Leadership-Interview-Transkript - Sozialpsychologie - Goethe ...

ig influence on. They are based on the situation and based on the position that they are in. So
I think, for good leadership – and actually, I would say it is more important to talk about great
leadership… in German, we would say ‘gütige Führung’ and not just ‘gute Führung’. That
difference is important. In modern society, we have forgotten some of the things that make us
great. We need to get back to that, and that is what makes great leadership.
Rolf van Dick: Do you think anyone can become a good leader in these terms? Can we learn
to become a good leader or even a great leader? Or do people have to have it in them?
Patrick Cowden: Well, I think everybody has the opportunity to be a great leader. I think it is
in everybody, regardless of where you are from, which culture you are from, male or female,
which religion you follow. I think every person in the world has the potential to be a leader. It
can be a moment in time, it can be a moment of crisis, where there is somebody who has
never been a leader takes the lead, jumps in the water and saves someone’s life and becomes a
hero – but I think the potential is always there. It is not something you have to learn, I think it
is something you have to discover, and something you have to “fördern” and “fordern”, so
that it comes to fruition. But the potential is in everybody.
Rolf van Dick: How do you lead personally?
Patrick Cowden: That is a good question. Those of us that lead well usually do not know
how we do that, so we struggle with that question sometimes. But over the last five years, as I
have invested more time around and beyond leadership, I have invested time trying to
understand the difference between good leadership and great leadership. And because of that,
I think I have found some of the elements that can make the difference. For me, it has a lot to
do with the heart, with the emotions, with regard, respect and trust. And I think those
elements are what differentiates between good methodical leadership and great inspirational
leadership. It is all about emotions, it is about values, and it is about belief systems, about
being able to communicate those and utilize those whenever you interact with the people
around you. I think that is what makes the difference.
Rolf van Dick: So let us put that in more practical terms. Have you been to the office this
morning?
Patrick Cowden: Yes.
Rolf van Dick: Is there anything that you actually do, that you think makes you a good
leader? Are you particularly... you are saying what we need as good leaders is to be
passionate, help people, commit to a vision... How do you do that? What do you do with the
people around you?
Patrick Cowden: The ‘How?’ is sometimes the hardest question. The ‘Why?’ is the easiest.
Why do you do it? You do it because you care. You do it because you support. You do it
because you have a purpose. You do it because it has a reward for you and one for another.
And ‘How?’ has a lot to do with people. It is connecting people. When I walk into the office,
the first thing I do is, I go around and say hello to everybody. I shake everybody’s hand, there
is some of the people that want to hug – we hug. The first thing when we see each other. So
there is a lot of personal interaction of walking around, talking to people, being with people.
They can be customers, they can be suppliers and partners, but more so than anything it is the
employees, it is the people in the company that I spend a lot of time with and interact with,
and that is where I think I make the difference. That personal connection - some of us, as we