Soft Skills und Digital Leadership: Führung im Zeitalter der digitalen Transformation

Abstract

The digital transformation confronts organizations and leaders with profound changes. It does not only bring technological innovations but also triggers a fundamental shift in structures, processes, and corporate cultures. In this context, soft skills have emerged as key competencies of strategic importance. The aim of this master’s thesis was to examine the role of soft skills for leaders in the digital age and to analyze how they can be purposefully developed and strengthened. The theoretical foundation first contrasts traditional and modern leadership approaches with the demands of a digitalized work environment. The analysis shows that hierarchical, control-oriented leadership styles are losing effectiveness, while agile, participative, and valuebased approaches are gaining relevance. Furthermore, the dynamics of the VUCA world, characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, require leaders to demonstrate adaptability, resilience, and a future-oriented mindset. The core focus of the thesis is to identify which soft skills are most critical for digital leadership. The findings highlight communication skills, empathy, emotional intelligence, self-reflection, resilience, and the willingness to engage in lifelong learning as decisive factors. These competencies enable leaders to build trust, guide teams effectively in virtual structures, and actively manage complex transformation processes. To complement the theoretical analysis, qualitative expert interviews were conducted and evaluated using qualitative content analysis. The results confirm that soft skills are decisive for leadership success in the digital era. They also reveal that traditional training formats are of limited effectiveness, while sustainable learning outcomes are best achieved through experience-based methods such as coaching, mentoring, peer learning, and blended learning programs. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates that soft skills must not be regarded as “soft” or secondary qualifications but as decisive drivers of leadership effectiveness. They form the basis for leaders to interpret technological developments meaningfully, provide orientation, and motivate employees in dynamic environments. Organizations that systematically integrate soft skills into their leadership development initiatives not only strengthen individual capabilities but also foster a culture of openness, learning, and innovation.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Christine Ebner (Supervisor)