Dear Hans Werner, you write that the latest brain research has debunked long-held myths about the fundamental limits and motivations of people. What myths are these and what new findings should make leaders in particular pay attention?

The most significant realization is the importance of sufficient sleep, exercise and nutrition and their interplay for long-term cognitive performance. A few years ago, people were almost envious of colleagues who boasted about working 16 hours a day and getting by on four hours’ sleep. They wanted to constantly deliver peak performance. Diet and exercise played a subordinate role. The logical consequence was burnout, which was usually swept under the carpet. Today, we are replacing the myth of constant peak performance with the concept of Best Perfomance for our clients. It’s about being able to call up the right performance with the utmost precision at all times. When you’re driving your car, you don’t drive through the city center with the pedal to the metal, you call up the right performance and are vigilant about constantly adjusting it. And while you are doing this, you are training your powers of observation, self-awareness and agility.

The world has changed rapidly in recent years. Despite this, many leaders still think and act in outdated ways. What needs to happen for this to change? What findings from brain research can help? Or to put it another way: can leaders outsmart their brains, according to the motto ‘Don’t believe everything you think?’

Some of the outdated patterns are hierarchical thinking, the belief in linear progress and the fairy tale of constant growth. Yet the central theme of our time is disruption. It is the most important task of leaders to get this into the minds of employees and support them in accelerating transformation. However, we are seeing too much soft-pedaling in companies. The situation is not taken seriously enough, irrelevant information is relied upon, people cling to slogans or completely pointless token projects are launched. All of this costs unnecessarily valuable time and ultimately leads to learned helplessness. More knowledge about the function of the brain helps enormously. The basic principle is that our brains always try to provide us with the greatest possible security. Leaders need to get employees out of their comfort zones in order to create change. They need to use emotions much more constructively. They need to create psychological safety, increase curiosity in a targeted way and help the team to deal with uncertainty. Then the desire to perform will grow.

Does the ‘typical leadership brain’ exist? And what characterizes it?

No, there is no such thing. It’s down to the interplay between personal behavioral preferences and the respective environmental conditions. We observe time and again that the same leaders are extremely successful in one environment and suddenly underperform when they move to another. The basis of our work is therefore to give leaders as much self-awareness as possible and help them to make the best possible use of their individual strengths in every environment.

What else is important to be a good leader? What qualities do the leaders of today and tomorrow need to have?

We work intensively with our clients in training and coaching sessions on the topics of self-reflection, openness to new ideas, dealing with uncertainty and providing orientation.

Every leader is a role model, whether they want to be or not. You are always on stage. Each of us has a network of so-called mirror neurons in our brains that constantly scan the behavior of others and tempt us to imitate them if the person in question seems important to us.

It is therefore less important what leaders say than what they actually do. An increasingly important leadership skill will be to ‘shake up’ employees, as we call it, in a controlled manner. Making them insecure in their established behavioral patterns in order to move them out of their comfort zones without frightening them. Only there, outside the comfort and fear zones, is learning possible.

Leadership qualities are no longer only necessary at the top of a company, but in every team. How do companies find such personalities?

Through targeted observation of their own talents. There is no better playing field than the real situation. Leaders must learn to observe very closely what is happening in their own environment. They must recognise talents by their strengths and promote them in a targeted manner. As we will be working more and more in networks and matrix organizations, natural authority will become more important. Who contributes good ideas without boasting about them? Who thinks in overarching contexts? Who is listened to, whose contributions carry weight? Who expresses seemingly absurd ideas from time to time, is not easily discouraged and shows resilience? We run development centers with some of our clients in which talents and their strengths are identified at an early stage in a playful and appreciative manner. The right use of these talents and how they are handled will be decisive for the success of the company in the future.

The further development of AI has accelerated the transformation of the world of work many times over. Can our brains even keep up with this? How do we manage not only to grasp the complex environment around us, but also to work with it?

It all depends on whether what is happening around us is perceived as a threat or an opportunity.

And leaders have a decisive influence on this. Imagine you’re a parent driving through thick fog with your three small children in the back seat and you can’t see your hand in front of your eyes. Of course you’re scared. But you can deal with it by adjusting your speed, using the fog lights and paying extra attention. What about the three small children? You can of course tell them that you’re scared and that you’re prepared for a collision at any time. Then you probably won’t be able to control the screaming in the back seats. But you could also point to the sat nav and tell them that there’s a petrol station five kilometers away where you can take a little break with popcorn. The situation is the same, you’ve told the truth, you’ve given guidance and you’re moving on. In the future, it will be a matter of dealing constructively with these probably growing uncertainties.

How is AI changing the process of recruitment itself and to what extent can findings from brain research be helpful?

Selecting the right people and providing them with targeted support in developing their talents into strengths is becoming a game changer in a competitive environment. We have been using psychometric tools for several years as an instrument for self-reflection, always combined with intensive debriefing for the individual leader. Some tools have come to a standstill in their development or are no longer up to date. AI will help to create much more accurate profiles through the precise processing of huge data sets and considerably more in-depth calculations. This is where Zortify’s AI-based diagnostics really help us. We use it as a starting point for coaching when conducting in-depth personality analysis. Zortify’s AI differentiates very well, especially in the top management area, and prepares the ground for a profound examination of one’s own understanding of leadership. Leaders who have been in the business for a long time find this a particularly welcome leadership update. In addition, it will soon be possible to predict successful behavior in different team setups.

To what extent will it be more difficult for applicants to get a position with socially desirable answers in the future?

Social desirability is the main bias that we need to get a better handle on if we want to use personality analysis in talent recruitment and development in a meaningful way. I don’t see how we can significantly limit the effect of social desirability with conventional personality methods. Sure, there are lie scores that also measure the honesty of the answers. But as long as we only work on the basis of questionnaire-based self-assessments, everyone is free to answer honestly or dishonestly.

If we cannot avoid social desirability, how can we make it visible?

In HR diagnostics, we achieve better results when we combine different methods that are valid in themselves. For example, Zortify opens up a new source of information by using indirect personality measurement via the analysis of written free text responses. This makes it possible to visualize differences between the self-assessment using questionnaire items and the findings from the indirect method of text analysis. That’s very promising.

Why is it so important in psychometric diagnosis to add indirect methods (method within the method)?

Projective methods, for example, help to get distance from one’s own emotions that could distort the answer. ‘What would you say about a colleague who …’ makes it easier to tackle sensitive issues. In our Development Centres, there are many practical simulations in which real difficult situations are dealt with in a playful way instead of just cognitive self-assessments.

Will AI be the brains of the organization in the future and will humans have to master the so-called ‘soft skills’ above all?  

We will see. I believe that AI will indeed be the rational artificial brain that will provide all kinds of information in every conceivable form and analysis in a matter of seconds. Unbiased. But this will also lead to increasing conformity. The difference will then be made by leaders who work creatively on the basis of a solid human value system and a high level of self-awareness and who recognise the special nature of situations that no one else can see. In this context, I believe that there will be a reassessment of the importance of cognitive and emotional biases. After all, we humans are top performers precisely because the sum of our personal biases makes us unique and sometimes somewhat quirky personalities with all their flaws, peculiarities and unpredictability.  

What future of work are you looking forward to?

To a time with even more mutual appreciation, more flexibility, more self-determination and, above all, a desire to perform.

Munich Leadership Group Website

“We are not looking for consultants, we are looking for people who fit in well with us.” – Interview with Tom Ritsch, Co-Founder of AOAIO

Hi Tom, this week we’re looking at the question of why companies should even bother assessing candidates in depth if they don’t have much choice anyway. What would be your spontaneous answer to companies that think this way?

This is probably more about internal and external employer branding. Even if it seems that you can’t find suitable employees, this is exactly what you should be focusing on. Companies must always work on positioning themselves on the market for existing and potential employees. Employer marketing is the key to sustainable success here.

When it comes to the skills shortage, we see different perspectives: some say the shortage is real, while others believe that there are enough people to do the job, but the antiquated structures in companies prevent them from working efficiently. Partly because they are not working in the positions or roles that suit them. Do you share one of these perspectives or do you have your own?

The shortage is partly real, but often a good excuse. In my opinion, it’s about doing an excellent job at all levels. Yes, I also believe that there are enough suitable employees (as always, exceptions prove the rule), but recruitment is still often wrong. Companies need to learn to focus more on the personality to see whether someone fits into the company and the team. Of course, if someone needs certain skills for the job – languages, programming, finance, etc. – they have to have them. But for me, the focus is on the person and the fit. At AOAIO, for example, we are not looking for consultants, we are looking for people who fit in well with us and who I would take with me to the customer any time. You can learn a lot in our job, but empathy and social skills must be there, as well as entrepreneurial potential. So I agree with the statement that it is outdated structures that prevent us from finding suitable employees. In the first place, companies are still searching as they did 20 years ago (it’s a miracle that they don’t still advertise in newspapers) and secondly, the processes and requirements are no longer up to date.

At AOAIO, you support companies in transformation processes. What challenges do these companies share and what differences are there, perhaps with regard to different industries?

What all companies share is the great challenge of digitalization and optimization and the enormous speed that is required. In contrast to the financial industry, where the message has gotten through, industrial companies in the SME sector are struggling enormously with these changes and the necessary investments. The core problem is still that the companies are doing well, perhaps too well, and therefore do not yet see the need for change. There are often people at the top who grew up in a different era and function differently, which is very dangerous for these companies. But often the core problem is that they do not know how to proceed. Who can I trust to do what is really important and necessary? Who understands my needs and who just wants to sell me software. This is something we often struggle with, or come up against when the wrong decisions have already been made. The digitization requirements are actually the cause, because instead of looking at the topic holistically – why do we need what exactly at what point and how does this help us to become more successful (digital roadmap approach) – individual processes are backed up with new software and thus adjusted. The process is rarely considered end-to-end and the customer perspective is all too often overlooked. The result: frustrated employees, dissatisfied customers, bad investments. That’s why I love to show the basic formula of digitalization:

OP + NT = EOP → Old Processes + New Technology = Expensive Old Processes

This means in one sentence: With all the digitization hype, one must not forget that the processes have to be adapted!

As a consultant you are specialized in “human transformation” in an organizational context. From your perspective, do the organizations need to change or the people?

That’s an interesting question. First of all, it’s up to the managers. Just because you read a book about New Work during the vacations doesn’t mean the organization will change. Organizational development has become a core issue and this includes taking people with you, involving them and giving them more responsibility. However, this does not happen overnight, it is a process. It always starts with self-reflection. So the answer is: everyone has to change and be prepared to do so.

How do organizations find the people who are right for them?

To do this, organizations first need to know who they are. What is the culture of the organization, what values are being lived and what makes it special? It is essential to reflect on the company. Just because values are written somewhere on the wall does not mean that they are actually being practiced. A cultural analysis or simply a suitable employee survey helps enormously. If it is clear what makes you tick you can look for suitable people on the market and place your messages in line with the target groups. Of course, for larger companies this can mean having several structures and approaching the market with a variety of approaches in order to position themselves. I address construction workers differently than HR employees.

Looking at the younger generation: How have career requirements changed and how can companies adapt to this?

I don’t quite know if I’m the right person to answer that. There are specialized companies set up by young people to answer these questions for established companies. I personally believe that it has changed massively and will continue to do so. I think it will move more towards a hire-on-demand-concept, which will make the human fit even more important. Project teams will be organized like you select the right players for a specific task in team sports. Careers are becoming less and less relevant and companies have to develop such New Work concepts. It’s not about a nice workplace with table football and a juice bar. It’s about concepts that are contemporary and meet all needs. But here, too, the first step is self-reflection: What does the company need in order to be successful? It always comes down to these three central questions:

What role does AI technology currently play in transformation processes and what role do you think it will play in the future?

A huge role! However, companies must first learn to understand what this hype is all about and where the benefits are significant. We successfully use Zortify’s AI based tools in our projects because we put people at the center of things and not simply rely on a self-assessment based on the Big 5. Those days are definitely over. Let’s use AI where it makes sense. It’s not so much about finding out who is right and who is wrong, it’s about helping people to improve.

You have just mentioned that you and your colleagues use Zortify’s employee diagnostics for your consulting. Can you give some examples of how you work with it? Perhaps you even have an anecdote about what you were able to recognize or achieve with the help of AI?

At the beginning of our transformation processes (SharedWhy), we primarily rely on Zortify GROW. This gives us very good insights into the teams and provides us with a perfect basis for reflection. We also often use iHPT (instant High Performance teamingg) in various areas. The central issue here is the perfect composition of teams. We work very closely with Zortify on this topic in order to develop it further as we believe there is enormous potential there. Especially with the iHPT process we are always amazed at how easy it is to get management to really think about it. These reports trigger excellent discussions, which often circle around the impact and role in the team. Suddenly questions arise such as:

Thank you so much for the insights. We have one last question for you: In the past you have founded a start-up in the sports sector. Imagine you’re standing on the sidelines of the field cheering for a prototypical SME in the “game for the future” – what do you shout to them?

That’s a bit difficult in the sport I’m involved in. First of all, there’s no sideline in golf and shouting isn’t really the issue. 🙂 Joking aside. I do the same as I do with the players I still coach and often use these metaphors in the business world:

Thank you for the interview, Tom. 

For more information about Tom and his work at AOAIO check out their website or follow Tom on LinkedIn.