As an expert in leadership, economics professor Wolfgang Jenewein (53) always has a special perspective on the realignment of the VW Group. He supported the management level in the transformation process as an external consultant. During this time he gained special insights into the group – the change at the top of the car manufacturer does not come as a surprise to him.
Mr. Jenewein, the outgoing VW boss Herbert Diess (63) was known for asking sharp questions and shaking up the company to get things moving. Did he create too many enemies with it?
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Photo: PR
Wolfgang Jenewein is Professor of Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen. He advises and coaches companies, board members and high-performance teams on the topics of leadership, motivation and transformation. Jenewein is one of the most influential coaches in Germany.
Jenewein: Dealing with Diess was certainly not easy, he often lacked empathy. Diess did not succeed in establishing a speak-up mentality, and some employees were certainly afraid of him. If you could live with the fact that you didn’t get much appreciation from him, you could get on well with him and have intensive, productive conversations. However, those who didn’t get over it often felt the boss’s behavior as an affront.
Was Diess the right man at the right time to make a difference?
Yes, in this group with the high pressure to change on the way to electromobility and more sustainability, he was exactly the right boss. Because only with empathy one would not have progressed in this environment. It needed someone who was analytically brilliant and tough enough at the same time.
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Construction site: car manufacturer VW on the way to electromobility
Photo: JOHN MACDOUGALL / AFP
What was he able to do with it?
He was happy to tell me the example that a coffee at the conference table at VW costs around 60 euros – with all the permits and procedures that are necessary for this. And of course that was also true on a large scale. Here he has leveraged many synergies in the group and simplified things. He also managed to push back the powerful works council a bit and thus gain entrepreneurial freedom for the restructuring measures.
“Governing things ended up being problematic.”
Without consensus with the employees, little will work at VW in the long term. Is the replacement coming at the right time?
Diess has successfully walked many courageous paths. Often, however, there were also internal defenses like last time with the software Cariad
, governing became problematic in the end. The group increasingly longed for more empathy, for an integrative force. In this respect, it was a kind of farewell in installments – and now is really the right time.
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Big tasks: On September 1, 2022, Oliver Blume will take over the position of head of VW
Photo: ANDREAS GEBERT / REUTERS
Now Oliver Blume (54) comes from Porsche, is that also a culture change?
Blume is clearly more inclusive, and he’s a humble boss. At the same time, he is someone who is very ambitious and has high goals. He’s certainly not as edgy as Diess, but that will do the company good, because he’s much more likely to get people behind him. But Blume will also make mistakes in a company with 660,000 people, with so many different brands, with transformation in front of the chest, plus the war, the lack of raw materials and inflation. This cannot be done without errors, so everyone involved should show a little more patience.
Almost at the same time as Blume was announced as Diess’ successor, a speech was published in which Blume almost boasted that, as Porsche boss, he had a high level of informative proximity to Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner. That caused a lot of criticism.
That was certainly unfortunate and not helpful for the start. But as long as there are no compliance problems associated with it, Blume will put up with it. Basically is an intensive exchange between politics and business yes not reprehensible.
“Blume will certainly think carefully about which path he will take in order not to be perceived as a non-communicator.”
This was very active on social media, Blume is not. Could this become a problem?
That’s a big discussion in management. On the one hand, this type of communication has a good effect on customers and also on your own employees. If you do it loyally to the group and the task, that’s helpful. But you should be careful that the whole thing doesn’t become a personality show and that the person doesn’t become bigger than the company or the brand – that’s a fine line. Blume is primarily concerned with the matter and his vision. He will certainly think carefully about which path he will take here, so as not to be perceived as a non-communicator.
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opponent or partner? Works council leader Daniela Cavallo
Photo: RONNY HARTMANN / AFP
What do you expect from him in interaction with the VW works council?
With Daniela Cavallo
(47), a person leads the VW works council who stands for more togetherness. Therefore, a team player like Oliver Blume will find more solidarity here – it would have been more difficult with her predecessor Bernd Osterloh.
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In addition to his new role as VW CEO, Blume will remain at Porsche. Is this dual role feasible?
To be at the helm of VW, Blume is probably taking on what is currently the most difficult job in Germany, so sooner or later there has to be a focus. But of course the success story at Porsche was to continue. Blume would certainly be well advised to set up a suitable successor or co-leader who will continue his spirit at Porsche.