In the grand theaters of Vienna, where Mozart and Beethoven once captivated audiences, a different kind of performance was unfolding. Dr. Imre Marton Remenyi stood center stage, embodying the tragic hero Otello in Verdi’s masterpiece. But as he prepared to deliver his final, fatal act, a profound realization struck him that would reshape his entire life’s trajectory.
“I was singing the title role in Giuseppe Verdi’s opera ‘Otello,’” Dr. Remenyi recalls. “I made my big entrance as a glorious admiral who had just won a fierce battle, when it hit me that two hours later, I would have killed my loving and innocent wife and would be committing suicide. The crucial thought was that there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I was helpless against the script.”
This moment of artistic helplessness sparked a deeper question: How could he have more impact on the world than “a polite round of applause before the audience disappeared to the nearby restaurants?” The answer would emerge through decades of studying the human mind, developing revolutionary coaching methodologies, and ultimately creating what he calls Leadership 6.0.
THE CHAIRMAN AT 23: EARLY LESSONS IN TRUST AND RESPECT
Dr. Remenyi’s journey into leadership began long before his operatic epiphany. At just 23, while still a student of Industrial Engineering, he was elected National Chairman of AFS Austria, an organization with over 2,600 members dedicated to international student exchange programs. The experience would prove foundational to his leadership philosophy.
“Having been an exchange student to the USA in 1968-69, I was so convinced that AFS was making an important contribution to international understanding that I decided to become a volunteer member,” he explains. “As a student with no training in leadership, I had to learn quickly by trial and error.”
The most powerful lesson emerged from this crucible of responsibility: “The main and most powerful agent for leadership is interpersonal relationship based on trust and respect.” This insight would become the cornerstone of his approach to developing C-level executives decades later.
However, the experience also taught him a harsh lesson about organizational politics. One week before what seemed like a certain re-election, two PR section members appeared at his home after midnight to challenge his candidacy using confidential information he had shared with them. Though he won the election, the narrow margin and the opposition from those he needed to work with daily provided another crucial insight.
“This led to the realization that doing a good job was not enough,” Dr. Remenyi reflects. “You needed the right PR and marketing for your ideas.”
THE TRINITY OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP: CLARITY, CALMNESS, AND ENERGY
Through his extensive work with executives across various industries, Dr. Remenyi has distilled effective leadership into three essential elements: clarity, calmness, and energy. His approach isn’t theoretical but born from practical experience coaching leaders who felt “helpless against all people from the other levels” of their organizations.
“The basic idea of leadership is that you have a vision you would like to come true, but you cannot do it by yourself,” he explains. “You need usually many qualified people who are willing to pursue the same vision with you.”
Clarity serves as the foundation. “You must be able to explain the need for realizing your vision to a 10-year-old child,” Dr. Remenyi emphasizes. Without this crystalline understanding, followers and leaders themselves become confused, pulling projects in multiple directions simultaneously until they “bend and warp” or even “tear or break.”
Calmness provides the emotional stability necessary for rational decision-making. “When they perceive you as troubled or upset, your followers are likely to lose faith in you and stop following you,” he notes. Leaders without emotional regulation lose their ability to view situations objectively, compromising their judgment when it matters most.
Energy sustains the journey. “The road to your goal is long and strenuous,” Dr. Remenyi observes. “Without energy, measures and activities remain half-hearted and thus lose their usefulness.”
EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE: THE FIVE-TIERED LADDER TO CHARISMA
Central to Dr. Remenyi’s methodology is what he calls emotional competence, developed through a structured five-tiered approach that culminates in what most people recognize as charisma.
The progression begins with self-awareness: “Know and understand your own emotional state.” This foundation enables leaders to move to the second tier: “Take an honest interest in the emotional state of the person you are speaking with.”
The third level involves authentic expression: “Express your own emotional state appropriately.” This leads to the fourth tier: “Respond, don’t react, appropriately to your counterpart’s emotional expression.”
The pinnacle, which Dr. Remenyi identifies as charisma, involves the ability to “recognize the emotional state of a group and improve it through your actions.” This systematic development of emotional intelligence distinguishes truly transformational leaders from those who merely manage operations.
FROM OPERATIVE CHAOS TO STRATEGIC CLARITY: THE THREE BASIC Elements
When C-level executives approach Dr. Remenyi, they typically struggle with finding meaning in their work, handling conflicts, gaining respect, and managing personal ego issues. His solution involves a sophisticated process of alignment between organizational mission and personal motivation.
“We start by re-defining the three basic elements of the mission statement of the company and comparing them with the three basic elements of the leader’s intrinsic motivation: the WHY, the WHAT, and the HOW,” he explains. “We find the similarities and balance the differences to reach a definition of the lifetime meaning of the leader to be achieved by the company.”
This process recently transformed Ms. E.A., a leader facing imminent burnout whose board members exhibited what she described as “hostile leaning back” attitudes. Through assessment, Dr. Remenyi discovered she was attempting to fulfill all five aspects of leadership simultaneously: torchbearer, technical expert, organizer, treasurer, and wellbeing creator.
The solution involved strategic delegation. “She defined four people from her board of directors for the other four roles,” Dr. Remenyi explains. “This immediately cut her workload by 70%, allowing her to concentrate on the priorities of her newly defined role.” The transformation was immediate and comprehensive, improving not just her wellbeing but the entire company’s morale.
LEOWIEN: REDEFINING EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PERSONALIZATION
Recognizing that traditional executive education programs fail to meet the specific needs of C-level leaders, Dr. Remenyi created LeoWien in 2023. The concept addresses fundamental flaws in existing approaches to executive development.
“Think of a leader who wants to develop competence in a certain clearly defined area,” he explains. “She or he cannot sign up for any full program because they always include up to 95% areas that are of no particular interest. Special topic courses still include at least 50% of unnecessary material.”
More critically, traditional programs cannot guarantee the confidentiality necessary for open discussion, as participants might include competitors or even the leader’s own employees. Additionally, no single coach can be a specialist in all required areas.
LeoWien’s solution is revolutionary in its personalization. “You subsequently get paired with specialists of all the areas in which you have questions for as long as you need to clear up all your respective questions, while having one single person who acts as your connecting link to LeoWien and takes care of all your scheduling and arranging.”
THE FOUR-EYE PRINCIPLE IN ACTION
The practical application of LeoWien’s approach can be illustrated through a hypothetical case Dr. Remenyi calls “The Millers are not called Miller.” When Mr. Miller approached LeoWien, he wanted to understand his company’s balance sheets, explore better ways of legally positioning his company for European expansion, enhance his meeting presence, improve his work-life balance, and pursue his childhood goal of writing a book.
Within a week, he received a tailored proposal including CVs of two university professors specializing in European and International Corporate and Commercial Law, four renowned actors similar to him in age and body measurements for presentation training, specialized psychologists and psychotherapists for work-life balance, and recognized authors and ghostwriters for his writing ambitions.
“The leader himself is the focus of attention as a unique personality,” Dr. Remenyi explains. “All consultants are hand-picked and tailored to him. He does not have to step down from his throne and submit to a system and its representatives.”
LEADERSHIP 6.0: HUMANS LEADING HUMANS IN AN AI WORLD
While many leadership experts embrace AI as central to future leadership models, Dr. Remenyi takes a contrarian stance with his Leadership 6.0 concept. “The proponents of leadership 5.0 see AI at the core of leadership,” he notes. “In opposition, I have developed leadership 6.0 that sees leadership as a human skill for humans to be leading humans.”
This philosophical position stems from his belief that leadership is fundamentally about human connection and emotional intelligence. “AI finds its rightful place as a tool for managers,” he clarifies, distinguishing between management tasks that can be augmented by technology and leadership responsibilities that require uniquely human capabilities.
The concept, available for free download from the Vienna International Management School homepage, represents his vision for preserving the essentially human elements of leadership in an increasingly digital world.
THE EMOTIONAL PILLOW: REGULATION AS HUMAN DISTINCTION
Dr. Remenyi views emotional regulation as one of humanity’s distinguishing characteristics. “It is the step we can and hopefully do put between experiencing an emotion and setting the appropriate action,” he explains. “Sometimes it is called ‘the emotional pillow.’”
This capacity for emotional regulation represents more than just professional skill; it defines human maturity. “I personally think that emotional regulation is one of the main factors that distinguishes humans from animals and that defines a person’s degree of maturity.”
For busy executives who claim they have no time for reflection, Dr. Remenyi poses a provocative question: “What would happen if this leader went on a trip to some faraway place where he had an accident and therefore three days in a hospital without any contact to his company?” The implication is clear: if time would be found for an emergency, it can be found for development.
CONFIDENT LEADERSHIP WITH PASSION: A PERSONAL DEFINITION
Dr. Remenyi’s definition of confident leadership reflects his comprehensive understanding of the role’s requirements and possibilities. “Leadership is to make sure that the right things are done to approach and eventually reach a situation that is ‘better’ for as many people as possible,” he begins.
Confidence adds the element of conviction: “The leader is convinced that the desired goal can be achieved with the team and that they have the capacity to overcome all obstacles.” Passion provides the emotional foundation: “This activity and trust come from the bottom of the leader’s heart.”
This definition extends beyond corporate boardrooms. “Even if the general picture is that of a businessman, I prefer to think of a woman leading her family to a happy life together,” Dr. Remenyi explains. “Leaders are the ones in charge of assuring happiness and setting the lifestyles all over the world.”
A VISION FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
Dr. Remenyi’s concern about current global trends informs his mission for developing authentic leaders. “Presently, I see the rise of dictatorial models and violence becoming socially accepted,” he observes. “My hope is that we can develop a generation of real leaders with leader personalities.”
His advice to young professionals reflects this broader vision: “Keep in mind that you need to develop your personality by collecting and evaluating experiences rather than collect tools, because a fool with a tool is still a fool!”
This wisdom encapsulates his approach to leadership development: focusing on character formation rather than technique acquisition, emotional intelligence over technological proficiency, and human connection over systematic optimization.
THE LEGACY OF CLARITY
Dr. Imre Marton Remenyi’s journey from opera stage to executive coaching represents more than a career change; it embodies a mission to elevate leadership as a fundamentally human endeavor. His work through the Vienna International Management School and LeoWien continues to influence how C-level executives understand their roles and develop their capabilities.
When asked what he hopes clients remember most about working with him, his response is characteristically practical: “I hope they will remember to put their most important learnings into action.”
This focus on implementation over theory, on personal transformation over technique acquisition, and on human development over technological adoption defines his lasting contribution to leadership development. In a world increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence and automated systems, Dr. Remenyi’s work reminds us that the most important leadership challenges remain fundamentally human.
His vision of Leadership 6.0 offers a roadmap for preserving and enhancing the human elements of leadership while appropriately integrating technological tools. As organizations worldwide grapple with digital transformation and changing workforce expectations, his emphasis on clarity, calmness, and energy provides a stable foundation for navigating uncertainty.
The clarity catalyst that Dr. Remenyi represents extends far beyond individual coaching sessions or academic concepts. It encompasses a worldview where leaders take responsibility for creating better situations “for as many people as possible,” where emotional intelligence guides decision-making, and where the fundamental human capacity for growth and connection remains at the center of organizational transformation.
