Organizational and leadership culture are the key to successful HR development
The development of leaders and the associated (ongoing) development of leadership culture play a critical role in organizations undergoing change. Although they fall under the HR development heading, their influence on leadership and organizational culture shapes the overall context of the entire organization’s development. But why exactly does leadership development have such a great impact and how can it be strategically embedded in different organizational forms? Professor Dr. Thomas Breyer-Mayländer, a Steinbeis Entrepreneur at the Steinbeis Consulting Center for Leadership in Science and Education, discusses some successful approaches.
Three levels of leadership action to be addressed by HR development (author’s own illustration)
HR development is critical to the success of fundamental change processes. The widespread adoption of workforce development can strengthen structures and entire regions (Breyer-Mayländer 2024). As well as enhancing the practical professional skills of the people working in the system, it also fosters skills and qualification development at the local and regional levels. If we consider how the core function of HR development relates to the factors that drive success in organizations in general and enterprises in particular, it becomes clear that the development of leaders plays a vital role during times of change and development.
The key role of leadership development in change processes
What evidence is there to support this assertion? Many – often strongly bottom-up – aspects of evolutionary organizational development are critically dependent on leaders’ ability to mobilize teams and channel their intrinsic motivation in support of change. This is an established leadership function. The leadership aspect is even more obvious in the top-down elements of change management.
If HR development is understood as any measures taken to systematically enhance the practical professional skills of the people working in and for an organization (Solga et al. 2011, p. 19), then it is evident that enhancing the practical skills of leaders forms a key part of the overall development process.
“Leadership development must be integrated into strategic HR development in a way that allows leadership transitions to be prepared for and succession processes to be managed”, explains Beate Ritter, who co-manages the Steinbeis Consulting Center for Leadership in Science and Education. In change and organizational development processes, it is vital to consolidate the changes that have been implemented and carry them across to the organizational culture, where they become part of what Edgar Schein (2017) refers to as the artifact level and must then be aligned with the deeper levels of espoused values and basic assumptions.
Thinking about leadership in complex systems
The interactions and interrelationships between the situational (e.g. in the established organizational structures and processes) and the internal starting points of the stakeholders (e.g. leaders) generally give rise to problems centered around the structural-systemic area of the organization, the interpersonal relationships between leaders and other employees, or the intrapersonal realm in the customer’s system. Insofar as leaders are involved, all three parts of the system are also relevant leadership issues.
At the systemic-structural level, organizational development and change management issues are linked to certain subdomains of HR development, while the issues at the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels are more directly linked to HR development. All three levels should therefore be included in systematic leadership development programs geared towards strengthening both established and designated leaders in their leadership role and empowering and encouraging them to act independently and reflectively within the framework of systemic, process-oriented work.
“HR development has an overarching role in this context. It provides the conceptual framework within which leadership development is embedded. This in turn forms the basis of leadership culture development, which can integrate everything from policies and guidelines to the vision and mission”, says Ritter. The overarching concept here is the development of the corporate or organizational culture. This approach requires support for change and development processes that go way beyond the scope of HR development.
Leadership culture is a matter for the bosses – in business, education and voluntary organizations alike.
Regardless of which field an organization operates in, leadership and organizational culture issues are a matter for the bosses. Small and medium-sized enterprises can have an advantage here, since leadership is often less committee-based and individual leaders and leadership personalities can influence the culture over longer periods of time.
Other organizational contexts require different solutions. In schools, these issues are a matter for the senior leadership team in close consultation with the key stakeholders (e.g. the school council). However, in this context, HR development is closely integrated with the main school development pillars (organizational and pedagogical development) (Breyer-Mayländer & Ritter 2023; Breyer-
Mayländer & Ritter 2024). In organizations like the Church, which have both full-time and voluntary structures, both levels should be addressed. In order to ensure that future requirements are met, HR development should take a form that enables leadership development among volunteers, too (Breyer-Mayländer et al. 2024).
The principal role of HR development is to provide appropriate support to help people on their way through the hierarchy. The move from functional to leadership responsibility inevitably means you have less time for operational tasks, and the resulting tensions are often underestimated.
Functional tasks generally seem more urgent, since failure to perform them leads to problems that are immediately visible and have an instant impact. On the other hand, the effects of not devoting enough time and energy to leadership tasks will usually only become apparent at a later point in time. This means that if time is short and you have to choose between the two, it will tend to be the leadership tasks that get neglected. This can cause long-term leadership problems in organizations.
HR development with a focus on leadership
Leadership development is key to successful, sustainable HR development, which in turn provides the framework for developing both leaders and the leadership and organizational culture. The targeted promotion and development of leadership skills, the consideration of systemic-structural, interpersonal and intrapersonal areas of conflict, and in particular assistance with striking an individual balance between functional and leadership responsibility can contribute significantly to the evolution of an organization’s leadership and organizational culture. This can be critical, especially in organizations undergoing a period of change.