Sparring partner for C-level, when growth requires new leadership
Experience from personal responsibility in organisations such as Manpower Group, Deutsche Post, and Mercedes-Benz:
Growth from personal responsibility – in organisations with high complexity and accountability for results, managing up to 2,100 employees.
WHAT IT IS ABOUT
Growth changes organisations. It increases the number of interfaces, decisions, dependencies, and expectations.
Eventually, "grown organically" is no longer enough. Conscious architecture is then required.
I work with CEOs, COOs, and CHROs who feel:
1
Leaders are strong technically, but structurally overwhelmed
2
Decisions take longer or are too centrally made
3
Responsibility is formally distributed, but practically unclear
4
Collaboration costs more energy than it generates
5
Structures don't seem wrong – but they no longer support
These are not symptoms of crisis. These are signs of maturity.
HOW WE WORK TOGETHER
For C-Level: Consulting & Transformation
Retained Advisory (CEO Sparring)
Long-term sparring for CEOs who need clear assessment and decision-making certainty during growth phases.
Focus: entrepreneurial decisions, not operational measures.
Management Team Transformation
Alignment of management teams as an overall system, so that responsibility is borne and decisions are led.
Focus: impact instead of departmental logic.
Organisational & Leadership Architecture
Structures that remain manageable with increasing complexity and relieve leaders in everyday work.
Focus: clarity on roles, responsibilities and decision-making scope.
Post-Merger Integration
Bringing together leadership, structure and decision-making logic after acquisitions – without constant friction.
Focus: stability alongside growth.
Recruitment Transformation
Recruitment considered as a structural leadership issue – not an operational HR task.
Focus: avoiding mis-hires instead of fixing them.
For Teams:
Scalable Solution for Recurring Recruiting Challenges in Growth
Mishires are not an exception during growth. They are a structural pattern.
Where roles become unclear and requirements are not clearly defined, recruiting comes under pressure.
For precisely this point, I have developed a scalable, internally usable solution that clearly guides recruiting during growth, instead of compensating for symptoms.
👉 Growth Recruiting Edition: A structural approach that enables teams to clearly distinguish between motives, roles, and requirements – before decisions are made.
TYPICAL GROWTH CHALLENGES I HELP WITH
During growth, recurring areas of tension arise –
not because people fail,
but because structures were built for an earlier phase.
not because people fail,
but because structures were built for an earlier phase.
1
Recruiting that reacts instead of strategises
2
Leadership struggling with complexity
3
Decisions made too late or excessively centrally
4
Responsibility that is formally assigned but practically ambiguous
5
Management teams that are technically proficient but not effectively aligned
I do not work on individual symptoms, but on the underlying structure.
COLLABORATION
Location Analysis
We clarify where complexity is blocking progress and which structures are no longer fit for purpose.
Architecture
We develop an organisational and leadership logic that suits today's reality.
Implementation
We pragmatically embed the architecture into everyday life – clear, effective, without programmes.
IMPACT
Leadership becomes effective again – instead of permanently compensating
Decisions become clearer and more comprehensible
Responsibility rests where it can be effectively borne
Collaboration becomes noticeably easier
The organisation gains calm – despite continued growth
Not because less is happening.
But because more fits together.
But because more fits together.
A selection of clients who already trust us
Why Kompetenzmagnet
I bring over 20 years of experience in strategic and operational overall responsibility. I have built, led, scaled, and supported organisations through complex phases.
Not from a consultant's perspective, but from practice:
Scaled from 1,100 → 2,100 employees
£70 million P&L responsibility
#1 Employee satisfaction nationwide in Germany
400% growth in 12 months
Built up 130 employees in 3 months, including leadership team
Depending on the specific challenge, I collaborate with a well-established network of selected experts (e.g., organisational design, employment law, HR systems, digitalisation) – targeted, integrated, and under my overall responsibility.
Growth doesn't need tougher people.
Growth needs sustainable structures.
SECTORS WHERE I SUPPORT GROWTH
I work across various sectors – with particular experience in:
E-commerce – organisations with a fast pace, direct customer impact, and little room for stagnation – including E-commerce, Logistics & Production, Tech, FMCG, and Professional Services.
About me, Katja zur Linden
I am Katja zur Linden, founder of Kompetenzmagnet.
I bring over 20 years of experience in strategic and operational overall responsibility – from Manpower Group to Deutsche Post and Mercedes-Benz. I understand organisational development not from concepts, but from responsibility: for results, people, and structures that work.
You know me from:
NEXT STEP
We will clarify:
Where does your organisation stand?
Which structures are no longer effective?
How can we work together?
Contact & Legal
Contact
Kompetenzmagnet GmbH
Email: hallo@kompetenzmagnet.de
Phone: +49 (0) 172 800 81 34
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