Sven Schuwirth - Vorstand für Vertrieb und Marketing SEAT S.A.

Gladly. Although for me it's not particularly special, it's quite normal. I am as I am, but I'm curious about your questions.

The resume is nice, I mean, I'm always enthusiastic, I feel like a little... because when I look at the grades, everyone has good grades, everyone has been abroad, that's all good and right. But I'm much more interested in the person behind it, or where there were any disruptions. So when I conduct an interview, I'm actually interested in how the person ticks. I also ask completely different questions: Tell me where you built the biggest nonsense in your life, a story from your life, what is your favorite music, what is your favorite movie, what is your favorite book, and talk about that a bit. Yes, now you've taken the question out of my mouth.

My favorite questions, actually, but especially the first one. Because when I think back to my youth, I also built a lot of nonsense, that's part of it. So breaking out a bit shows that you break out and push boundaries, and especially how you deal with it. The rest, that everyone was somehow good in school or in their studies, the resume won't even land on my desk. There are already too many filters in place. And sometimes I even prefer to have a person who maybe doesn't have a perfect 10 everywhere. That's not meant to be motivation to be bad at university, but I think the important thing nowadays is to consciously stand out in a positive sense, to break out a bit. So I'm looking for types, male or female, it doesn't matter, but types, characters. When you then say yes to the person and they are allowed to join your team.

So I like to lead with questions. When I, as they say, want to have ambitions in the organization or from the people, others call it pressure, then I can say how I see it. But I ask the questions: Why did you do it that way? Have you thought about it? What happens if? Because that leads to a conversation, to a real dialogue, and not the classic hierarchical 'I tell you, Andrea, or whoever, how to do it better.' I think we must not forget that at some point it's not possible when you lead three or four people, maybe it still works, but when you have a few hundred or thousands of people, I believe there is no person on this planet who is better than a thousand people, or better than a handful of people, certainly not better than two people. The important thing is to tease it out and bring it to a common denominator, and then rather ask the question when people present a problem: How can I help you? What do you need from me? At the same time, I also expect that when you come to me with a problem, you also have an idea of how to solve it. Because it's nice when the information drops, there's a problem, good, thank you for the nice PowerPoint charts, but now let's talk about what we're going to do. And to tease that out a bit, and then ask the question: What do you need from me now? How can I help you? That's what I like to do, and it's a bit hierarchy-free. I also don't like it when the employee first has to go to their department head, then to the main department head, and then they come to me, that whole 'post office syndrome'. Instead, I want that when you, Andrea, as one of my first-level managers, come, then bring the other Andrea who works on the topic, and then we both listen to what that person has to say, and how we can together help that person achieve the greatest success or solve the problem, or whatever.

No, so there's this syndrome: you have a half-hour meeting, and then you get, before the meeting or during the meeting, worst case, 30 or 40 PowerPoint slides thrown at you. In plain German, that's nice on one hand, many people put effort into it, but it's a bit stupid if it's not what I expected. Instead, I'm a friend of: okay, take what you already have, or just tell me what your topic is, and then bring an existing Excel table with the numbers, but please don't waste time condensing the Excel or other systems into something so beautiful that I get the impression you're the best PowerPoint master or mistress. I believe you anyway. So let's please get to the point, and maybe make two or three slides, or take a blank piece of paper and draw what you think. Because when we talk privately, you don't bring me a PowerPoint, hopefully not. That's also something: people put too many things on these charts, and you can also listen. There are ears and eyes to see the facial expression of the other person. If everyone just looks at a monitor together, it's like a lecture at university, but it's not a dialogue about how we solve a problem.

So I start from the top. I expect from myself, as a legacy, that when I'm no longer in this position someday, I must have two or three successors, theoretically, for my boss or the system or the company. I expect the same from my managers, from everyone, meaning that for every position, because something can always happen, the worst is someone is sick, or fluctuation, that someone leaves the company, that can happen, or internal moves. But I think you have to be prepared for that, and it inevitably forces every manager to think about what happens if I'm not here tomorrow, who can take over my job, and in such a way that the whole business continues as smoothly as possible. That's one point. The other point is that we regularly do a mapping of our talents. There are three clusters of people, even if it's a bit harsh. The ones are the 'drivers of change', as we call them, the ones who can make a difference. When I come into a difficult situation, how do I deal with it? The others are the 'pillars', the ones you absolutely need, without them it wouldn't work at all. They are the ones who live operational excellence, the foundations of the entire organization. And then there are a few, we call them 'not aligned', you could also call them 'underperformers'. They exist in every system. In every football club, every volleyball club, if you want to get better, you have to develop the team, or you have to say goodbye to those who are not so good, who can't or won't keep up anymore. That's part of life, to have a performance organization in a positive sense. And for these people, for the top cluster, we need to make dedicated development plans. Because it's nice to say 'Andrea is a driver of change, she can shape the future of the company, has the potential to become top management or board member someday.' That's nice, I can write it on a PowerPoint slide or a piece of paper. But what are the steps to get there? And I should share that with the person, in this case with you, or with other protagonists. Because the next problem arises down the line: if I'm no longer there, but you are 25, I am 50, someday I won't be there, you hopefully will still be, and someone has to take over. So we need other partners who see it the same way and develop Andrea in that case. And then there are the classic things, training. But you have to look, I'm not a fan of doing training like conflict seminars just to have a tick in the box. Instead, it's better to find out in conversation what the real needs are, what is in the interest of the person, the team, and the company. And not just once a year, as is classic in performance reviews, but it can also be that we go to lunch together and talk openly about how you feel. I also like to walk through the rooms, I hate sitting in my office, I prefer to sit with the people. I don't like sitting alone, I like the direct contact and the ad-hoc interaction.

You get so much more out of it than when you always live that hierarchy spatially as well. I have my own office, it looks nicer, it's bigger, and there's this virtual barrier. Now, if I go to the board member's office, I have to behave differently. No, you don't have to. I don't behave differently either.

So my experience is not against external courses. They are good for impulses, but at the end of the day, the organization and the team have to truly carry it and live it themselves. Sometimes it's helpful, but I believe more in when the pressure point is with oneself or with the team, and we jointly determine that we have a problem. Let's first lay out the problem and discuss solutions, and then for implementation, it may be that I need a trainer or a coach. That exists too. But first, the path and the willingness to have it, and not just a green light somewhere that we have implemented a measure so that we have the measure in the reporting, but that it really brings something. And it can also mean that we do nothing at all, but we clarify it without a seminar or coaching, we clarify it in a completely different way, by simply talking to people and asking them: What is missing? What is missing for you, Andrea, in your role so that you can actually do your job? Do you even enjoy it? Or what do you need to make it more fun?

Everyone has to decide for themselves. No recommendations. All the best. Bye.