Interview with Sebastian Körber on the topic of Evolution of Leadership

Anyone who leads a team today takes on a special role. Why? Because nowadays a team leader should be characterized as anything but as a dominant leader. Looking back the demands placed on team leads have changed considerably in the course of human evolution - but there are a few core things that have stayed the same over the years. In this article we will be looking at these similarities and more.
Find out how to recognize a good leader and what really strengthens teams in our interview with motivational trainer Sebastian Körber, with whom we had another exciting conversation on this topic in January 2021.

What is meant by "Evolution of Leadership" and what is expected of a leader?

When looking at the topic of "leadership" one should It is interesting to look at how the concept of "leadership" has evolved with mankind and what has remained the same from then until now.

Basically, the leadership style nowadays has become much softer over the last thousands of years – how soft it has become depends on the culture. 

What makes a leader a good leader:

1. A leader should and must place the collective above the individual.
2. A leader must demonstrate courage in situations of fear and danger.
3. Leadership leads to loneliness, which must be endured. The higher one rises in hierarchy, the more one will have to isolate oneself.

It is important to note that dominance has nothing to do with leadership. A leader must always take responsibility for the group. The correlation between power and responsibility is one.

How will leadership behavior change in the next few years? 

The three basic factors just mentioned will remain the same at their core but will evolve slightly with time. Generations Y and Z need more prospects for self-actualization and a sense of purpose in what they do. For them is no longer about mindlessly pursuing a job for example simply to earn money, but within this generation each person wants to find meaning and purpose within their job. This change in values will also demand behavioral effects on people who want to lead these generations and will make a greater impact once these generations are leaders themselves.

Is there a difference between men and women in terms of dominant or authoritarian behavior?

Surprisingly, women behave noticeably different in groups than men. Whereby this is certainly not the case in general terms, because every person is to be regarded as an individual resulting in exceptions. It can be observed, however, that women, especially when they are new to a group or team, initially hold back and sound out the situation, while men clarify their “ranking” in the new group directly and initially behave more dominantly. Once the hierarchy among men has been clarified, it is usually not renegotiated. In women's groups however, there is usually a regular adjustment of the "alpha" roles and the dominant or authoritarian behavior takes place more permanently and in the background.

What characteristics can you recognize in incompetent leaders?

There are simple tricks and ways to find out if someone brings leadership qualities to the table without that person even having to work an hour:

1. Bad leaders hide behind complex sentence structures and can't express themselves clearly
   That's why Sebastian Körber recommends asking a same and simple question over and over again until the person manages to provide a comprehensible answer. If you are not able to speak simply and explain things in a simple manner to a group, you are most likely not a good leader.
   
   "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
   
   
2. Do a test: How quickly can a person reflect in a stressful situation and focus again?
   In an interview, you can deliberately expose your counterpart to a stressful situation in order to test the person's reaction to stress, for example By causing stress through a baseless accusation. You can even take on a position of attack and cross a line that you normally would not cross. This is important to determine how the person behaves in conflict, for example, whether he or she leaves the room or withdraws apologetically and how he or she approaches the provocative counterpart after the conflict.
   Is he or she willing to have a clarifying conversation?
   A leader must function under stress and should never be conflict averse.
   
   "Anyone who stops communicating under stress is not a good leader."

Can and should employees intervene in their boss's leadership style?

Intervening directly in a leadership style is not easy. Again, similar to what has already been described above, it is a matter of creating a certain provocative and stressful situation by asking simple questions and waiting for a reaction of the superior(s).
The key in communicating with other people, including superiors, is to remain friendly but firm in conflict situations and to demand from the manager exactly what he or she gets paid for in the first place: to be courageous, to make decisions, to motivate and to act.

How can I improve my leadership skills? Are team building seminars worthwhile?

Teambuilding events are good, but they should not turn into a fun event. Instead, they should consciously pull the team members out of their day-to-day roles. It is important that every Person involved shows their abilities and true characters as well as vulnerabilities and no one has the chance to pretend to be someone else. 

"Trust will only be strengthened when everyone leaves their comfort zone behind and becomes more visible and vulnerable in the group."  

At teambuilding events it is just as much about showing yourself as who you really are - with all your facets and weaknesses - as it is in everyday work situations. If you pretend too much, you will be perceived as untrustworthy and lose your standing within the group.

Our conclusion - how leadership can work

It is important that a team leader knows what he or she is doing, takes responsibility for the team as well as his or her actions and does not exploit the superior role. That is how you can distinguish a good leader from a dominant but incompetent leader.

"People want to be led by people - not by a position."