The Reflective Leader

Effective leadership requires a clear idea of leadership, which must be primarily guided by the specific conditions of their leadership context. Only the leader themselves is responsible for developing the right idea of leadership. Leaders who actively reflect on their context and their role are more likely to achieve success. By combining thoughtful self-awareness with intentional decision-making, they can move beyond relying solely on intuition and gut feelings. This approach fosters stronger, trust-based relationships between leaders and employees. This book not only provides theoretical foundations but also offers practical tools that have been proven effective in practice over many years. With the help of this book, managers will learn to understand their leadership context and, based on that understanding, develop their idea of leadership. Additionally, it shows how they can communicate and act upon their leadership idea. Therefore, this book consciously avoids presenting a normative, ideal, and universally applicable approach. This is where it differs from many other works that promote a single leadership ideal. This book is aimed at leaders, emerging leaders, leadership trainers, leadership coaches, CEOs, and HR managers focused on leadership development and talent management.

Empowers leaders to reflect on their own idea of leadership rather than promoting an idealized concept of leadership Focuses not only on the leader themselves but also on the relationship between a leader and their team members Presents content that is not only scientifically grounded but also extensively tested in practice

Autorentext

Armin Trost is a professor at the Business School of Furtwangen University (Germany), where he has served as Dean since 2024. His academic focus lies in Human Resources Management and applied psychology. In Germany and Europe, he is considered one of the most renowned and influential thought leaders in human resources management and leadership. Over the past two decades, he has made significant practical contributions in the field. He considers himself a bridge between academia and practice. Before his professorship, he was globally responsible for recruiting at SAP for several years. He also spent a decade as a partner at the award-winning consulting firm Promerit (now Mercer).

Inhalt

The Right Daily Leadership Behavior.- Common Challenges Related to the Topic of Leadership.- Common Leadership Theories and Their Limitations.- The Meaning and Relevance of Cognizant Leadership.- The Leadership Model at a Glance.- Effective Leaders Understand Their Leadership Context.- Four Different and Distinct Leadership Roles.- Defining a Suitable Idea of Leadership.- Continuous Reflection of One's Idea of Leadership.- Effective Managers Use Compatible Leadership Tools.- A Comprehensive Shift in How We Think About Leadership.- Appendix.