No cell phone, no Slack, no laptop: This CEO takes his management team completely out of everyday office life for a day – for a boot camp. What other entrepreneurs can learn from this.
For Jason Modemann, founder and CEO of Mawave, leadership is not something that happens on the side in daily business. Why he regularly creates space and resources for further development – and what other founders can learn from this.
We hold an internal People Manager Bootcamp four times a year. To do this, we take all managers completely out of day-to-day business for a whole day. And really complete: no Slack, no cell phones, no laptop – full concentration on the topics on site.
Leadership boot camp for one day
The reason is relatively simple: leadership usually happens reactively in everyday life. You jump from appointment to appointment, solve problems, make decisions. But very few people consciously take the time to work on leadership and the company.
That’s exactly what boot camps are for. We invest around 14,000 euros per session for travel, hotel, location, meals and of course the time itself. At first it sounds like a lot – especially for a day when nothing happens operationally. For us, however, it is one of the most sensible investments we make in our team.
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Goals: Continue to develop business and personality
In terms of content, we work on two things at the same time during the boot camps: the business and the personal development of the managers in their role, and how they can develop their teams.
On the business side, a lot is about alignment: Where are we strategically? Where do teams work differently? Where do we lose efficiency because processes do not mesh neatly? We really take a close look at where there are problems, resolve knots between teams and define how we can work together better. At the same time, it’s about the future: Where do we want to develop as an agency? In which areas do we want to make progress? Each manager also works on their own innovation track.
The personal level is at least as important. Together we work out questions such as: When am I in flow? What motivates me and what blocks me? Where might I be getting in my own way? Because we noticed that these soft topics cannot be separated from business topics. How someone leads has a lot to do with how they tick.
My tips for personnel development
However, such formats only work if they are set up correctly. We take these things into account when planning and carrying out these appointments:
1. No ivory tower
A big mistake is to think of personnel development in isolation from everyday life. Theoretical frameworks, models, studies – all well and good. But if they have nothing to do with the real issues in the company, it’s no use. In my opinion, the best sessions always happen when things get concrete and when real challenges are on the table and we work on them together.
2. interaction
In day-to-day business you often work in silos. Everyone optimizes their own area. In the boot camp we consciously break these down. Because when you bring people from different teams together, a change of perspective almost automatically occurs. Everyone looks at the same problem through different lenses, things are questioned, connections become clearer – and solutions often emerge that one would never have come up with alone. This also strengthens collaboration in everyday life: you better understand how other teams think and work.
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3. openness
As a managing director, you have to actively open up the space so that unpleasant topics can also be addressed. For us, this happens in the “Ask me Anything” at the end of every boot camp. This is where the issues come to the surface that would otherwise remain under the surface and simmer away. Talking about it resolves conflicts before they arise.
4. Implementation
After a day like this, everyone usually leaves with new energy, inspiration and the feeling of having really made a difference. The real challenge comes afterwards. Because it often fails due to implementation in everyday life. That’s why we make sure to derive concrete steps from every boot camp: Who will do what and by when? In addition, we consciously build in mechanics so that nothing gets lost in daily doing. For example, through fixed check-ins or so-called accountability partners who regularly exchange information about progress.
In the end, of course, it’s not about how many workshops you do or how much budget you invest. But for me it is important to take leadership issues seriously. And that means consciously creating space for it.
Jason Modemann is the founder and managing director of the social media agency Mawave Marketing. At 27, he manages around 150 employees. Mawave’s customers include Red Bull, Nike and Lidl. He is also the author of the book “Always hungry, never greedy.”
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