Monday morning, 9 a.m. The inbox is overflowing, the next project update is waiting, and the phone is ringing: one team member is burned out, another announces that he wants to reorient himself professionally. Between KPI pressure, budget issues and change projects, many managers feel like jugglers who are in danger of dropping a ball at any moment.

This is exactly where the current study comes in "Future Leadership – Leadership Skills for the New World of Work" at. It clearly shows that employees want above all Humanity, care and inspiration from their superiors – not the next digital skill or a visionary PowerPoint.

Desire and reality diverge

The data speak for themselves:

• 96% of employees expect respectful and appreciative behavior.

• Equally high is the desire for honest feedback and real support in further development.

• At the same time, employees often experience their superiors as digitally competent but little visionary and caring.

As a result, less than half of the employees are really satisfied with their leadership. One in five talks up the situation, one in ten has long since resigned internally.

The study makes clear what many feel in everyday life: expertise and efficiency alone are no longer enough. Of course, deadlines, budgets and strategies are important. But what really carries your team is the feeling of being seen, heard and taken seriously.

The key: Social competence as the most important leadership skill.

Employees want to be humanly led become. This does not mean being "soft", but finding a balance between clarity and empathy.

This requires courage:

• Courage to show vulnerability. Those who admit that they do not have an answer to everything create trust.

• Courage to listen. Really listening means taking the point of view of others seriously – even if it is uncomfortable.

• Courage to fill visions with meaning.Employees want to know why they do what they do.

The good news: Social competence is not an innate talent, but can be trained. The following impulses provide exemplary clues such as. And the best thing about it: they not only lead to you improving your leadership style, but also to your employees developing their social skills.

1. Make appreciation visible

• Give recognition not only for results, but also for commitment, attitude and development steps.

• Involve the team. For example, start meetings with a "spotlight moment": Everyone names a post that he or she has perceived positively in someone else in the last week.

2. Listen on three levels

At the next appraisal interview, make a conscious effort to:

• What is being said (Contents),

• as it is said (emotion),

• what is not said (Between-the-lines).

Repeat in your own words what you have understood. This is often the only way to get the feeling of being really heard – and often it is only through this that people are really heard, as different interpretations are revealed.

3. Keep development plans instead of to-do lists

Ask at least once a quarter: "What would you like to learn or try in the next few months?"

• Record small learning steps together.

• Open up opportunities, e.g. through project responsibility, job rotation or short impulse training.

4. Take work-life balance seriously

• Signal that breaks, holidays and closing times may be observed - and set an example yourself.

• Ask: "What do you currently need to remain productive in the long term?"

• Don't forget to ask yourself this question and take their answer seriously.

• Respond to indicators such as excessive overtime, sick leave, or fluctuation by reviewing company culture, work processes, and structure.

5. Inspire through Purpose

• Don't just explain what to do, but also why.

• Connect tasks to the larger vision and show what each individual is contributing.

Conclusion: Leadership means growth

Those who consciously work on empathy, care and inspiring communication gain more than just happier employees – they create an environment in which teams become more efficient, creative and resilient. And are more efficient as a result. Or to say it with the results of the study: The country needs new leaders – and those who not only lead, but connect.