How to lead through change

How can we motivate grow employees and colleagues for change?

Birte: The best way to move people is not to speak, but to let them speak. This should not stop with the platform or the program managers, but must go right down to the teams in order to take every employee on board. The more actively people are integrated and the more people are able to speak out, the more they will start to move themselves and gain a certain visibility. This in turn can motivate other teams, which is what I was able to experience in the QPMx team calls. It allowed the teams to get involved and present themselves. As a result, the exchange of ideas and global thinking will be established more quickly.

How do you lead through change?

Bruno: My entire career at Bosch has been characterized by change. For example, I set up a new department that has already been around for ten years. My motivation is to do something different. Some people need a framework and processes to follow, but I am one of those people who do not like to follow rules and processes. I love changes.

Paulo: I have the same attitude as Bruno when it comes to following rules properly. I come from a purchasing and supply chain background, which has been the biggest part of my career. There you have to be very straightforward and clean in your actions and follow the rules and methods. I do not like following processes, but I need them as a basis sometimes. There is a lot of uncertainty in new business, but I push the teams to believe in the market, the solution and the business.

I am at the front with my team. Leading by example has guided my actions over the years. However, how can you believe when ninety percent of start-ups fail? You have to be resilient, have confidence, stay close to the teams and be passionate about what you do.

How do you, personally, deal with change? How you are trying to motivate your team for change?

Mary: I am a kind of person who can bear a lot of uncertainty. In a job where I could predict my daily work, I would not do well. To be innovative, you have to think the opposite of what you normally do. To motivate myself, I am very goal-oriented and I try to communicate to everyone what we are trying to achieve. This helps to create much more clarity in my team. Regarding my personal expectations of me, I want to grow a lot and get a better understanding of my understanding of the whole continent and how diverse and complex it is. I used to be an intrapreneur and now I'm on the other side of the table thinking about what intrapreneurs need. This definitely gives me a big advantage for the strategic part where I can see what is happening now plus scenarios for the future which you do not see as an intrapreneur. A strong expectation is also to inspire others. I have to convince people in the African organization to get involved in innovation projects. Capacities are really tight, which I can see in my old department. They have a tight structure. We can't pull people out of their work. I am still trying to get the others on board and to think of a way to support the GBs in their innovation activities. For that, we have to create win-win scenarios.