The demands placed on leaders are increasing significantly in the context of ongoing transformation processes. Growing dynamics, rising time pressure, and increasingly complex tasks require a high level of adaptability and decision-making capability. At the same time, it is becoming evident that individual leaders can no longer manage the growing number of strategic, personnel-related, and cultural leadership tasks on their own. Organizations therefore face the necessity of restructuring and redistributing leadership responsibilities. Human Resource and Organizational Development (HRD & OD) plays a central role in this context, as it deliberately creates structures, processes, and competencies that help relieve leadership in an effective way.By introducing leadership substitutes—for example structural or relational mechanisms that take over specific leadership functions—organizations can establish a sustainable division of responsibilities. This includes clearly defined roles for strategic steering, professional competence development, as well as relationship and culture work. The paper discusses the extent to which professionalized Human Resource Development acts as an intermediary instance between the organization and employees and how it can support and relieve leaders in times of transformation. Based on the current HRD discourse and an empirical data basis, perspectives on shared leadership and their practical implications are explored.Practical Relevance: From a practical perspective, it becomes clear that organizations need to differentiate leadership tasks in order to prevent overload and ensure sustainable leadership. Effective leadership emerges when responsibility is systematically divided into three areas. In transformation processes, professionalized Human Resource Development can function as a mediator that balances organizational requirements, leadership practices, and the needs of employees.Structural leadership tasks: These include strategic decision-making, process design, and the coordination of resources and goals. Such tasks can partly be supported by project management systems, clear governance structures, or digital decision-making tools. In this context, Human Resource Development can take on a moderating role by translating organizational transformation goals into qualification strategies, learning architectures, and structured development programs. In doing so, it acts as a connecting element between strategic corporate management and practical implementation at the operational level.Personnel-related leadership tasks (people development/HR management): This includes operational personnel development, competence development, and succession planning. These tasks can be supported or partly taken over by specialized HR functions, learning platforms, or coaching programs. In this role, Human Resource Development supports leaders in linking individual development needs with organizational competence requirements and in implementing long-term talent and qualification strategies. It therefore assumes a coordinating function between organizational HR strategy and individual career and development processes.Relationship and culture development (people management): This area includes tasks such as communication, motivation, feedback, and the development of an appreciative organizational culture. Peer-leadership models, internal mentoring programs, or culturally oriented initiatives such as team development or feedback formats can provide support here. Human Resource Development acts as a moderating and mediating instance that creates spaces for dialogue and learning, supports transformation processes, and thereby contributes to the stabilization of organizational relationships and the development of a learning-oriented corporate culture.Through this functional division of tasks, leadership systems can emerge that are both adaptive and resilient. Human Resource Development thus functions as a connecting structure between strategic steering, leadership practice, and the needs of employees. To support this function, HRD needs to gain greater recognition within the organization, but also within its own professional self-understanding as an actor within leadership structures. In this way, leadership is no longer understood exclusively as an individual task of single leaders, but rather as a collective and systemically embedded organizational performance.

Personalentwicklung als intermediäre Instanz zwischen Organisation und Führung

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2026年4月16日

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Nathalie Weisenburger

摘要

The demands placed on leaders are increasing significantly in the context of ongoing transformation processes. Growing dynamics, rising time pressure, and increasingly complex tasks require a high level of adaptability and decision-making capability. At the same time, it is becoming evident that individual leaders can no longer manage the growing number of strategic, personnel-related, and cultural leadership tasks on their own. Organizations therefore face the necessity of restructuring and redistributing leadership responsibilities. Human Resource and Organizational Development (HRD & OD) plays a central role in this context, as it deliberately creates structures, processes, and competencies that help relieve leadership in an effective way.

By introducing leadership substitutes—for example structural or relational mechanisms that take over specific leadership functions—organizations can establish a sustainable division of responsibilities. This includes clearly defined roles for strategic steering, professional competence development, as well as relationship and culture work. The paper discusses the extent to which professionalized Human Resource Development acts as an intermediary instance between the organization and employees and how it can support and relieve leaders in times of transformation. Based on the current HRD discourse and an empirical data basis, perspectives on shared leadership and their practical implications are explored.

Practical Relevance: From a practical perspective, it becomes clear that organizations need to differentiate leadership tasks in order to prevent overload and ensure sustainable leadership. Effective leadership emerges when responsibility is systematically divided into three areas. In transformation processes, professionalized Human Resource Development can function as a mediator that balances organizational requirements, leadership practices, and the needs of employees.

Structural leadership tasks: These include strategic decision-making, process design, and the coordination of resources and goals. Such tasks can partly be supported by project management systems, clear governance structures, or digital decision-making tools. In this context, Human Resource Development can take on a moderating role by translating organizational transformation goals into qualification strategies, learning architectures, and structured development programs. In doing so, it acts as a connecting element between strategic corporate management and practical implementation at the operational level.

Personnel-related leadership tasks (people development/HR management): This includes operational personnel development, competence development, and succession planning. These tasks can be supported or partly taken over by specialized HR functions, learning platforms, or coaching programs. In this role, Human Resource Development supports leaders in linking individual development needs with organizational competence requirements and in implementing long-term talent and qualification strategies. It therefore assumes a coordinating function between organizational HR strategy and individual career and development processes.

Relationship and culture development (people management): This area includes tasks such as communication, motivation, feedback, and the development of an appreciative organizational culture. Peer-leadership models, internal mentoring programs, or culturally oriented initiatives such as team development or feedback formats can provide support here. Human Resource Development acts as a moderating and mediating instance that creates spaces for dialogue and learning, supports transformation processes, and thereby contributes to the stabilization of organizational relationships and the development of a learning-oriented corporate culture.

Through this functional division of tasks, leadership systems can emerge that are both adaptive and resilient. Human Resource Development thus functions as a connecting structure between strategic steering, leadership practice, and the needs of employees. To support this function, HRD needs to gain greater recognition within the organization, but also within its own professional self-understanding as an actor within leadership structures. In this way, leadership is no longer understood exclusively as an individual task of single leaders, but rather as a collective and systemically embedded organizational performance.