Step into the world of leadership mastery with Lena, Vice President of Process & Portfolio Transformation Service at Telekom. With 14 years of experience driving digital transformation and a passion for agile tools and creating exceptional user experiences, Lena exemplifies effective leadership. She shares her insights on coaching her team to unleash their full potential, the importance of servant leadership in her role, and gives an example of how her leadership style positively influenced her team.
How do you coach your team to bring out their best abilities?
Lena: First and foremost, it's essential to understand that your team and their personal needs are the most valuable resource you have. Listening is key: Truly hearing what moves them and how they feel. From there, it's crucial to develop a plan for each individual's growth. This plan means that I align existing or desired skills with their target positions.
However, amidst all the professional discussions, it's vital not to lose sight of the person, their personal aspects, and feelings.
Why is servant leadership important in your role?
Lena: In my opinion, the foundation of high-performing teams is psychological safety. That's why it is important for me to create an atmosphere where my team trusts me just as they trust each other. Servant leadership is key to this – putting the needs of your employees first. By prioritizing their needs and striving to serve them effectively, I can create a high-performing team.
This approach fosters trust, collaboration, and most importantly, personal responsibility. Personal responsibility is crucial in our dynamic and ever-changing world. How could I presume to know all the issues my 100 employees face as well as they do? That's why I need a team that takes responsibility and works together in a spirit of trust.
Give an example of how your leadership style has positively influenced your team.
Lena: In 2022, we were gearing up to launch the first customer platform for the wholesale market. Just before the official launch date, we discovered a significant IT bug. Instead of searching for the cause and pointing fingers, I encouraged my team to focus on moving forward and energetically seeking a solution together.
With our shared passion and energy, we ensured that nobody felt discouraged, and we met our planned launch date. We had many long days and evenings with pizza and intense discussions in the office, but the feedback from one of our key customers, "We never expected Deutsche Telekom to pull something like this off and involve us so collaboratively in the development," was the greatest gift for my team and me.
“I'm convinced that with courage and passion, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.”
Lena's leadership journey is marked by dedication and empathy. In the video, she explains why Allyship is of great importance to her and how she fosters a supportive network.
Allyship means the practice of actively supporting and advocating for marginalized groups by using one's privilege to promote social justice, equality, and inclusion.
