For a long time, one of the most discussed personnel development topics was the work-life balance, the establishment of a balance between work and private life. What exactly this strict separation of the two sides looks like is at the discretion of the individual and depends on age, marital status and basic views on life. But this model has failed. More and more workers check their e-mails in their spare time, use their business mobile phone on holiday and take work home with them, as they still had a (private) appointment at noon. The successor model is Work-Life-Blending.

The decisive factor for digital change is a cultural change, i.e. the anchoring of digital leadership in corporate culture. For the Executive Board and the company management, this means giving top-down impulses but also the freedom to deal with the new instruments and IT structures. The bottom-up experience then triggers a cultural change. A prerequisite is always a common understanding of the new management structures and processes, which must be clearly formulated beforehand, as well as talent management adapted to the digital change.

More and more employers and employees attach importance to mobility and flexibility. The increasing merging of work and leisure time is made possible by new working time models and digital technologies, which make it possible to work from anywhere at any time. More and more employees see their work no longer as a mere source of money but as an integral part of their lives. Anyone who has fun and enjoyment at work also experiences self-realization here. Employees are therefore increasingly willing to work in their free time if they in return get the go from their employer to do private things during their working hours.

• No more closing time, due to missing, fixed working hours
• Danger of exploiting oneself
• Self-determination and self-organization can be a burden
• No possibility of mental detachment from work
• Risk of neglecting private relationships and looking only for “friends” in the workplace.
• The job becomes the most important life content – a notice represents the end

• Higher motivation due to self-determination
• No time off from working hours, but use them effectively in productivity phases
• Flexible and free work
• No holiday taking for private appointments etc.
• Good balance between family and career
• Quality instead of quantity

The global financial and economic systems currently mark the end of the fifth Kondratieff cycle, very high volatilities and thus massive uncertainties. What are the drivers of future prosperity and growth? The basic innovation that will generate global economic growth in the upcoming sixth Kondratieff cycle has apparently not yet been found or is not publicly known. The Asian world’s emergence into prosperity brings with it massive demand, but is driven by the dynamics of “catching up”, but not by the dynamics of content renewal through a global leap in innovation.

The question of where global future economic growth based on innovation will come from remains unanswered. The current general uncertainty is so great because, on the one hand, the existing systems of the past are increasingly failing and, on the other, there are no suitable prospects for the future. Such a situation of transition from something familiar and formerly well-functioning old to something completely unknown new is experienced by many as a shock. Dealing with these transitions (not yet change!) processes require special skills and abilities. It comes to destabilizations. Previously proven solutions, e.g. strategy development and implementation, employee retention and development, organizational development, leadership, etc., no longer work as usual. Old-fashioned mechanisms and techniques have had their day, new things want to be born, but nobody knows when and where childbirth will take place and who or what will be the decisive triggers. Large change processes are always connected with changes in thinking and acting. Erwin Laszlo presented in his theory of macro-shift that in such situations whole paradigms of thinking, i.e. (mental) attitudes, experience profound change, through which the world has seen, judged and treated its problems.

It requires a transformation of attitude/attitude/attitude towards the action partner, the goal and oneself (task, oneself, others). Instead of being trapped in individual or organizational narcissism, focusing only on one’s own needs, goals and missions, and in doing so violating the boundaries of others, the path to excellence requires consideration and appreciation of the person, his or her limits and also his or her development. Only then is there the basis for a lasting bond. Every imbalance on the one hand has a destructive effect on the relationship and on the other hand robs the connection and unity which is necessary to be able to solve really progressive and excellent problems.

The stronger the solidarity, the stronger the unity, the ability to act together, in which the secret of genuine excellence lies hidden. Everyone gives their best – together for the customer. When all parties are in open dialogue and learners with each other, they are on the common path to excellence together.

A person and also organizations that want to be successful in the long run should therefore strive for a transformation in the thinking and acting of their members, away from narcissism towards solidarity by preserving the boundaries of their employees, suppliers, customers, partners of all kinds. Integrity can actually be trained. However, it must be firmly and bindingly anchored in the basic values of the organization. First-level managers in the company in particular must want, live and specifically promote integrity. This is the only way to internalize integrity at all levels and lead to sustainable relationships – inside and outside the company.

Many business relationships suffer from a lack of sustainability. What is the reason for this? In short, our observation and research show that this phenomenon can be traced back to one cause: business relationships ultimately break down because one person wants to exploit the other or even exploit him one-sidedly – in other words, still seeks his personal profit even when the other person is already on the ground. Being made a loser involves a loss of face.

In some contexts, it can be experienced how the limits are maintained for a certain period of time, for example, to study the system or the other person. After the system or counterpart has been recorded and access to its system has been created, border observation is abandoned and only one’s own advantage is sought. The partner is therefore used as a stirrup for the personal success that is sought. After initially possibly good and successful cooperation, a perceived or actual imbalance arises. The relationship is doomed to failure from the moment the imbalance occurs.

It lacks a solid foundation: integrity. To be integer means to be connected in the relationship and not isolated. Many problems of our time can be traced back to individualization. This affects individuals as well as organizations. Connectedness arises from the fact that the boundary of the other is preserved. If this happens, then the feeling of appreciation is preserved. If the border of the other is (repeatedly) violated, then the person whose border is violated feels a lack of appreciation and distances himself from this intruder.

Only if both sides are permanent winners and also feel this way, will the basis of a lasting bond remain. The foundation is laid for real excellence to have a chance. Excellence only develops when everyone gives their best and this requires a positive motivation. Both parties give their utmost to the task since they are winners.

Mental patterns are thinking habits. Thinking habits trigger human behavior and are subject to an attitude. For example, if we are pessimistic, we are most likely to wait or reject. If we find an optimistic attitude, we expect the good. And it goes even further; depending on our inner expectations, we seek confirmation of what we expect. It is also possible that we may hide other facts and only perceive (positive or negative) what we expected from the beginning.

Management and employee behavior are therefore always the result of (mental) attitudes and attitudes. If behavioral changes of people in companies and organizations are desired, for example, more entrepreneurial action, cost awareness, goal, and result orientation, better cooperation, customer orientation, etc., then it is necessary to create the necessary mental prerequisites (preconditions for thinking).

Very often it can be observed that the attempt to sustainably correct behavior, for example through reward or punishment, fails miserably. In such a case, the person will also sometimes take recourse to admonition or warning in order to bring about a change in behavior. Since behavior is, in the long run, a consequence of the attitude, each attempt of the behavior conditioning reaches too briefly and comes to an attempted “training” equal. One cures at the symptom, not at the cause. If, on the other hand, it is possible to successfully change mental patterns, i.e. attitudes, a change in behavior is an automatic consequence. You can save yourself the futile trouble of trying to condition behavior.

A good TEAM is unbeatable – this is true and applies everywhere: Whether in sports, politics or in the company – good teams perform and strive for more! So it’s no wonder that the ability to work in a team is advertised, desired and coveted in any job advertisement. But often the desire is the father of the thought. The reality in many companies is quite different: Everyone thinks (only) of himself, a common goal is not pursued or only very insufficiently pursued. What needs to be done together in today’s world?

High-performance teams are good role models because they have special characteristics:

• The team members are aligned to the goals to be achieved together.
• The distribution of roles and tasks is based on skills and strengths
• The relationships of the team members are characterized by respect, esteem, and trust.
• The team members have developed accepted rules of conduct and adhere to them.

The question for any responsible leader is: How do I turn a group into a team with the above characteristics? Team development is one of the greatest challenges for companies because the overall clout is determined by the quality of the cooperation between the people involved. Exaggerated individualism and blind individualism do immense damage. The performance and the will to perform of most employees depend to a large extent on the conditions of the respective working environment and on the nature and quality of the relationships with the immediate colleagues.

Social competence is often regarded as secondary by technical professionals. Expertise, quality awareness, methodical project skills, perseverance and as much attention to detail as possible are high on the course and that’s a good thing. However, technical competence alone is no longer enough to compete in the fast-moving world of development. More than ever the ability to deal with oneself (time, goal and self-management) and others (communication and conflict, customer orientation, cooperation, leadership, etc.) is part of the requirement profile of the modern development engineer. This is precisely where typical fields of learning for technical professionals lie.

Nearly all markets in the automotive, mechanical and plant engineering and IT sectors present the following picture:

• Developments have to be made overnight
• in interdisciplinary teams
• in international composition
• in close communication and
• close cooperation with the customer

Due to the dynamics of international economic and social developments, the pace and the associated pressure to perform on the project staff involved will continue to increase in the future.

“We have always done it this way,” is the safest way to lose customers. The demands on innovation and flexibility of the people involved are immense. If the development engineers lack self-management and communication and negotiation skills, some projects are mercilessly put on the short side. The central success factors are the cooperation in the project team as well as the communication quality with the customers.

In healthy companies, success is not based on the harm done to others. Healthy companies do not make losers. Neither the supplier nor the customer nor the employee is exploited and made a loser. Exactly this is, however, the today prevailing model in particular of many large companies. The fact that this exploitation model is not systemically balanced and thus cannot lead to entrepreneurial success in the long term is as certain as our knowledge that balancing justice is sought in every system. The fewer losers there are, the more stable a system is. This fact leads to healthy companies using all the levers to avoid that there are losers in the company’s system.

Excellence at all levels always emerges by itself where there are no losers.

If everyone is a winner, everyone gives their best, because the condition is optimal. If someone feels like a loser, he will make his bet dependent on how much a winning position can be expected. It is therefore almost logical that healthy companies do everything they can to ensure that not only does nobody feel like a loser, but also that nobody is a loser, neither the supplier, nor the customer, nor the employee.

The opposite can be observed at the moment. Many companies are pursuing the declared strategy of improving their profits on the basis of better strategic exploitation of suppliers, employees, and customers. Such an approach inevitably leads to the loss of stability and resilience as well as sustainability and uncertainty of the continued existence of the company. Even if the aforementioned effects do not occur immediately, the effect after the dam has broken is all the more devastating for the company.

Coaching is a type of employee training and support that is becoming increasingly popular across all hierarchical levels. It offers people support, e.g. in change processes, but also in general everyday work, and serves personality development. Coaching is individual training and therefore probably the most intensive form of employee support. It is no wonder that coaching has the greatest effect on all consulting instruments.

Theoretical knowledge is important, for example about how a conflict discussion with a project employee can and should be conducted. But all theory is only useful if it gets from the “head into the hands”. Coaching is, among other things, an excellent instrument when it comes to putting what is theoretically known into practice.

Only those who know themselves well are able to change themselves. During the coaching process, the employees check their own behavior towards others and in the team. The central concern is to positively develop leadership quality and thus leadership success and/or teamwork.

The occasions are as varied as the coachees are. The following table shows possible occasions:

There are rules and habits in companies and organizations. In their overall construction, they generate “system processes” or “organizational habits”, i.e. rule-based repetitive automatisms. Destructive system processes are such organizational habits (control cycles) that have a self-destructive effect and are capable of causing lasting damage to the organization, even destroying it. Thus, negative energy in the system emanates from them.

For forward-thinking company managers, the following questions must be asked when it comes to the sustainable development of their organization:

1. How are destructive system processes (negative energies) identified in the company?
2. How are the most effective points of intervention identified?
3. How are destructive system processes effectively corrected (“disturbed”)?
4. How are constructive system dynamics (positive energies) released in the organization?
5. How are constructive system processes ensured in the long run?

The aim of systemic organizational development is to answer exactly these questions with the help of various methods of analysis by “mirroring”, “disturbance” and “learning”. These instruments help to positively influence the systemic landscape by breaking the regulatory cycles and promoting insight and willingness to innovate.

Often, the cycles are so well established and internalized that external support is needed to get to the bottom of the questions. Starting with an in-depth analysis of the system processes and dynamics via the conceptual response and implementation of all five concerns mentioned. The methods used here originate from the toolbox of systemic organizational development, which pursues the goal of “disturbing” systems in order to “break them up” for necessary innovations. The following table shows the necessary competencies of managers and employees caused by systemic organizational development.