While economists are reporting record drops in the economy, Florian Gschwandtner is laying the foundation stone for his new company. Probably Austria's best-known founder and former Runtastic CEO wants to train bosses for the 21st century. To do this, he starts the consulting firm Leaders21 with his former Runtastic product manager, Thomas Kleindessner.
“Management has changed due to the crisis,” says Gschwandtner to the “press”. “As before, it was no longer possible in many companies because of remote work.” If you work differently, you have to be managed differently, says the founder of several start-ups.
While many a boss was vehemently opposed to the home office in the past, even the biggest skeptics are forced to change their minds. The pandemic made people more open, says the 38-year-old. You now see that changes are needed. Because Generation Z, i.e. those born between 1997 and 2012, would place higher demands on the meaning of their work. The “why” behind the work is important to you. “You want to do good,” explains the Steyrer. “Many companies have to think carefully about how they can get good people.” And that requires, above all, “agile” management.
Runtastic was born of a crisis
With Runtastic, Gschwandtner has proven that he can lead companies to success. When he launched the running app with three other founders in 2009, the economy was shaken by the financial crisis. Just six years later, Adidas took over the Upper Austrian company for more than 200 million euros. This time, too, an economic crisis is raging. “I'm not really nervous,” he waves off. “Starting a company is always a challenge. A crisis always brings great changes. If you respond to that, it can also be an opportunity. “
| Communication is very different from that in the old world. |
| Florian Gschwandtner, co-founder of Leaders21 |
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Corona has also changed his own leadership. Although he gave up his position at Runtastic in 2018, he is still active in management at Tractive, a tracking app for pets that he co-founded. He is also on the supervisory board at Ottakringer and is involved in other start-ups through 8eyes GmbH, which he started together with the Runtastic co-founders in 2014.
In order to better know how his employees are doing, he has increased the meeting intervals. He encourages daily one-on-one discussions in his teams to discuss personal challenges such as home schooling, a small apartment or the spouse. “There are many topics that should and must be addressed. It requires a completely different communication than in the old world. “
Customers for the trainings
For Leaders21, he seems to rely on trusted colleagues. Because other Runtastic founders such as Christian Kaar and René Giretzlehner are also working on the project. The co-founder and former CFO of Runtastic, Alfred Luger, was the first investor to join. Thomas Kleindessner is at the spearhead of the consulting company. “As a leader you have the chance to unleash incredible strength, motivation and willingness to perform in people through your actions. At the same time, a leader can drive top people and ambitious employees into resignation through incorrect behavior, ”says Kleindessner. He had already taken care of further training for employees at Runtastic.
In the meantime, customers such as the automobile manufacturer Audi or the app start-up Hello Again as well as the medical technology company Mositech trust the training courses. A digital learning and community platform will also go online in autumn. [R61PK]
