Introduction: key elements of leadership in the twenty-first century

Abstract

The corporate world has changed rapidly in recent years. While generations Y and Z were already critical of traditional hierarchical models, the COVID 19 crisis has dramatically changed the interaction between management and employees yet again. A study published by the editors and authors of this book (Schulte et al., 2020) during the first wave of the pandemic in April 2020 asked about the conditions of well-being in the home office. This showed that good leadership was the decisive factor for safe and motivating work at home. This was much more important than the working conditions at home. Leadership that provides human orientation, empathy and trust will prevail across the board in this era.