Harald Krüger at “Learning from Leaders” kick-off event: How to develop values and integrate them into your leadership style

In the digital event series “Learning from Leaders”, hosted by the TUM Institute for LifeLong Learning, successful executives from industry share from their experiences with leadership approaches in the digital age. At the launch event, Harald Krüger, a member of the supervisory boards of Deutsche Telekom AG and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, among others, spoke with Prof. Dr. Claudia Peus, Founding Director of the TUM Institute for LifeLong Learning, about leadership and values.

“Values form the backbone of a person. Those who lead excellent employees will also quickly recognize their key values – and know, for example, that they place trustworthiness and accountability at the center of their actions,” said Harald Krüger. But for him, such core values should also form part of a company’s DNA, the culture, of any successful enterprise. Mr. Krüger speaks from a wealth of experience, having previously held the position of CEO at BMW and now in his current role as a member of the supervisory board to both Deutsche Telekom AG and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, as well as a member of the EMEA advisory board of Salesforce.

Values provide orientation in uncertain times

He shares many of the same beliefs as his partner on the panel: Prof. Dr. Claudia Peus, Founding Director of the Institute and Vice President Talent Management & Diversity at TUM. Both advocate that managers should find their own “compass of values”. Values such as trustworthiness or integrity are able to provide direction and form an orientation system, especially in unstable and uncertain times. “Leaders must be prepared to stand in the spotlight and have close attention paid to what they stand for,” explained Prof. Dr. Claudia Peus.

But how does a company find the right values? They must not be “imposed unilaterally from above,” but should be developed jointly within the company, says Harald Krüger. Everyone must be able to contribute their opinions – even if it takes time. “It is important to exactly define: What do we mean by trustworthiness? What does it mean for us to take personal responsibility?”, Krüger emphasized. Particularly in challenging times it is important to stay true to values, even when they are put to the test, said Claudia Peus. When it comes to making difficult decisions within a company it is important to remain transparent and still treat people fairly.

In this context, Harald Krüger shared insights into how he has repeatedly motivated employees to support and implement even drastic changes through transparent and regular communication. Active and sincere exchange of information and obtaining feedback became a key factor for him: “The results of such honest conversations were better than expected, people open up when engaged in a dialogue.”

International significance of value systems

On the topic of understanding: Values such as fairness or the importance of providing constructive criticism can be interpreted differently in different regions of the world. For example although similarities in values can be found between Confucian Asia and Western Europe, according to our panelists, the subtleties in how they are expressed should be carefully considered by leaders. Moreover, it is not always easy to verify the way in which such values are lived out in everyday corporate life. “The steeper the upward trajectory of a manager’s career, the more difficult it often is for him or her to obtain unfiltered information,” says Claudia Peus. Critical questioning oneself is therefore a particularly important method as well as creating safe environments in which employees can share openly.

In this context, Harald Krüger sees direct dialogue with employees as the most important means of determining how values are put into practice. There are different tools for this, but he warns leaders that those who conduct surveys for this purpose should be aware: If their research shows that there is dissatisfaction among employees, they must ensure action is taken. Surveys without resulting action would risk no longer being taken seriously and the input of employees swiftly lost. That is why our experts stress the importance of constantly reflecting on their active value system, the “value compass,” and to place it at the center of every decision…

We now look forward to the second part of our “Learning from Leaders” series, where Prof. Dr. Claudia Peus will speak on the topic of “Leadership & Human Needs” with Petra Scharner-Wolff of Otto Group on October 28, starting at 1:30 p.m. Register here for free.