André Henning is head coach of the German men's national hockey team and has led his team to an extraordinary run of success. Following their World Cup victory in 2023, Henning guided his players to a successful title defence in 2026, securing the fourth World Cup title in German hockey history. In 2025, Germany won the European Championship and secured the silver medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. When André Henning took charge of the national team in 2021, he had less than a year to prepare for the 2023 World Cup. At the time, Germany were ranked fifth in the world. Within a short space of time, he managed to build a team that believed in itself even in difficult situations and was consistently able to turn games around after falling behind. The 2023 World Cup title was the first for the German men’s hockey team in 17 years. In the same year, Henning became the first German coach to be named FIH Coach of the Year. This success is closely linked to his understanding of modern leadership. Henning emphasises personal responsibility, involvement and a strong bond within the team. He deliberately challenges traditional hierarchies. The 2026 World Cup demonstrated that this approach remains effective even following changes to the lineup: with a significantly younger team, Germany once again managed to win the title. André Henning (*1983) played in the 1. Bundesliga and for the German U18 national team himself before a knee injury brought his playing career to an early end. Whilst studying law at the Ruhr University in Bochum, he began his career as a hockey coach. After his first few years working with the youth teams at Uhlenhorst Mülheim, he became the Bundesliga's youngest head coach in 2007 at the age of just 23. Under his leadership, the record German champions returned to the top of the domestic league and won the German Championship in 2014. Further successful stints took Henning to Club an der Alster Hamburg and Rot-Weiss Köln before he took charge of the German national team. In his talks, André Henning offers insights into his work and demonstrates how teams are formed, led and kept motivated even under intense pressure. His motto "Every team is smarter than its leadership", shapes his understanding of leadership. He challenges traditional hierarchies and uses concrete examples from elite sport to show how personal responsibility and team spirit develop. This includes explaining why his team sometimes has to buy their own mineral water for a match, as well as consciously celebrating small successes and dealing flexibly with crises. In doing so, Henning vividly illustrates what modern leadership can achieve when responsibility is not merely imposed from above, but is actively practised within the team.