in the new organisation. For example, write a welcome letter.

  • In it, inform them where and in what form they will start work (for example, at the location or in the home office).
  • Clarify who the personal contact persons and, if applicable, mentors are and establish the contacts.
    Describe when and how the colleague will receive the equipment and infrastructure to work in the home office if needed.
  • Also get clarity on what you need from new colleagues. How and to whom should they communicate the information?
  • Outline the first day of work. If this takes place in the home office, you need a precise schedule, ideally also an outlook for the first week. How much flexibility is there, for example, in terms of time management? What fixed appointments should be planned? Make sure that new colleagues can organise themselves as well as possible.
  • Give an insight into the current situation of the organisation. Ensure that there is no information vacuum by proactively informing. Which existing communication and information channels, for example newsletters or intranet, can you use for this?
  • Give an initial insight into the existing team. Who are the colleagues? To what extent is there already the possibility of integrating the newcomer into social (informal) networks?
  • Manage expectations consciously. Do not promise anything you cannot deliver. New employees will understand that not everything will work right from the start, as long as you are transparent and maintain an open dialogue

At the same time, it is essential to inform the existing team in the best possible way,

  • when and in what form new colleagues will start,
  • what their responsibilities will be,
  • what this will mean for their own area of work,
  • who the contact persons for the new colleagues will be,
  • how the induction plan will be designed and what it will require from whom in the team.

What is needed in the virtual or hybrid context is planning, preparation, discipline and intensive and ongoing dialogue. In addition, the support of a mentor is conducive to social integration.

Summary

Use the impulses from this article on the following topics

  • Being ready for different forms of working,
  • Designing communication processes and ensuring the flow of information,
  • Strengthening team identity and team spirit also in the virtual/hybrid setting,
  • planning onboarding for the virtual/hybrid context,

to feel encouraged to continue what is working well or to identify areas of action on which you want to focus more in the future.

About the author | Mag. Anita Berger, MAS, MSc., eMBA

About the author | Mag. Anita Berger, MAS, MSc., eMBA

Executive Coach, Consultant, Trainer & Managing Partner MDI

Anita Berger is an executive coach, consultant and trainer specialised in leadership development in the VUCA world, facilitation of transformation processes and international human resources management. She is a shareholder and partner of MDI and has been working for more than 20 years in management and leadership positions (as HR Director Coca-Cola Hellenic and HR Manager Konica Minolta Business Solutions) in various industries, from medium-sized to large international corporations. Her numerous blog posts deal with current issues on: Leading virtual and hybrid teams, digital onboarding, agile change management and “Can social skills be trained virtually?”.

  • LinkedIn

What might help you next?

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture

by Desiree Jonek | 6. March 2023 | Best Practice, International leadership development, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

5 measures for an integrative corporate culture In this interview, we ask Desiree Jonek , co-founder of WoMentor and the author of the brand new paper “5 effective measures to navigate the shift to an inclusive and performing corporate culture “, 3 big questions about...
Read More

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders

by Hamza Khan | 27. February 2023 | International leadership development, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

One Size Fits None: An Appeal for Better Leaders According to Deloitte University Press, 86% of companies have identified developing new leaders as an "urgent" need. And upon closer inspection, it’s clear to see why.  Incompetency as a Norm When it comes to managers'...
Read More

Greater employee retention through generational diversity

by Karen McCullough | 27. February 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Greater employee retention through generational diversity Over the last few decades, generational diversity in the workplace has increased significantly. The youngest Generation Z brings in new energy, while the oldest - Traditionalist Generation - often clings to...
Read More

Being a servant leader – Servant Leadership

by Gunther Fürstberger | 14. February 2023 | Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

Being a servant leader "Servant Leadership" is a concept by Robert Greenleaf that describes the manager as a servant to their employees. What this model is specifically about and what its strengths are, you can read in this article. The origin of the approach In...
Read More

How to strengthen social capital in the workplace

by Jana Wölfl | 26. January 2023 | Digital Transformation, Leadership Impact, Leadership Tips | 0 Comments

Why do you like your job? Is it the work, the salary, or perhaps the interaction with your colleagues?  The latter is being neglected in many companies, especially during the pandemic. Until then, people had lunch together from time to time, chatted briefly at the...
Read More

How to maintain attention in online meetings

by Peter Grabuschnig | 10. January 2023 | Best Practice, Leadership Tips, learning effectiveness | 0 Comments

Read this article to find out how you can get everyone to listen to you in online meetings and what you need to keep in mind in a hybrid setting. How to maintain attention in online meetings You know it - sometimes you are leading an online meeting and you get the...
Read More

Workation evaluation – lessons we have learned so far

by Jana Wölfl | 28. November 2022 | Agile Leadership, Best Practice, MDI Inside | 0 Comments

Vacation during working hours seems like a dream - but is it really? We provide a workation evaluation, weigh the pros and cons and look at the lessons we have learned so far.* Workation evaluation – Lessons Learned so far Workation - Work and Vacation - has become a...
Read More

How can I actively share knowledge as a leader?

by Anita Berger | 11. November 2022 | Leadership Tips, learning effectiveness, Learning Transfer | 0 Comments

How can I actively share knowledge as a leader? Knowledge management - I know that I know (nothing) How do you deal with knowledge management as a leader? What do we really know and how can we use it to our best advantage?  Mentoring & Knowledge Management Our MDI...
Read More

Agile mindset beyond company boundaries

by Book "Agile Leadership Development", Marina Begic | 20. October 2022 | Agile Leadership, Digital Transformation | 0 Comments

Agile mindset beyond company boundaries In order to compete in a constantly changing market, companies must be able to react quickly to changes.Strong networking, increased knowledge exchange and an agile mindset beyond company boundaries are crucial.Leadership in...
Read More

3 tips for efficient and sustainable OKR results

by Gunther Fürstberger | 17. October 2022 | Best Practice, Leadership Tips, Training Insights | 0 Comments

3 tips for efficient and sustain Do you want to learn more about OKR - Objectives & Key Results? Here are 3 leadership tips for efficient and sustainable OKR results. 1. Reserve the meeting dates for a year in advance Long-term OKR scheduling Long-term scheduling...
Read More

« Older Entries

Information

  • Imprint
  • MDI company website

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn

© MDI Management Development Institute, 2020