Dusseldorf There is an increasing demand for bosses. Various studies show this. According to a survey by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), only 14 percent of all employees in Germany can imagine becoming managers in the next few years.
When asked about the reasons, Elke Hofmann asks a counter question: “Is that really the case?” She meets a lot of people who want to take on responsibility and lead, says the HR consultant in the new episode of Handelsblatt Rethink Work – but not under the conditions that the job requires offers.
And yet she has “greatest respect” for people who have a leadership position, reflect on themselves and then realize that the job is not for them – also because more and more is expected of bosses.
The team is becoming increasingly important, especially because of the increasing demands on managers, says Hofmann. “I depend on my team,” says the consultant. On the one hand because of the diversity of perspectives, but on the other hand also to be able to cope with the “mass” of tasks and challenges.
Hofmann heads the Munich office of Egon Zehnder, Germany’s largest personnel consultancy. It supports companies in filling management, executive and supervisory board positions. And she accompanies managers during the start-up phase in new jobs.
She heads the Munich office of Egon Zehnder, Germany’s largest personnel consultancy.
Hofmann worked, among other things, at the strategy consultancy Roland Berger and for 13 years as a manager at the oil company BP in London. She explains how she grew with her teams, which grew larger, and her tasks, some of which were difficult.
Even as a child, she realized that she liked taking on responsibility and experienced first-hand what bad leadership was during her banking apprenticeship. Then she realized how she didn’t want to do it.
For Hofmann, good leadership means being approachable, listening and also talking about your own mistakes. “That does a lot to a team because it not only shows your own vulnerability, but also gives the team security.”
More: Listen to the previous episode of Rethink Work here