Highly sensitive at work: High Sensitive Leadership

The opinions on the topic Guide are far apart and more and more trainers and speakers are sharing the budget cake for leadership development. But what actually constitutes good leadership? And how can highly sensitive people Executives use their gift wisely?

A conversation about high sensitivity and leadership

Highly sensitive executives - do they even exist? Yes clear! And there is even one who went in search of them and found them. And not only that. Daniel Panetta, owner of the "ConsultundTrainingUnit", has a master's thesis entitled "High Sensory-Processing Sensitivity and Leadership” and dedicated his degree in business psychology, leadership and management to the topic of highly sensitive executives. I have the result of our discussions for Best of HR - Berufebilder.de® summarized.

Kathrin Sohst: Daniel, you have management experience yourself, you are an expert in leadership and Change and have dealt intensively with highly sensitive managers. Before we talk about the highly sensitive aspects of leadership, I would like to know what “good leadership” means in your understanding.

Daniel Panetta: I don't think there is such a thing as "good leadership". Because what is that anyway? I would like to speak of ideal and then we need at least the context. Because leadership must be situational and authentic be, which means for me that the thoughts on the inside and the actions on the outside match. And one more thing that is absolutely necessary: ​​A good leader sees theirs Employees as a People. This also includes accepting people as they are – with their entire background. Leadership isn't just about that Tasks related, but means taking responsibility in the human and social area. A good leader can be different depending on the situation. In the military or on large, time-sensitive projects, it can Sinn do when someone leads rough and dominant, in pedagogy or in a change context, completely different leadership qualities are required. Those who have a wide range of skills can act well to be able to act flexibly or react to situations.

“Highly sensitive leaders have the ability to predict certain things”

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Kathrin Sohst: Way from the general, to the special. Let's talk about high-minded leadership personalities. What is typical of highly sensitive people who do a leadership job?

Daniel Panetta: There is a spectrum - the "theory of mind" - on which the highly sensitive people cavort at the high values ​​and the autistic people at the lower values. While autistic people act and speak in a more rational, object-related manner, highly sensitive people orientate themselves towards the subject, i.e. towards people, and - so I assume - have a more emotional language. Highly sensitive people have a more emotionalized language and orientate themselves towards the subject, i.e. towards people. Many of them prefer roles with an advisory or teaching element because they need a job that they can reconcile with their values. You focus on relationship work and understand leadership as a task that involves accompanying people. The leadership style of highly sensitive people can be described as cooperative, based on partnership, as well as demanding and demanding. Highly sensitive leaders have the ability to anticipate certain things - such as moods or reactions of their employees or customers. They have a good sense of situations and know when to defuse them simply by not getting into the confrontation and the emotions let it boil down again on all sides.

I find it impressive that they are very reflective and question themselves, whether you Behavior was adequate. Highly sensitive executives are constantly scanning in the background. The more critical the interpersonal situation becomes - for example a critical appraisal interview - the more challenging it becomes for highly sensitive leaders. Because of the high sensitivity act critical situations always manifest themselves physically. Highly sensitive people also consciously perceive moods, conflicts and the like physically. This can be a strength in certain situations, but it can also become a challenge. Because as soon as a highly sensitive person perceives that the mood can change and that there is a danger for the HSP manager, the highly sensitive manager removes himself from the situation. After that, it takes a lot of planning work to go back into the topic and that Problem to clarify.

Kathrin Sohst: How would you summarize your insights about high-minded executives?

Daniel Panetta: Highly sensitive managers sometimes act from an active position and sometimes from an avoidant position. A highly sensitive leader seems a bit more extreme when it comes to their moods. And that can be positive like negative affect. The highly sensitive leaders I interviewed for my master's thesis wished they could project more dominance and be tougher. Because in situations where dominance and crackdown are required, highly sensitive executives often experience a Konflikt with your own value system and a physical overstimulation. However, there is one thing that highly sensitive leaders react to fast and strong - namely when it becomes unfair. Bullying and other human errors will not be tolerated. And then highly sensitive executives in particular go harshly to justice with the culprits.

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Kathrin Sohst: What can you recommend to highly sensitive leaders?

Daniel Panetta: Three aspects come to mind. For one, I want to I aufmerksam make sure that in the sense of diversity, all people bring different challenges and requirements and develop individual survival strategies. One of them is the highly sensitive temperament - a completely natural variety of nature. Another aspect is thought-provoking: I noticed that some of my interviewees had been dealing with the phenomenon for years and used the associated vocabulary. Language shapes us. And if certain characteristics stand for high sensitivity, then it can also lead to one adapting them, defining oneself based on them and possibly limiting oneself. And the last message includes very practical tips. For example, highly sensitive people can go into nature to find calm and inner peace. You can avoid open-plan offices and see what working hours suit you. The trend is not only social, but also in the Job for individualization. Highly sensitive people and also highly sensitive leaders can benefit from this new freedom.

Kathrin Sohst: Sensitivity is in our Society not exactly seen as a strong trait at the moment. The impression may be correspondingly heightened when someone speaks of highly sensitive people. What do you think about it?

Daniel Panetta: If we look at the ideal composition of a group, it makes sense that the individual members have different abilities so that the group as a whole can survive. For example, there is someone who is particularly intelligent, someone who is constantly on the move, a go-getter and a sensitive person who perceives changes and dangers early on. It is important that they find a common path constructive to communicate. I believe that we limit ourselves far too much due to the various psychological clinical pictures and the standardized demands on people and prevent teams from becoming really strong. Diversity is everywhere. The biggest mistake we can make is to give Prussians the same tasks. I've always opposed that.

I have to see what people are bringing with them instead of grinding them like a stone. Otherwise I can flush down the toilet with what God gave them ... And that is exactly what happens too often. How about if we start to see previously undiscovered skills as intangible assets? It is desperate how much the damage in Companys is because people are often misused. There are high absenteeism rates and hardly anyone can really show their potential. I think it would be fantastic if we started using people in such a way that they can also bring in their evolutionary psychological abilities to solve certain problems and begin to create an appropriate environment ...

Kathrin Sohst: Thank you for your time and the interesting insights into your insights and approaches regarding leadership.

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