There are people who see what others don't. They notice when teams collapse under pressure, when decisions overwhelm people, and when systems lose sight of their actual purpose. They feel injustice before it's voiced and take responsibility even when no one has asked them to. These people are not activists in the traditional sense. They are leaders, consultants, team leaders, project managers. People who work in organizations every day and have never stopped believing that things could be different, could be better. I call them empathetic changemakers. And I am writing this manifesto for them.

What I observe

In many organizations, leadership is still thought of exclusively along classical lines: technical expertise, decision-making ability, assertiveness, strategic thinking, length of company tenure, number of leadership experiences. These skills are important. But they fall short because they do not describe, what truly constitutes good leadership. They don't consider that there are people behind it, with their own attitudes, modes, focuses, logic, and personalities. 

The people who could truly bring about positive change are often not the ones who excel best in competition. They are frequently those who perceive with particular sensitivity where something is wrong. They recognize injustice before it becomes visible. They sense when people are overwhelmed, when processes dehumanize, when systems have forgotten their actual purpose. These people bring a special mix: empathy, a sense of responsibility, and the deep desire for systems to serve life, not the other way around.

The paradox: Precisely because of this, they quickly reach their limits. Many become exhausted. Others leave organizations before they could truly shape them.

I believe there's a fundamental misunderstanding about leadership here. And I believe it's time to name it.

2. What self-efficacy means

Self-acting force is not the same thing as self-efficacy. Self-efficacy-the concept that Albert Bandura shaped – describes the conviction that one can deal with challenges. It is reactive: How well do I get through it? It strengthens the ability to cope with what comes.

Self-efficacy raises another question: what do I use my strength for?

That sounds like a small difference. But it's actually a fundamental one.

Self-efficacy is the ability to connect one's own values, perception, and energy with the real dynamics of systems in such a way that actual impact is created. It arises from clarity about where one's own power lies. From the decision of what to use it for. And from the ability to consistently do so in complex systems – not just in volunteer work, but also in one's job. The formula behind it is simple:

Empathy + Self-Leadership + Systems Competence = Self-Efficacy

Empathy enables us to perceive what people truly need. Self-leadership ensures that this perception does not lead to exhaustion. System competence helps us shape change so that it becomes a real possibility. Where these three forces come together, something emerges that goes far beyond personal success.

3. The five levels at which self-efficacy operates

Self-efficacy is not an isolated concept. It acts on multiple levels simultaneously – from the inside out. And it can only truly arise when we consider all these levels:

1. The inner system,
2. the individual,
3. Team and relationship,
4. Organization,
5. Society.

The Levels of Self-Efficacy

To work from the inside out

Empathy + Self-Leadership + System Competence
Self-working force

3.1. Level 1 – The Inner System

Before we can talk about leadership, organizations, or social change, we need to talk about what happens inside us. Two systems operate within us simultaneously. The cognitive system—what we think, plan, decide. And the unconscious system—what we feel, what shows up in our bodies, what we perceive in split seconds before our minds have even had a chance to react. Both speak different languages.

The cognitive system loves clarity, structures, arguments, and likes to communicate with words.

The unconscious system communicates through images, feelings, physical reactions, and a vague sense that something is wrong, even if we can't yet say what..

Many people primarily live within one of these systems. Either they analyze and think – and in doing so, lose access to what truly drives them. Or they feel intensely – and find no way to translate this feeling into effective action. Self-efficacy begins with understanding both systems and bringing them into dialogue. In methodology books, this topic appears under terms like intuition or gut feeling. But it's more than that – it's the foundation of any real leadership ability.

3.2. Level 2 – The Individual

When the inner system is in contact with itself, a question becomes possible that many people avoid for years: What am I actually using my energy for?

What truly aligns with my values? What genuinely moves me? Where do I experience that my actions have meaning – because I feel it, not because someone else says so? This question is uncomfortable. It sometimes leads to answers that call into question one's life so far. But it is the crucial question for anyone who truly wants to make a difference. Self-efficacy on an individual level does not mean self-optimization. It means coherence. The courage to invest one's energy where it truly belongs – even if that means leaving old patterns behind.

3.3. Level 3 – Team and Relationship

Effect doesn't happen when you go it alone. That's one of the most important and most frequently underestimated insights in my work. People who carry a lot of responsibility tend to carry it alone. That needing support would be a weakness – the opposite is true. Real effectiveness emerges in relationships. In genuine connection – the ability to be seen and to truly see others.

This level is about trust, which comes from consistency, honesty, and the willingness to show up. And it's about a tension that many empathic people know and that self-efficacy endures:

Empathy without boundaries leads to exhaustion. Boundaries without empathy lead to isolation. Self-efficacy at this level is the ability to connect both.

3.4. Level 4 – Organization

Organizations are not abstract entities. They are social systems, shaped by structures, power relations, cultural norms, and the people who work within them. And they can enable agency. Or block it.

Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum have with the Capability Approach shown that effectiveness is not purely an individual achievement. What people can truly do and be always depends also on the structures in which they live and work. Organizations that want to enable self-efficacy must therefore do more than just support people — they must create spaces in which power can unfold in the first place.

Leadership at this level Something very concrete and pragmatic: opening and maintaining spaces of possibility where people can be effective. Connecting spheres of action with responsibility, making decision paths transparent, treating mistakes as learning opportunities, not as threats.

Organizations that don't do this will lose precisely those people in the long run who could secure their future. The empathetic change-makers, the strategic thinkers, the people with a genuine sense of responsibility. What often remains are exclusively people who have learned to adapt. This is necessary for stability, but in the long run, it's a silent catastrophe. At least, if the balance remains so one-sided. Then the system lacks the energy for change.

3.5. Level 5 – Society

The outermost level is simultaneously the largest and the most elusive. When people with similar orientations join forces – in organizations, in networks, in movements – something emerges that goes beyond the sum of the individuals. Collective self-efficacy is not an addition of individual forces but a quality in itself.

People can decide what to dedicate their energy to, both individually and collectively. They can align their diverse competencies, their different approaches, and their individual strengths towards a common goal, achieving more together than any one person could alone.

This has nothing to do with leveling down, but quite the opposite: collective efficacy arises precisely from the diversity of those involved and the ability to combine different strengths. That is the social dimension of efficacy. And it is the reason why this concept goes far beyond personal development for me.

4. What this school of thought is not

What's important to me is to clarify that this school of thought is not a method or a five-step plan to a "better me." It's also not a consolation for bad structures. Self-efficacy doesn't arise from individuals becoming more resilient or handling themselves better. Structures must change, and people with self-efficacy are those who can initiate this change. Self-efficacy asks what I am working for. It is not loud, nor is it based on power plays, self-promotion, or competing for attention. But it has an enormous impact.

5. What I believe

I believe that every person has a specific self-efficacy. A combination of values, skills, and the desire to make a difference. This force is individual; what drives me doesn't necessarily have to drive you. But when a person knows what their strength lies in, what they want to use it for, and when they consistently do so, not just in volunteer work, but also in their job, in organizations, and in everyday life, then something emerges that goes far beyond personal success.

I believe that empathy is not a weakness. Rather, it is one of the most important leadership resources of our time, when combined with self-leadership and systemic competence.

I believe that change rarely arises from programs or strategies. It comes from people taking responsibility, using their agency, and bringing new perspectives. From people who don't fight against systems but learn to move them.

I believe these people need to find each other. And I believe the most important question of our time might be this one: How can people be effective without losing themselves?

6. Why I am developing this

I am an empirical social scientist, consultant, and coach. And a feminist, one who doesn't go to demonstrations but rather makes her expertise available to those who want to bring about change. That is my self-efficacy. From this perspective, I have developed a mindset over the years that I am now putting into writing, piece by piece. A school of thought that thinks systemically. Complexity not simplified, because complexity is reality. It doesn't promise simple solutions, but it is concrete enough to be effective in the daily lives of leaders, change agents, and organizations.

7. An Invitation

If you found your way here, it's probably because you know what I'm talking about. Because you yourself feel that there's a gap between what's possible in organizations and what actually happens. Because you take responsibility, even when no one sees it. Because you haven't stopped believing that things could be different.

You are not naive. You see reality very clearly.

But you also know: Transformation doesn't start with better processes. It starts where people discover their self-efficacy.

This school of thought is for you.

Not as an answer to all questions. But as an invitation to ask the right ones.

Do you want more of this? Once a month, I write about self-efficacy, leadership, and the dynamics that operate between the lines, offering honest insights for people who truly want to make a difference.