More than Business Yoga. What Does Healthy Leadership Actually Mean?

[HHL gGmbH - 23.04.2015] As shown by a recent study prepared by BAD, the vast majority of German companies (63 percent) are convinced that corporate health management (CHM) will become increasingly important in the future. However, only a small proportion of respondents invest in corresponding projects. Only one in ten medium-sized businesses, for example, are currently offering CHM measures. The reasons are fear of additional costs and the rejection of CHM by the owner or CEO. Against the background of an increasing number of employees who are suffering from mental illnesses such as burnout or depression, people are calling for more holistic concepts. This involves - in addition to classic health and safety measures in the work place, which continue to be vital - mental health, stress management, positive and considerate interaction amongst each other; generally, a corporate culture that is promoting people's health. Measures currently offered by companies include cardiovascular check-ups, exercise programs such as jogging and relaxation, e.g. business yoga.

Prophylaxis closely connected to organization and leadership

In the latest edition of the HHL news (spring 2015) university magazine, Prof. Dr. Dr. Wilfried von Eiff, Academic Director of the Center for Health Care Management and Regulation at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management warns, "Effective prophylaxis and workplace safety must not exhaust itself in fitness programs funded by the companies. Organization and leadership are the key factors to success when introducing effective prevention strategies. Medicine on its own often just functions as a repair shop."

Valuation and positive error culture important for good leadership

HHL Dean Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart: "Prevention and work safety are only one side of the medal. Good leadership is just as important. 'Good' in this context means to agree on ambitious goals together with the employees, to activate their intrinsic motivation, but also to challenge them, from time to time, to set the bar a little higher. Significant to a pleasant corporate climate and a modern corporate structure is also the concept that superiors value and praise good work. Healthy leadership also requires a positive error culture and the mutual willingness to recognize the weakness of people and processes and to work on neutralizing these shortcomings. Moreover, we need to have a greater understanding of the family situation of employees as well as students completing a part-time program on the job."

"A sustainable prevention strategy should be an important element of our social and health care policy."

Prof. Dr. Andreas Beivers, Academic Director of the Center for Health Care Management and Regulation of HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, points out aspects relating to health care politics. He says, "A sustainable prevention strategy should be an important element of our social and health care policy, particularly in light of the problems of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which are currently being discussed in Germany. The government must provide more incentives for individuals to care for their health on their own, for instance by means of preventive measures, if their personal and physically disposition allows them to do so. This could be achieved by programs offered by the health insurance companies or other basic infrastructural institutions in addition to corporate health management.

"Health Care and Leadership" is the main topic of the current edition of HHL news (spring 2015), available at: http://www.hhl.de/hhlnews-spring2015.
Additionally, the magazine of HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management contains the latest news from teaching, research and knowledge transfer at Germany's first business school. Alongside the many activities of the HHL alumni, the spring edition of HHL news also reports on the first class of the "SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator" entrepreneurship center.

HHL Offers in the Field of Health Care

HHL offers various programs in the field of health care - from a part-time MBA program with a "Hospital Management and Health Services" focus to the open enrolment program on the same topic and the application-related research by the Center for Health Care Management and Regulation. http://www.hhl.de/chcmr

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

HHL is a university-level institution and ranks amongst the leading international business schools. The goal of the oldest business school in German-speaking Europe is to educate effective, responsible and entrepreneurially-minded leaders. HHL stands out for its excellent teaching, its clear research focus, its effective knowledge transfer into practice as well as its outstanding student services. The courses of study include full and part-time Master in Management as well as MBA programs, a Doctoral program and Executive Education. In the 2014 Financial Times Masters in Management Ranking, HHL's full-time M.Sc. program was ranked among the top 10 in Europe. In 2013 and 2014, HHL reached one of three first places for the best entrepreneurial universities in Germany in the Start-Up Radar ranking published by Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Founders' Association of German Science) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BWMi). According to the Financial Times, HHL ranks first in Germany and fifth globally for its entrepreneurship focus within the M.Sc. and EMBA programs. HHL is accredited by AACSB International.http://www.hhl.de