There are different leaders. Angela Merkel, for example, the Chancellor who, despite or because of her deliberate and wait-and-see manner, was able to unite the country for a long time. Oliver Zipse, the very correct CEO, who steers BMW calmly through troubled times. Or Jürgen Klopp, who leads soccer teams to world fame as a virile and down-to-earth coach.
And then there is Herbert Diess. He’s a brutal bone breaker – or, to put it more nicely, a highly impatient provocateur. In doing so, he successfully pushed Volkswagen into a new age, electric mobility. But more and more people – including those who are well disposed to him – are rightly asking themselves whether his manner is still up-to-date.
In the past few weeks he has once again unpacked his usual management tools. He had savings scenarios worked out (which 30,000 jobs could be lost at VW?), Praised competitor Tesla, disregarded the workforce – and thus reliably triggered a big row. He likes that, only through friction can new things arise, that is his attitude. Those around him report that he is currently walking around the factory premises in Wolfsburg in an exceptionally good mood.
The word alienation can be heard from all sides
His other thought – in addition to the gain in pleasure through conflict – is also understandable: He wants to break up the structures and processes at the car company VW. Hardly anyone who knows Wolfsburg better will deny that a lot has to change here. Anyone who runs VW must be able to appear uncomfortable in this respect.
The problem is: This really only seems to be able to break bones. Since taking office, he has repeatedly driven the place crazy with provocations. Seen from the outside, it is always of great entertainment value, and inside something gets moving – but not only for good. In the summer, however, his contract was extended, combined with the demand that he should act in a more balanced manner from now on. That should be possible, especially since his worst adversary, Works Council Chairman Bernd Osterloh, was deported recently. One thought.
But now the game has started all over again. And now the word alienation can be heard understandably from all sides. The following applies to good leadership: whoever breaks, has to be able to join together, has to create trust, has to balance. If Herbert Diess continues to fail – and the imagination is lacking, because he is socialized – his time at the top of VW will soon be over. The trust of the Porsche and Piëch families may be important. Much more decisive, however, is the attitude of the co-owner of Lower Saxony. And there will be voting in the coming year. SPD Prime Minister Stephan Weil will do everything possible to ensure that there is calm at VW at the election date.