Communication and leadership for managers: Part 001 - 004

Part 01: Introduction

Leadership styles have changed over time and are orientated towards the existing framework conditions, such as company development and market developments. A suitable communication and leadership style is an important tool for managers to successfully fulfil their tasks.

The rapid development of the Internet, which is having an increasingly significant impact on communication, has given rise to a number of new issues that managers need to address.

Part 02: Leadership for managers

The term leadership was coined by the American Harvard professor John P. Kotter.

He distinguished managers, whom he described as administrators, from leaders, who led companies and employees with vision rather than strict work processes. In increasingly complex and international companies and markets, it can be an advantage for managers to break away from familiar patterns and respond more flexibly to change through leadership.

However, the hard facts of a company should not be forgotten above the visions; a certain degree of "manager" should always be retained. Communication and your own communication style have a strong influence on whether you are perceived and accepted as a manager or a leader.

Part 03: Leadership 2.0

What does Leadership 2.0 mean?

Derived from the term Web 2.0, this management style advocates that managers actively involve their employees in the decision-making process. Employees should participate intensively in the company's activities and learn which decisions lead to which results and also what leadership means for managers. Leadership 2.0 also means promoting communication, not only top-down and bottom-up but also within the workforce.

Knowledge should be shared; ideas and innovations should arise from creative co-operation.

Part 04: Social Media & Leadership

Another important topic is social media, which refers to platforms that enable the online exchange of information or knowledge. In the private sector, this is known as online communities or sharing websites. In the business sector, this term also covers knowledge databases or instant messaging, for example. These are used in companies to simplify communication between employees and enable the exchange of knowledge.

Social media is already influencing managers and leadership today; for example, employees can rate companies in employer ranking portals and the results can be viewed by everyone. Social media facilitates communication, but its public nature means that it can spread across the web and companies are advised to regularly check which portals they can be found on and with what content.

To summarise, it can be said that leadership for managers is strongly influenced and shaped by external changes. Communication, whether in personal or digital form, is and remains an important part of the leadership task. It is therefore important for HR managers and decision-makers to stay on top of topics such as social media, Leadership 2.0 or the increasingly frequently described Generation Y and to keep track of developments. Not every trend will prevail, but none should be missed.