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When you hear the word leadership, one usually immediately thinks of hierarchical leadership positions, but this would be too short. We distinguish 2 different categories:
- Category 1: temporary management tasks. This includes all management tasks that arise, for example, in the context of projects. In most companies these are the first steps to find out whether you are qualified for long-term management tasks. Perhaps you were able to undertake such management tasks during your studies. If you have worked in a student organization (student management consultancy, Konvent, etc.) you may already have taken on certain tasks together with other students. If you were responsible for the outcome, you have already gained your first leadership experience.
- Category 2: long-term, hierarchical management tasks. As the name suggests, these are formal management positions that you occupy in the hierarchy of a company. Perhaps you could already occupy such a position during your studies. Were you on the board of a student consultancy or responsible for a position in a student association?
To qualify for these tasks you will need the following skills (for more details see Hughes R. L./Ginnet R.C./Curphy G.J.: Leadership - Enhancing the Lessons of Experience, New York, 2014. The following clusters are a summary from this book.):
- Guide others. In order to lead others, one should master basic skills such as defining and communicating goals/information, allocating tasks and assessing the performance of employees. An important skill of a future manager is also the delegation of tasks. If you try to do everything yourself, you will quickly become overloaded and do less. In order to successfully manage this, however, one must also be able to communicate expectations, concrete results and quality standards in such a way that everyone understands it. This is a big difference to the previous lesson, because communicating among colleagues is different from leading colleagues.
- Resource Allocation. In order to manage efficiently and effectively, you need to be able to assess the skills of employees or colleagues. This analytical ability is completed by the ability to deploy employees according to their abilities.
- Personal Mindset. Here you should ask yourself if you have the right mindset to lead other people. In any case, you should have a basic confidence in the performance of your employees and colleagues, because permanent control can be a very big stress factor. An important point here is also the making of unpleasant decisions, for example the sanctioning of malpractice or even the release of employees. If you cannot imagine such a task, you should consider whether you intend to take on management tasks.
As always, we distinguish between the 2 different levels, basic and advanced forms:
- Basic Forms: Ability to guide, support, encourage and influence others and share knowledge and inspire others. When getting your first own projects, be aware of your capabilities and limitations and know the team you are working with in order to complete a project successfully.
- Advanced Forms: Ability to guide, support, mentor, encourage and influence others, passing on knowledge, expertise and training where possible. Leading people as a permanent task is challenging yet rewarding. It is important to know and organize yourself well in order to lead others, mediate in stressful situations and align with the goals of the company.
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