#5 Team Leader – or is the Team the Leader?

Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to talk to John P. Kotter about how he feels at the moment, where the term “leadership” with which he deals with so much is used so often. Yes, we are in the middle of changing times, everywhere, on every segment. But a) Has that not always been the case? And b) Are we not just  totally sensitized to this issue at the moment? And c) Is not this change indispensable if we want to further develop?

It is with astonishment that I recognize, who suddenly seems to know all about the “Leadership” topic. The most common question is: What are the characteristics of future “leaders” – so they are able to lead “across the board teams” and “swarms” in future?

The wrong question, as I think. Because if we really want to develop further, will not the “Leader” become obsolete and then does not the term “Leadership” gain a completely different meaning? How exciting would it be if we were to distribute all the characteristics that are currently cumulative in a person to the future teams? What if organizations can work together in the same way as we are just looking at machines in production 4.0 scenarios at the moment? What if the team actually becomes a leader instead of a new team leader?