6 LEADERSHIP SKILLS TO UNLEASH THE GAMECHANGER IN YOU AND YOUR TEAM BY DR. ELEONORA BONACOSSA - VORAKA

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN VORAKA

Article Published on 20 December 2024 by Anne Montgomery | www.vorakamag.com With this book, Dr. Eleonora Bonacossa wants to accompany readers as they journey to the next level of leadership. This journey begins by admitting you don't have all the answers and yet are willing to listen proactively. Ultimately, this leads to the most important task of any leader: creating the right working environment so that people on the team can thrive. The right working environment is founded upon three specific qualities: Valuing, Caring, and Encouraging. This book is aimed at middle management, at those managers who are ready to do the inner work, who are self-aware and self-managing, and who are motivated to continue on their own leadership development journey. The book is also for those managers who have been inspired by their coaches, mentors, or senior executives to develop themselves further in the direction of leadership with a spirit of curiosity and humility. This book will also benefit those who have to work professionally with others – e.g., in extended teams or with stakeholders – and who desire to develop their own capacity as leaders in their own given field, subject, or business.

Leadership, like all other skills and abilities, can be learned. However, learning Leadership is different from learning technical skills and disciplines such as Sales, IT, or Finance. Developing leadership skills requires emotional and social intelligence, so training both intellectual and emotional competencies is of paramount importance. The author is aware that many other skills are currently being discussed and researched. However, she has chosen to focus on the 6 top core leadership skills that she believes create the most sustainable and revolutionary change. According to Dr. Eleonora Bonacossa, these six leadership skills have the greatest impact on organizations, on ROI (Return of Investment), on ROE (Return of Engagement), and last but not least, on every member of a team, who is in fact, the real focus of this book. Learning and practicing these 6 leadership competencies should help prepare one to confront many of the biggest challenges facing organizations today. These skills characterize the heart of leadership: the management of professional interactions and interpersonal relationships between leaders and teams. This is the key to ensuring a healthy working atmosphere and the prosperity, success, and sustainability of the organization.

The direct results of practicing these 6 leadership skills are seen in increased individual overall performance, better decision-making, and greater overall individual and team satisfaction. The end result will be a noticeable and measurable increase in overall productivity. Because they are anything but “soft,” the author does not refer to them as “soft skills.” They are “real competencies”; therefore, she prefers to define them as “human & relational skills.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Eleonora Bonacossa is an internationally certified Business & Leadership Coach and founder of ARETA New Perspectives for Leaders, a leading European provider of key competencies and development solutions for leadership in a new work and business environment.

In her work as a business coach, she is often confronted with the suffering of employees and managers in relation to their professional activities. She hopes that her work will contribute to the overall effort to reduce the amount of pain and suffering in the workplace, which can be achieved by rethinking, acquiring, and training specific skills. Dr. Bonacossa began writing the book 6 Leadership Skills, die Dich zum Gamechanger machen in February 2021, during the height of the pandemic. The book was first published in 2021 in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany in German. The Leadership Workbook, a six-month training program, followed shortly thereafter, published by the Neue Business Kultur Verlag. The publishing label Neue Business-Kultur Verlag (NBK) is a brand of the Management Coaching Institute ARETA New Perspectives for Leaders, based in Frankfurt, Germany. NBK provides media that advocates for a more humane and person-centered business culture.

The English version of the book 6 Leadership Skills to Unleash the Gamechanger in You and Your Team was published globally in December 2022 in paperback, hardcover, and as an e-book. In addition, a premium illustrated edition is currently available in English under the same title. 6 Leadership Skills is the result of the author’s many hours of coaching clients and accompanying them as they strive to overcome issues in the workplace, including the lack of psychological safety, the low sense of respect and belonging, and the mounting disharmonies that people are currently experiencing in the work environment. This needs to be understood, internalized, and confronted. If through her writings, Dr. Eleonora Bonacossa can influence the hearts and minds of leaders, especially the leaders of tomorrow, she believes her role as an author and coach has been fulfilled. Through her book, 6 Leadership Skills, Dr. Eleonora Bonacossa wants to remind all leaders—who are passionate about business—not to forget that they are first and foremost human beings and that they must commit themselves to remain HUMAN by investing in people first. Leaders who manage other people have an enormous impact on others' lives and are therefore in the unique and privileged position of being able to decide the future destiny of others. This must be done with a deep sense of commitment and responsibility.

Dr. Bonacossa, your book "6 Leadership Skills to Unleash the Gamechanger in You and Your Team" was conceived during the height of the pandemic. How did the global crisis influence the themes and messages in your book?

The pandemic was a disruptive moment for everyone, and in its destructiveness, it became a catalyst for realizing life’s real priorities. From this vulnerable situation, a collective reflection began, directly influencing how leadership evolved and how we should lead people. In my book, I have identified the most important leadership skills by listening to my clients. In the current era of poly-crises, these skills remain crucial

Can you share a success story about improving psycho-logical safety?

A leader was struggling with team members who were reluctant to share their opinions. In a coaching session, my client and I trained the "Yoda" tool (yes, Yoda, the wise and sensitive character from the Star Wars movie, who can ask anything) to promote psychological safety in this team.

• The leader asks 1–2 people to be Yoda in the group during the meeting.

• Yoda can ask, “What else needs to be said?” at any time and then report back to the plenary.

Team members felt more comfortable with a Yoda and could speak up without fear. This tool transformed both communication and performance, increasing openness and psychological safety in my client’s team. mmm

What are the main sources of workplace suffering you encounter?

The root cause of workplace suffering is a toxic culture. This includes favoritism, unfair practices, and negative attitudes that create an environment where employees feel unappreciated, unheard, uninformed, and excluded. Such a culture severely impacts morale and overall well-being, a massive barrier to productivity and engagement.

What exercises in the "Leadership Workbook" are most transformative?

Definitely the six-month challenge. This is a game-changer for organizations because it literally changes the rules of the game. Each month, the team works on and commits to a new rule of behavior—chosen collectively—to practice together. By the end of this process, interactions within the organization become healthier, and people start to thrive.

How has the international reception of your book differed across cultures?

I believe leadership is a social process driven by direction, alignment, commitment, and the ability to build relationships. Leadership cannot exist without people. The themes in my book convey the message that transformational leadership influences us to become better individuals, better organizations, and a better human community. This message resonates universally, in every culture where leaders are open-hearted and open-minded. However, it does not work with "old school" leaders and environments! m

What are the biggest obstacles to creating a humane business culture?

The obstacles include unhealthy attitudes and behaviors on the part of leaders, such as a lack of respect, accountability, and transparency. However, the fundamental barrier is the lack of genuine interest in people, seeing them merely as numbers and tools to gain power, profit, and privilege, rather than seeing them as the most valuable asset and consequently promoting human-centered practices to serve people powerfully.

How does your publishing label select authors aligned with its mission?

The publishing label Neue Business-Kultur Verlag (NBK) is a brand of the management coaching institute ARETA New Perspectives for Leaders. NBK specializes in high-quality publications in the fields of leadership and coaching that promote a more humane and person-centered business culture. The label doesn't promote external authors but offers media and other coaching products from the ARETA company. These publications are for courageous people, emerging young leaders, entrepreneurs, team leaders, solopreneurs, and anyone who sees leadership as an opportunity for transformation.mmmm

How do you help leaders balance business performance with a people-first approach?

Simply reminding them that leadership is impossible without people, as organizations are fundamentally composed of individuals. Remember, if you don't like people, you can't truly embrace business. I firmly believe that business is a kind of "calling"—a noble calling created by people for other people. It's straightforward to understand, isn't it? So, as a leader, please take care of the people you are responsible for, and they will go the extra mile.

How do you instill a sense of responsibility in leaders for their impact on others?

Self-awareness and empathy are essential tools for fostering a culture of accountability. It’s obvious that someone in a leadership position is responsible for their team; however, the new challenge is to create a work environment where every team member feels accountable and is encouraged to practice peer-to-peer accountability. This means holding each other accountable. For leaders, it involves leading by example—taking responsibility for failures and giving credit for successes.

How can leaders cultivate respect and belonging in their teams?

Feelings of respect and belonging are only possible when the gap between what a leader says and does is eliminated. In other words, if there are no discrepancies, people will feel that their leader is sincere and genuinely interested in them. It may seem very simple and obvious, but believe me, it still happens very rarely.

How do you see leadership evolving with technological advancements?

I believe that as technology advances at this pace, some leaders will face their greatest fear: the fear of becoming irrelevant in their business. At the same time, there will be an increasing need to balance AI with EI (Emotional Intelligence), and to do this, leaders must be prepared to carefully nurture and manage interpersonal relationships, critical thinking, and creativity. 

What practical steps can leaders take to remain "HUMAN"?

Leaders can stay "human" by showing vulnerability, practicing empathy, and actively listening to their team. Prioritize authentic communication, foster a culture of psychological safety, be transparent about challenges, and be clear when giving feedback. Balancing professionalism with genuine concern for individuals builds trust and keeps leaders grounded in human connection.

Can you share a coaching experience that shaped your views on leadership?

One coaching experience involved a leader who struggled with delegation. Through coaching, she learned to trust her team, let go of the need to control, and encourage them even before the results were visible. This transformation showed her that great leadership isn't about control; it's about creating space for others to thrive. And for me as a coach, it shows that every leader can learn, always! What key competencies must leaders develop in today's business environment?

I'm used to saying, "No inner work, no leadership," to echo the Martini commercial where the charming George Clooney appeared at the door saying, "No Martini, no party." The capacity for inner work and self-reflection is a sine qua non for leadership. It is also essential to have a genuine interest in people and to strengthen human and relational skills. Let's stop calling them "soft skills"!