1. With your extensive experience in leadership development at Siemens, how do you envision shaping the future of HR and leadership development in the digital age?
I believe highly diverse leadership teams are more successful in complex environments. There’s no convincing evidence that a specific leadership style is key to sustainable success. Three years ago, we took an unusual step at Siemens: to abandon static and formal leadership frameworks. Instead, we invest in the diversity of leadership teams and strive for continuous strength-based dialog around required leadership behavior within specific contexts. In our ‘leadership narrative’ we let go of the myth of the perfect leader and stopped traditional leadership frameworks.
2. Could you share some insights into fostering a culture of empowerment and a growth mindset within organizations?
Besides this fundamental switch towards a dynamic leadership approach, we took two further bold moves.
We skipped traditional performance management processes: From rigid performance management we moved to flexible Growth Talks. Growth Talks are a way to put individual leadership into action. Growth Talks are regular, strength-based conversations between leaders, teams, and individuals that strengthen performance, development, and well-being.
To scale a growth mindset, we are committed to an innovative learning ecosystem and platform.
3. How do you believe that learning and development HR initiatives directly contribute to enhancing company profitability?
Supporting managers with skills development is important for better understanding, yet this does not reduce their workload. The key to making the job more manageable is by strengthening managers’ people leadership skills and lightening their workload by creating necessary frame conditions/organizations. P&O / HR can support managers’ ability to handle their role through targeted support and actual habit-building.
4. Given your focus on creating meaningful, personalized talent experiences, what strategies have you found most effective in engaging and retaining top talent in competitive industries?
People are at the core of transformation and change. That’s why we invest in the development of our leaders, their people leadership capability, and how they contribute to our peoples’ experience. The results of our Siemens Global Engagement Survey provide valuable insights into where we as an individual, as a team, and organization are standing. We need to create a common language and understanding specifically geared towards shaping a people-centric culture. Leaders are important catalysts for making this happen. As an example, 92% of our people who experience a proactive feedback culture within their teams and with their leaders also feel encouraged to have a growth mindset. With our R.E.A.D.Y. program we support our leaders to put themselves into their peoples’ shoes. It is based on 10 moments that matter from the people’s perspective along the entire people experience journey.
5. What are some key challenges you’ve encountered in implementing learning and development eco-systems, and how have you addressed them?
On the one hand, it is about putting an emphasis on identifying and developing talents already early in their careers, by offering growth opportunities. On the other, we need to focus on the development of teams, moving away from individual heroes towards successful teams and collaboration.
6. How can HR professionals effectively measure the impact of leadership development programs on employee performance and organizational success?
We face many opportunities with the increasing availability of and connection of data, not only traditional HR Data. You can think of a leadership NPS or leadership dashboards combined with business more real-time data.
But I recommend taking a step back and reflecting: do your L&D offerings really cause behavioral change? Currently, we are gaining experience with an innovative app-based and coach-led approach toward targeted leadership habit building and are learning a lot from it.
7. Could you share a memorable success story where your leadership development initiatives led to significant organizational growth or transformation?
Our Top Management Leadership Programs focus on critical organizational transitions, which need to be supported through new management and leadership capabilities and mindsets. Acknowledging the strategic importance of mastering the shift towards successful ecosystem management and creating a common language and understanding amongst our top leaders we began the journey with a comprehensive top leadership program ‘Leading in Business Ecosystems’ followed by ‘Leading in Sustainability’ providing a platform for joint learning and exchange on how to leverage the opportunities.
The intention of the programs has also been to empower participants as living examples with their personal commitment to learn and grow resulting in a strong message towards the relevance of the topic and the connected transformation needs.
A range of learning formats has been derived from this content nucleus for further implementation. Virtual self-learning programs are available globally to everyone at Siemens.
8. With the rise of remote work and virtual collaboration, how do you ensure that learning opportunities remain accessible and inclusive for all employees/ leaders?
We adjusted our portfolio to provide targeted and structured development of global top leaders & most promising talents as well as of all leaders globally to accompany critical transformation.
Most recently, we added all ‘All Leaders Programs’. These are highly scalable online programs on the one hand, on the other, we extend the reach through localization in regions offering the opportunity for personal encounters.
The ‘Strategic Programs’ for our top management incumbents accompany key strategic transitions starting, building capabilities to drive key strategic transformations and reflect on implications for own leadership.
Our ‘Pipeline Programs’ for selected talents accelerate the development of enterprise-level leader talents to ensure succession into Siemens’ top leadership functions.
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