Is “Good” Leadership Learnable?
I am often asked whether “good” leadership can be learned. You don’t become a “good” leader overnight—and certainly not by holding a title. Leading people is a responsible task that requires more than expertise and good intentions. As a leader, you need the courage to look at yourself critically repeatedly, to understand how you affect others, and to become aware of your blind spots. It also takes an unyielding will to keep developing. Leadership is about self-knowledge, about your inner and outer stance, about strong self-leadership, and about authentic communication on every level: mental, emotional, and physical.
Would you like to become more aware of your impact as a leader and experience what good leadership can feel like? Then sign up for my leadership seminars in Zurich! All further information is available here.
What Does “Good” Leadership Mean?
Our working world has changed significantly. Digitalization, the shortage of skilled workers, New Work, demographic shifts, changing values, and an uncertain economic climate pose major challenges for leaders. Those who want to lead well must inspire people and bring them along. It’s not only about professional excellence, but about sparking enthusiasm. As Monika Matsching puts it, “impact competence has overtaken technical competence.” Do leaders truly want to know how they come across to others and how their leadership is perceived? Do you have the courage?
When I ask leaders whether they treat their employees with appreciation, 90 percent say “yes.” But when I ask the employees, the picture is often reversed, and I frequently hear: “If the people at the top knew what we do for this company, they would behave differently…” A typical example of how self-perception and external perception often diverge. This is especially problematic with appreciation, because it is the foundation of good leadership—as shown by a BCG study with over 200,000 participants: the most important driver of employee happiness is appreciation, by a wide margin ahead of work–life balance and training.
In Germany, 41 percent of employees currently feel that their performance at work is neither acknowledged nor appreciated. For leadership to be future-ready, it must address appreciation head-on.
Leadership Quality Is Company Quality
This is underscored by the current “Randstad Employer Brand Research 2025 (REBR),” which identifies poor leadership as a key reason for quitting: 20 percent of employees surveyed in Germany said they would leave a company because of bad leadership. The cost impact is immediate: each resignation typically costs 90–200 percent of the former employee’s annual salary to rehire. For economic reasons alone, companies must invest in good leadership.
It’s a common misconception that popular people make good leaders. Good leadership does not mean pleasing everyone. It means communicating uncomfortable issues, setting boundaries, and taking a clear stance; it means saying no to stay focused on goals, and of course addressing it when performance is not satisfactory. This only works if you lead with appreciation. A single critical message requires at least five positive feedback to keep the relationship in balance.
The Mindstep Academy
With the founding of the Mindstep Academy in 2021, my aim is to empower leaders to take new steps with a new mindset. In selected seminars, I use the dynamics of Tango Argentino to make leadership tangible on every level. Curious to experience something truly new?
In all Mindstep seminars (with or without tango), I work with tools from communication psychology and experiential methods (body-language expertise, etc.), enriched with practical experience from the field and from my own time as a leader. I give participants plenty of space for self-reflection, for perspective shifts, and for trying out new options for action.
In my seminars, you will find answers to questions such as:
- How do I optimize my impact competence?
- Where are my blind spots?
- How authentic do I come across?
- How do I express appreciation verbally and nonverbally?
- How do I conduct difficult conversations with a positive stance?
- How do I set boundaries through body language?
- How can I use facial expression and gesture as leadership tools?
- How do I create a culture of trust?
- How do I future-proof my leadership style?
… and much more.
Leadership Seminars in Zurich
1-Day Seminar:
“The Art of Nonverbal Communication in Leadership”
Fee: CHF 480 (accommodation and meals not included)
Dates: November 4, 2025; March 22, 2026; September 20, 2026; November 3, 2026
Program:
10:00 Get-together, introductions
10:30 Theoretical approach (New Work – Old Work)
11:00 Awareness: my inner and outer stance
11:30 Self- and external perception, body language, facial expression, gesture
12:00 Charisma factors – Strong expression, strong impression
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Body-language analysis: my leadership style
15:00 Practical exercises
17:00 Close
Goal: By mindfully reshaping interactions with employees, we reshape the present and the future. Those who dare to break old patterns can reach a new level and remain future-ready. The positive relationship with employees is the heart of success.
2-Day Seminar:
“Tango Dynamics of Body Language as a Success Factor for Leaders”
Fee: CHF 875 (accommodation and meals not included)
Dates: November 2–3, 2025; March 23–24, 2026; September 21–22, 2026; November 1–2, 2026
Program
Day 1
10:00 Get-together, introductions
11:00 From Mindset to Mindstep, New Work—what does tango have to do with
leadership?
12:30 Lunch
13:30 My inner and outer stance; my leadership style, my patterns
15:00 My personal impact; enhancing impact competence, facial expression,
gesture
19:00 Dinner
Day 2
09:00 Creating a culture of trust
10:30 Designing leadership as a reciprocal dialogue
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Granting freedom, setting boundaries; loyalty and employee happiness
15:15 Anchoring
16:30 Close
Goal: Experience your personal values, strengths, and weaknesses through tango to further develop your leadership pattern, personal leadership style, and communication skills. A new and surprising approach to shaping leadership with empathy and dynamism through perspective shifts. With the help of coaching tools, your experiences and insights are anchored so they can be applied immediately in everyday life—laying the foundation for future-oriented, empathic–dynamic leadership behavior.
All seminars take place in Zurich at Weststrasse 182, in the city’s coolest neighborhood—just six tram stops from Zurich Main Station.
For seminar registrations, please contact me directly at mf@moniquefischer-consulting.ch.