Leadership

Leadership is also intelligent management. And much more, too. Because people cannot be managed if they don’t want to be. Leaders therefore need to win the confidence of their staff and to convince them to want to commit themselves.

This can be achieved if the leaders are aware of their responsibility for their duties and their staff and have the courage to take on this responsibility. If they are confident enough to demand a certain level of performance from their staff and to support them in achieving that level. If they communicate actively and openly with their staff, are honest and reliable and show their staff respect and concern, even and especially if things are not going as well as they should. And if they take the time to reflect on what they are doing.

We support leaders with a comprehensive range of offers:

• Leadership coaching
  We assist leaders in defining their role and in bringing their potential to life, as well as in broadening their range of behaviours and styles.

• Leadership development programs
  We design customised leadership training in cooperation with our clients, and we also facilitate training courses that have been designed by our clients: geared to the current requirements of the organisation, with the greatest possible sustainability, at all management levels, of varying length and intensity, and in all sectors.
  We also offer training on individual topics, such as communication, dealing with conflicts, presentations, meeting techniques, entrepreneurial thinking.

• Leadership tools
  We provide support in the development of management tools, for example in the development, improvement, and introduction of qualification systems or in the introduction of integrated management systems.

Andreas Kurt

onion: process & innovation

I originally studied behavioural biology and spent several years observing the hierarchical behaviour of wild chimpanzees in the West African rain forest, which in one way or another proved to be an excellent basis for my later career, for daily management tasks and present-day consultancy activities. Apart from a broad range of insights, I have brought with me an inner peacefulness and the ability to continually see things afresh and to delight in my surroundings.

For about 20 years I have been accompanying companies, organisations, leaders, and teams on their way to a sustainable future. This includes developing and implementing strategies, reviewing and digitalising processes and adjusting structures. For the latter, I particularly focus on guidance on new organisational forms (holacracy, circle models).

I offer a wealth of experience in the development of solutions around process and innovation management. I help companies, organisations, executives, and teams to find solutions in the field of process and innovation management. For me it is important that the solutions that are chosen are in line with the client’s strategy and can be firmly embedded in corporate culture, so that the processes are adopted in full, and the innovations develop in a sustainable way.

Professional background

• Independent consultant since 2004, director of Tarana GmbH, Fislisbach
• Joined onion: Consultancy Network in 2008
• Member of the senior executive and Head of Patents and Design at the Federal Institute for Intellectual Property, pioneer of new public management and successful advocate of good governance in the federal administration (1999–2004)
• Head of Marketing at the Federal Institute for Intellectual Property (1996–1999)
• Involvement in and manager of various development cooperation projects and in national park management in African countries

Educational background

• CAS for board members, Rochester-Bern
• Courses in industrial economics, political economics and intellectual property rights
• M.Sc. in biology, University of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, specialisations: behavioural biology and ecology

Clientèle

• Public sector and closely linked organisations
• Innovative companies, in particular in the technical field
• Associations and societies, in particular in the fields of environment and healthcare
• Universities, academies and research institutions

Miscellaneous information

• Board memberships since 2004
• Publications: Agile Methoden in der Verwaltung. Ja, das geht! November 2020: www.agile-verwaltung.org
• Projects published in Public Management by Norbert Thom (2008) and Fallbeispiele zur Betriebswirtschaft (Case Studies in Industrial Economics) by Jean-Paul Thommen (2008)
• For further information, see also www.tarana.ch