"Managers need squash-point competence"
The soft skills of managers are more important today than ever before. Above all, the modern manager must act with agility and be a role model for their team members. And find a point from which they have the best overview of all the demands placed on them. Gaby Hamm-Brink, trainer at the pme Academy, explains in an interview how this can be achieved:
Work-Life-Blog: Has it already reached the minds of managers in companies that "hard" specialist knowledge alone is no longer enough?
Gaby Hamm-Brink: I think so. Staying flexible in your head has long been considered a key skill. The mere fact that we use so many new digital communication systems means that most organizations today are in a constant process of adaptation. One reorganization is followed by the next, change cycles are becoming shorter and joint action faster. This has an impact on every single team member, because no action stands alone anymore. It's like the Mikado: if I pull out a stick here, the rest of the system grid is thrown out of balance.
Can you give an example?
Let's take the banks. In the past, we all had our own bank and an advisor we went to. Today, we do our banking online, get stock market data on our smartphone with pinpoint accuracy, and online recommendations for an intelligent investment strategy are already behind us. So banks today have to look for target markets other than individuals. Two factors beyond specialist knowledge are crucial here: creativity and agility.
As a manager, how can I ensure that my employees remain agile and respond skillfully to the new requirements?
Continuous training and reflecting on one's own actions are an important key here: "Attending a pme seminar automatically means taking a break in the marathon that we all run every day. Ideally, we recharge our batteries and receive creative suggestions for solving daily challenges and developing sustainable ideas.
Managers in particular all need a kind of squash-point competence: in other words, they need to find the point at which they have the best overview of the demands and requirements placed on them. At the same time, they need to remain highly flexible. This is best achieved by pausing, reflecting and exchanging ideas.
Why do you have seminars on the topics of stress, resilience, conflict and change competence for both managers and their teams in your portfolio?
If the superstructure is to be agile, the associated teams must also be agile. In our 360° seminars, managers and team members deal with the same questions. Just from a different perspective. This creates mirror-image processes, comparable to the ascent and descent of a paternoster: you briefly meet at the same level and then change perspective again.
What is the concrete economic added value of these training courses?
If we consider that, according to studies, soft skills in leadership are responsible for more than 50 percent of employee motivation and commitment, then we can clearly see the added value in the following four effects:
- Recruitment: A good management style serves companies as a "trademark" and attracts qualified personnel.
- Employee retention: It is obvious that in a company with resilient teams and good communication, there is greater satisfaction and therefore less fluctuation, which in turn saves high costs.
- Reduced absenteeism: If problems and conflicts in the team or in reconciliation are addressed openly and dealt with competently, absenteeism also decreases.
- Increased performance: By reducing subliminal stressors, employees can concentrate better on their work and at the same time prevent health problems.
The result is motivated employees with a high willingness to be flexible and take on responsibility.
