Germans agree they have re-elected her Chancellor Angela Merkel for several reasons, mostly because she is a woman of principle and bravery. AFP
By CANUTE WASWA
IN SUMMARY
CEOs need to learn to inspire and motivate, build relationships and communicate powerfully.
Three weeks ago as we were all caught up in the Westgate terrorist saga, a new record was being set in Germany.
Angela Merkel got a “super result” election outcome, with her Christian Democrats winning 41.5 per cent of the popular vote. This was eight per cent more than she got last time and the closest yet since the last absolute majority achieved by Konrad Adenhauer in 1957.
Today we study her example as a crash course in global geo-politics and the hidden lessons that CEOs can glean from the same.
Merkel’s political awakening was the fall of the Berlin Wall. She was 35 years old, working as a laboratory physicist and living with her partner in Berlin. That is when she decided to become politically active and join the “Democratic Awakening” in August 1990.
Helmut Kohl appointed the first Cabinet of a reunified Germany, and he wanted it to represent all parts of Germany; that is how Merkel became the youngest Federal minister in German history.
All Germans agree they have re-elected her for several reasons. She is a woman of principle and bravery. She is an incrementalist who just quietly goes about getting the job done — that’s the German way and they love it.
They backed her because she has done the right things, not the easy things. She has done the difficult things and not gone for the popular decisions. Now, for the record, this is not an easy thing to do.
The CEO is one of the most coveted, and least understood, jobs in a company. Everyone believes that CEOs can do whatever they want, are all powerful, and are magically competent. Nothing could be further from the truth.
By its very nature, the job description of a CEO means meeting the needs of employees, customers, investors, communities and the law. Some of a CEO’s job can be delegated. But several elements must be done by the CEO.
Principally, a CEO must protect his organisation, especially from itself. It is up to the CEO — and all executive management — to place and remove individuals as they see fit.
Most importantly, the CEO must be able to determine if a person is adding more value than they are taking away. If not, that person must be removed or placed in a more appropriate role. This includes the CEO himself.
Unlike inconvenient lower-level jobs, no one tells the chief executive if he is doing his job right. Do managers let the CEO know he is making poor decisions or communicating poorly? Not likely. Even when a CEO asks for honest feedback. And that is a CEO must make hard decisions.
The other aspect that got Merkel re-elected is her understanding of effective and persuasive communication. This is what we commonly refer to as emotional intelligence.
There was understandable grumpiness in the workforce in Germany’s factories as they found themselves having to support lending cheap money to their less disciplined trading partners in the European Union.
But this was the only way to enable them afford the superior products Germany was making. Disciplined budget followers funding spendthrifts is never an easy pill to swallow, even in your own home. But people know what’s right. No wonder she won easily.
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