Leadership development is an ongoing, dynamic process that supports leaders in shaping their leadership style in line with the times and managing their teams effectively. Continuous support and development is essential, especially for top leaders, in order to meet the growing demands of the working world. KIROI Step 9 offers valuable impulses that provide targeted support for managers on their development path and have a lasting effect.
Leadership skills development: a strategic building block for top leaders
Leadership development encompasses all measures that improve the way managers think and act. For top leaders, this means continuously developing social and methodological skills in addition to technical knowledge. Companies in the IT sector, for example, have shown how targeted coaching programmes can strengthen soft skills such as empathy and communication. At the same time, transformation processes and digitalisation support agile and adaptive leadership behaviour. In the healthcare sector, leadership skills development promotes the ability to lead interdisciplinary teams in a secure and stable manner, even in times of crisis. And in the manufacturing industry, experienced managers focus on employee retention through individual development plans and feedback systems.
This range of examples clearly shows how diverse and relevant leadership skills development is across all sectors. KIROI Step 9 specifically supports top management executives in reflecting on their behaviour and becoming more capable of acting in strategically important situations. This step thus provides impetus for the sustainable anchoring of new leadership qualities in everyday corporate life.
KIROI Step 9: Impulses for practical leadership skills development
The ninth step in the KIROI approach supports leaders through a systematic process of reflection on their leadership practice. In the automotive industry, for example, managers use structured feedback cycles to scrutinise patterns of action. This promotes a deep understanding of their own impact and opens up scope for improvement. Similarly, managers in the financial sector aim to optimise their decision-making using 360-degree feedback in order to better manage crises. In digital marketing, managers specifically rely on peer coaching to learn from each other and try out innovative solutions.
It is important that this step is not seen in isolation, but is embedded in a long-term development of leadership skills. KIROI Step 9 acts as a catalyst here, promoting existing strengths and opening up new perspectives at the same time. In everyday practice, experienced coaches and mentors accompany the manager and support them in the targeted implementation of the findings so that concrete steps towards change become possible.
BEST PRACTICE with one customer (name hidden due to NDA contract) In the healthcare sector, one manager received intensive support from KIROI Step 9 in order to optimise her style of team leadership in the face of a heavy workload. The aim was to improve the flow of information and make more binding decisions. With the support of the coach, the manager was able to establish structured feedback sessions and thus create a more motivating working environment, which was rated as very helpful by employees.
Concrete methods within leadership competence development
Coaching is a key method for developing leadership skills. For example, a coach helps managers in the energy sector to strengthen their conflict resolution skills and thus improve the working atmosphere in the long term. In the media sector, mentoring programmes help junior managers to learn from experienced colleagues in a practical way and to take on their roles with confidence. E-learning programmes are increasingly being used in the retail sector to impart knowledge about modern management tools such as agile methods, regardless of time and location.
In addition to these traditional methods, the combination with AI-supported feedback is becoming increasingly important. This can be observed particularly well in technology-oriented companies that can efficiently scale programmes through personalised digital training. Here, managers are continuously supported in order to reflect on their skills based on data and develop them further in a customised manner.
BEST PRACTICE with one customer (name hidden due to NDA contract) A combined method of mentoring and AI-supported coaching was implemented in the financial sector. In this way, the manager received individual development impulses and was able to initiate effective leadership changes within a short period of time, which had a positive impact on team performance and the working atmosphere. The close support helped to integrate suitable practical exercises into everyday working life.
Developing leadership skills in the digital transformation: opportunities and tasks
As companies increasingly operate in digital and complex environments, leadership development is becoming even more important. Top leaders are faced with the challenge of expanding their thinking and promoting new forms of collaboration. For example, the use of agile leadership sprints in the technology sector enables the rapid transfer of theoretical knowledge into concrete leadership actions.
At the same time, clients from different industries often report hurdles such as time pressure or a lack of continuity in development programmes. This is where KIROI Step 9 comes in by creating sustainable structures that can be easily integrated into day-to-day management. This not only supports managers, but also motivates them to take responsibility for their own growth.
BEST PRACTICE with one customer (name hidden due to NDA contract) An IT service provider integrated KIROI Step 9 into its leadership programme. The managers benefited from reflection workshops and peer coaching to improve their handling of change processes. The managers described this impulse as valuable support for leading teams in uncertain situations in a stable manner and strengthening the trust of employees.
My analysis
Developing leadership skills remains a key success factor for leaders in dynamic markets. KIROI Step 9 offers a practical methodology to support managers in their self-reflection and ability to act. The integration of coaching, mentoring, feedback and digital support leads to a sustainable improvement in leadership quality. Companies from various industries show that this support must be customised and continuous in order for real change to be possible.
Those who take leadership development seriously will benefit in the long term from committed, resilient and agile leaders who are up to the challenges of today's working world. KIROI Step 9 can accompany this process as an elementary building block and provide impetus for a contemporary leadership culture.
Further links from the text above:
Leadership development - concepts and methods, Rainmaker Society, 2025
Leadership development: Concept & methods, StudySmarter, 2025
Leadership development: Concept, methods & ROI, AVANSA, 2025
Leadership development: The guide for HR, Personio, 2025
Leadership development: Definition, methods & goals, HR WORKS, 2025
For more information and if you have any questions, please contact Contact us or read more blog posts on the topic Artificial intelligence here.
Deutsch 
English (UK)