Recruitment trends and criteria for top leadership positions in politics are the focus of an interview with
Matthias Fritton, a consultant at Egon Zehnder International, Frankfurt, in the German newspaper
Tagesspiegel. In the interview Fritton emphasizes the "general management" qualities that political leaders - like their counterparts in business - should possess. These competences include "decision-making and good judgment."
Skills like communication, and above all team-building, are especially important in view of the transformation of our culture on the whole. "Today's new generation of leaders is being educated differently to 30 years ago. Individuals rise up the ranks with far less instruction than a decade or two ago. Young people now want to assume more responsibility and to be fully involved in teams that are pressing ahead with processes."
Fritton also comments on individuals who change careers to enter politics. "In principle, it is important that politics also opens up to individuals wishing to change careers. The natural flow between the private and public sectors in Germany is not dynamic enough. But ministers also need to understand the workings of politics. These processes are different to those in companies. Without such knowledge, any move from industry to politics is doomed to failure from the very beginning. But why should a successful manager, who has worked in a political organization for young people or has already gathered political experience in an honorary function, for example, not move into a ministry at some point?" Fritton concludes.
