Leadership Backstage

My Podcast Guest today is Erik Wirsing, Vice President of Global Innovation at DB Schenker. Erik is very passionate about the work he does and we had a fascinating conversation about Innovation. I learned a lot! Together with his team, he is responsible for bringing new knowledge and ideas to many different areas of the business, as well as fostering a culture of innovation in the organisation. We talked about passion, curiosity and diversity as drivers and innovation boosters. But also about how to keep the eyes open on what´s going on out there, and to stay up to date even after so many years in the same company. He shares generously insights into how the company managed to navigate the business through the pandemic with even one of the best results of the last years. And how the home office situation brought him and his team even closer together, very human and touching. Erik also shares his personal journey through his career and how he overcame stage nervousness. I hope you enjoy this very inspiring exchange as much as I did!

Dr Nicole Meier ist Betriebsleiterin bei BASF im Werk in Ludwigshafen. In diesem sehr offenen, facettenreichen und warmherzigen Gespräch erfahren Sie über Führung in der Produktion aus der Sicht einer Vorreiterin. Wir sprechen über viele Themen: über Kulturveränderung in einem Produktionsbetrieb, über Produktion in Zeiten von Corona und Transformation, darüber wie sie als Frau in einer noch eher Männerdomäne mit wenig weiblichen Vorbildern, ihre Authentizität und ihren eigenen Führungsstill gefunden hat. Aber auch über wertschätzende Kommunikation und Trouble Shooting, über die Führung eines grossen Betriebes, als Mutter in Teilzeit, und über Ihr Engagement für mehr Frauen in der Produktion. Mich haben auch beeindruck, wie es ihr gelungen ist, lange verankerte hierarchische betriebliche Verhaltensmuster mit viel Menschlichkeit und Klarheit in Richtung mehr Selbstverantwortung und bestmöglicher Nutzung der kollektiven Intelligenz zu bringen. Ein sehr schönes Beispiel von Kulturwandel. Und natürlich, Ihre wunderbare Herzlichkeit: "Leading with Heart"! Geniessen Sie dieses schöne Gespräch.

Vanessa Bauschatz is responsible for Marketing and HR at ZF Mobilty Solutions in Munich. We had a wonderful conversation about being a successful young woman leader, her leadership principles, the importance of having and giving support and her fast learning curve. We also talk about leadership and purpose, about start up and corporate, about namaste and empathy, being driven and self-confidence, learning and pushing the boundaries of our own comfort zone, about diversity etc... Vanessa is also a Yoga Teacher. She shares with us what it gives her and how she combines her passion for teaching Yoga and her professional career. Enjoy this lovely conversation!

Vivian Breucker, Schulleitung der OSK Schule in Köln. In diesem Gespräch unterhalten wir uns über den Change Prozess der Gesellschaft und wie die Rolle von Schulleitung in der Welt von heute und in Zukunft sein könnte. Sie erzählt über selbstorganisierte Führung und ihre Rolle in einem sehr agilen Leitungsteam, wo situative Führung entscheidend ist. Es geht auch um Soziokratie und um kollektive Entscheidungsprozesse. Frau Breucker berichtet, wie sich die ganze Schulfamilie in Zeiten von Corona heute organisiert, aber auch wie sie die Situation jetzt schon nutzen, um die Zeit danach vorzubereiten: nach Corona aber auch die Vision der Schule in 15 Jahren. Ein spannender Change Prozess, wo alle kreativ mitdenken und mitmachen. Eine der Fragestellungen ist: „hilft das was wir gerade machen, uns auf die Zukunft vorzubereiten oder sind das nur lieb gewonnene Gewohnheiten aus der Vergangenheit?“ Es sprühen Funken in der Schule. Alle lernen mit und probieren aus. Auch die Schulleiterin: „Ich kann nur gut leiten, wenn ich mich selber gut leiten kann“. Und eine ganze Lehrkraft, die motiviert ist, „junge Menschen in Ihrer Sinnsuche zu unterstützen und ihren Platz in der Welt zu finden.“ Ein sehr spannendes Gespräch, das Sie unbedingt hören sollten, wenn Sie eine Inspiration für die Zukunft Ihrer Organisation suchen!

Alain Cardon is the CEO of Metasysteme, an internationally recognized Master Certified Coach, a Systemic Thinker, a Speaker and the Author of numerous books. With his profound need for independence and his lifelong quest for personal development and expansion Alain has pushed the boundaries of the application of systemic thinking to his personal life, his teaching and his way of working with clients all over the world. He has impacted thousands of coaches and organisational clients. He shares with us his personal explorations, thinking and examples of client interventions. For him the exploration around "What is the system behind systems?" is both a quantum and a spiritual question that he has been exploring further and further over decades. Following his intuition and his calling. You know you have a direction by looking back at the rear of the mirror he says. Doubts are normal, it's about keeping the northern Star.. A crisis is a reshuffling. Don’t be environment or weather dependent! I always loved my independence, he says. Enjoy this conversation with this inspiring thinker!

My guest in this podcast is Christiane Laibach who is Chairwoman of the Management Board of the DEG, a development finance institution that is part of the KFW Group. In the first half of the interview we talk about her leadership journey and learnings from a long experience in the field, incl. leading in times of crises where being calm and emotionally stable were key to go successfully through the storm with a united team. In the second half of our conversation it is about her current leadership role and about change, and the chances and challenges of an organisation that is working in very fast moving emerging and developing markets. Her beautiful final statement about leadership: "it is about people in its pure sense.. particularly in a finance institution.. this is what we have.. our values and what we stand for is in the heads and the hearts of our people."

Edith Wolf is CEO of the Vector Foundation, in the field of automotive electronics. In this very honest and lively conversation Edith brings us behind the scene of the foundation and her role as a CEO. I learned a lot about its function for the company and the society and was surprised how big this sector is. Edith shares also the key moments of her professional career so far and the values that drive her actions and decisions not only as a human being who feels a strong sense of purpose in what she does but also as a woman leader in a very masculine environment. (This Leadership Podcast conversation is in German)

Do other people exist? Of course they do! Says a voice in my head. I can see them and hear them and touch them. Here they are in front my eyes, in front of me. Of course they exist. They say things I can hear, they write things I can read, they have their own lives, their personalities, their ideas. They can be friends or enemies I can relate to them and trust them, or not, they can relate to me or not. I feel their energy, their presence outside of me. They can be with me kind, loving, supportive and warm. But they can also be cold, say things that hurt, be mean or even dangerous. This is real, this happens, this happened, it’s not only in my head! So what do you mean do other people exist? Of course they do! Hum.. But I don’t always think of them. Do they really exist when I don’t think of them? Does one person always behave the same way, do i always perceive them the same way? And.. by the way which “other people” are we talking about? The ones out there or the ones in my head? I don’t know I think I am a bit confused now... I think I don’t see it so clearly anymore. Neither that they exist nor that they don’t.. hum what if.. what if.. they were all a creations in my head? What if they didn’t exist on their own in a certain shape or form but would each time take only the shape and form that I give them, like the characters of a novel. Hum.. Really? What if they were just like a reflection on a mirror? .. What mirror? .. my mirror! The reflection of parts of me.. What? Yes, all parts of me. What do you mean? It’s all so confusing. Yes, The beautiful and the less beautiful ones. Isn’t it so that I can also be all of that? Sometimes loving, sometimes hurting? Sometimes even both at the same time? Hum.. What if they were asking themselves the same questions as I do? What if they were feeling the separation sometimes and the connection some other times? What if they can be as scared as I can be? What if their souls were as beautiful as mine? What if they were no different than me? Hum.. what if there was no them and me? Aren’t we all breathing the same air? Be burried somewhere.. What if we were actually all different parts of the same energy. And who’s talking? Who’s asking the question? .. Do other people exist?

How to speak about the magic of our human mind in a corporate environment? How to speak about it when the challenge your public is facing is real? When thousands of people are preparing mentally for a change they have not chosen, when they know it will have an impact on them and certainly on their work. An impact they cannot yet grasp. When in the room, there is not only lots of experience, expertise, positive attitude, chats and a beautiful sense of community but also of course maybe some kind of anxiety about the future. This was the context of the presentation I am sharing with you with the permission of the client. I have been asked to say some words about change and emotions during an IT Architect event in the context of the eon-innogy deal. There are so many ways I could have approached this issue that day, I have chosen not to beat around the bush. To address the subject directly, as I feel it. It has allowed for very open conversations during the day with various participants. I like it when the conversations are real!

Gordon Gerrard is Conductor and Music Director of the Regina Symphony Orchestra in Canada. He shares with a lot of sensitivity how he understands his role but also his relationship to the music, the musicians and the orchestra. Calling it "cooperative leadership". He talks about the importance of intuition, of sensing and being present. How important it is to feel when to step in and when to get out of the way, when to do more and when to do less. I could hear in our conversation how much humility it requires to get the best out of each concert. But he explains that his director role is also there to build a bridge between different worlds, between the artistic and the administrative roles, between his operational and his strategic responsibilities, between the program and the public. Being able to read the temperature in the room and some kind of psychological understanding are key in order to keep everybody moving in the same direction. And much more.. Enjoy this change of perspective and let yourself be inspired!

For this interview Drissia Schroeder-Hohenwarth (http://www.dsh-internationalhr.com) is interviewed by Deborah Baron (https://www.deborahbaron.com ), who is a Leadership and Transformative Life Coach and former Chief Operating Officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. In this conversation they talk about culture and “Organisational Development (OD) for Leaders”. Drissia shares her views and experience with leaders dealing with the change and transformation of their organisations, as well as the role of culture, emotions and communication. All the so-called soft skills topics that have such a great impact on the development of organisations. Drissia will refer to the book chapter she wrote about Organizational Development and how Organisations evolve. The main goal of this particular conversation is to help Leaders better understand the human dynamic of their organisations and help them in their role as "Organisational Developer". You may also want to deepen your understanding by reading the blog Drissia wrote about it: http://www.dsh-internationalhr.com/thoughts/1-organisational-development-od-for-leaders-developing-your-optimum-culture-with-head-gut-and-heart/ Drissia Schroeder-Hohenwarth has been the owner of DSH International HR and a Transformative Coach for Leaders, Teams and Organisations since 2007 with almost 10 years of previous corporate experience as an HR manager.

Today I talk with Michael Neill, an internationally renowned transformative coach and the best-selling author of six books including Supercoach, Creating the Impossible, The Inside-Out Revolution and The Space Within. Michael is often described as the ‘coach’s coach,’ and commands extraordinary respect within his field for unleashing the human potential with intelligence, humor, and heart. He has spent over 25 years as a coach, adviser, friend, mentor, and creative spark plug to celebrities, CEOs, royalty, and people who want to get more out of themselves and their lives. His books have been translated into 24 languages, and his public talks, retreats, seminars, and online programs have touched and transformed lives at the United Nations and in over 60 countries and on six continents around the world. He has been consistently ranked by the international research agency GlobalGurus.org as one of the top 30 coaching thought leaders in the world. His weekly radio show, Living from the Inside Out, has been a listener favorite on Hay House Radio for over a decade and his TEDx talks, ‘Why Aren’t We Awesomer?’ and ‘Can a TEDx Talk Really Change the World?’ have been viewed by over a million people around the world. His weekly blog and podcast, Caffeine for the Soul, is now in its 19th year and going strong. In 2010 he founded Supercoach Academy, an international school training coaches from over 40 countries in the art and science of transformative coaching. This is where Michael and I met last year, as I had the pleasure to have him as teacher and mentor for this programme and further. Enjoy this conversation about his personal journey as an entrepreneur and a thought leader!

Arungalai (Aru) Anbarasu is the General Manager of phoenix Industrial X-ray & CT Solutions Company – GE Inspection Technologies, part of Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE), HQ based in Germany. Asked what her team would say about her as a leader she laughs and responds that they probably would say that she is authentic. Another thing that seems very important to her is to be a "thought leader" because in addition to taking care of people and coaching them in their development, numbers, data and having an up to date knowledge in your field are key success factors in todays leadership. As a successful women leader in a global technology company, Aru has encountered a few situations in her career where unconscious bias played a role but she has developed a pragmatic way to deal with it. She knows that diversity is very important for the business and influences the culture of the company also in this direction to get the best out of the richness of diversity. From her experience of realizing the dreams she had as a young scientist to become a business leader, she is very thankful for the great mentoring she had during her career and encourages anyone to dream big and follow their dream with hard work and continuous learning. Enjoy the conversation with this very inspiring woman!

Alexandre Chevalier is ex Delsey Commercial Director Europe with a long and diverse commercial experience. He won the manager of the year trophy of the magazine Aktion Co a few years ago. In this conversation we explore together many questions including: why should someone decide to become a manager? From being a scout and wanting to be the chief and number one in your group to becoming a leader in an organisation there is a long way. At some point you know about the responsibility you have as a leader. You are sometimes alone and need to assume it. You need to transmit something every day, help people to develop and reach a common goal, motivate them to go beyond their comfort zone also. Sometimes the leadershp journey is a trip with different steps and sometimes these steps are not connected, like when you change company. So you need to reboot, reset for the next one with humility. Those periods of transitions are some of the times where you need a network but you have to keep your network alive before you need it. The digitalization has changed also his role as a leader. It needs adaptability to stay connected with the reality of the business. That includes to understand the technical evolutions, you definitely need also hard skills, to be able to put the hand in the engeen sometimes. Alexandre sees the future of leadership focused both on the digital connection and the well-being of people. Because still: "Together Each Achieves More".

Martin Jotov is Managing Director of IQ Structures, a nano technology company based in Prague. Martin is not only one of the MDs and owners of this company but also part of the Supercoach Academy Programme where we have the pleasure to learn this year. During our conversation Martin describes how learning about how the human mind works has not only profoundly changed his experience of life but also the way he shows up as a leader in his company. So different compared to how he used to be and used to learn and experience leadership earlier in his career. He describes how this profound shift towards a deeper inner peace and presence helps him approach now every aspect of the business (relationships with clients or colleagues, strategy, innovation, goal setting, business development, planning, dealing with failures, etc.. ) from a different angle and with a stronger impact: from a place of clarity, care and trust in a force greater than our individual thinking. ... “ Martin likes the truth and simplicity of a very basic principle he learned with Michael Neill and other 3 principles teachers. One of these ideas that seem to resonate strongly with him also as a leader is: “be present, trust your wisdom, just show up and respond to what shows up”. Enjoy this conversation of a different kind where leadership meets spirituality.

Hervé Aulner est Directeur Commercial dans le Groupe la Poste, avec une force de vente de près de 600 personnes. Auteur du livre "Le Manuel du Chef", lauréat du Trophée argent du manager commercial de l’année du magazine ActionCo, Diplômé et intervenant à l´IAE School Of Management, Officier chef d´un centre de sapeurs pompiers volontaires depuis de nombreuses années. Hervé est un manager passionné qui aime la magie de la relation humaine, motivé par le besoin et le sentiment d´être utile. Dans cette conversation, Hervé parle de ses valeurs et partage les moments clés de son parcours managérial. Trouver l´équilibre entre la bienveillance et l´exigence, faire grandir l´autre, pouvoir se dire les choses tout en se respectant, travailler par l´envie et le sens, voir comment contaminer l´envie dans l´organisation, le commandement et le management, mais aussi la différence entre le management direct et le management de réseau.. Ce sont quelques uns des thèmes que nous aborderons dans ce podcast qui est en Français.

Thomas Hungerland is Senior Vice-President at Daimler Financial Services. Currently he lives with his family in Singapore and is responsible for the region South East Asia, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan. He began his professional career at Daimler a few decades ago in Germany and later worked as a leader in UK and in France before he took his position in Asia a few years ago. All these stations, he recalls, helped him raise his awareness for cultural differences and for how company cultures evolve. He explains that "Leadership is a contact sport and that every great athlete in the world has a coach". That’s why he has been working with a coach for 20 years now, taking each time a moment to step back and reflect during each new big professional change he was facing. Delegation and trust were one of the first things he learned in his management role but also understanding the meaning and purpose of what we do. He admits, that he likes to be liked and that he attaches a big importance to having a clear and good relationship with people he works with. For him emotional intelligence and communication are key for the success of a leader and for the team. Thomas gives also insights into his expat life, and reflects about the challenges and the chances his international career meant for his family and especially for his children.

Raphael Robelin is Chief Investment Officer of the London based Blue Bay Asset management, acquired some years ago by the Royal Bank of Canada. He describes this function as the “engine room”. We talk about the Brexit and the uncertainty it brings for all. He also still remembers vividly the challenges of the global financial crisis 10 years ago, the ultimate stress test as he calls it. And reflects both on the learning from that time and on the impact of the financial regulations on the business now. He started as the 16th employee and became years later part of the top leadership team of this 410 company. He recalls what he had to learn along the way. Raphael shares also how the company makes everything to keep the culture and the spirit of the firm as its founders created it and how their succession was thoroughly prepared before they left, including the time when he was appointed to his current role a few years ago. As one of the examples of how the company manages change in a sector where clients do not like change, as he describes it.

Ishan Talathi is a young entrepreneur, founder and CEO of LeapSwitch Networks. He tells us how he started more than 10 years ago, driven by his early motivation as a young student to be independent financially and to found his own company. He remembers his experiences while he had to grow into an entirely new role as a leader, first of a two-person-company, now with a thirty people team operating globally. In absence of a role model or mentor, he summarizes that trial-and-error was his best teacher. Ishan is now aware, that focus and being willing to learn are the key to success, both with regards to his business and to his leadership style. In both areas long-term goals and clear demarcation are important for him in managing the balancing act between national and international markets while leading Indias seven largest web hosting company to even more ambitious goals.

Dr. Eliat Aram is the CEO of the famous Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London. In this interview, she opens the doors to the backstage of this organization and shares information about the history of the Tavistock Institute, its culture and the way it is operating today. She also provides insights into her 10 years experience as CEO. She talks about humility in this role, her journey and learnings along the way, what she is proud of having achieved with the team and what else she would love to do. A beautiful story of Love and Leadership that Eliat does not only talk about in her public speeches, but also lives in her way of being with others and in her leadership role. Please forgive the sound quality of this interview as it was conducted under challenging technical circumstances. But I liked it so much that I still wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Markus Schwarzenboeck is Executive Vice President Global HR Business Partner for Siemens (incl. HR BP for the Division Power&Gas). He tells in a very touching way about his experience as a leader: what motivates him, what challenges him and how his leadership understanding and style have evolved over the years. Markus describes organizations as very complex eco-systems where all sorts of roles and interventions are possible and shares what HR and the leaders did the last years to support the restructuring and transformation of the Power and Gaz division. Then we talk about the future of work. His perception is that people have to prepare for it and possibly requalify. Because, even if nobody really knows what the future will bring, the changes brought by the use of artificial intelligence will certainly have a tremendous impact on jobs.

Dr. Werner Kerschbaum, General Secretary of the Red Cross Austria, is responsible for over five hundred employees in the holding and represents an organization with more than eight thousand employees and 75000 volunteers in Austria only. True to the motto “feedback is the breakfast of champions” he is convinced that a good leader needs to improve himself all the time. Especially in a federal organization like the Red Cross Austria, where the regions are very independent, a leader needs lots of humility and a high willingness to understand different perspectives and compromise in complex decision-making processes. With Drissia he talks about his leadership principles and the strong values of the red cross but also about what he learned over the years. In addition, Werner Kerschbaum speaks about the risks for humanitary aid to getting politicized and about long-term-aims in order to fulfill the social responsibility that they stand for.

Meet Marcus Schaper, the CIO of Innogy, a German energy company. In the middle of the "E-on deal", a very crucial time for the company, we talk about his leadership responsibility during times of uncertainty and strong emotions. He also remembers the shock he experienced when facing the differences in company cultures he got to know moving from Accenture to McKinsey than to RWE and Innogy and shares his view about the future of work. (Interview dated 26.06.2018)

#00_Intro Leadership Backstage with Drissia Schroeder-Hohenwarth by Leadership Backstage