Bonding - More than materials | Herrmann Ultraschall

FLAT HIERARCHIES INSTEAD OF “TOP-DOWN” CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: LEADING IN CIRCLES IS THE SECRET TO THE SUCCESS OF HERRMANN ULTRASCHALL. Circle Training A variety of small leadership circles has long replaced the inflexible over-under organizational charts. The result: more feedback, in- cluding on errors, and motivated teams. This, in turn, increases our attractiveness as an employer. Most importantly, however, is that our prime objective – inspir- ing the customer – is achieved. And the company’s long-term future is secured. It was 2007 when Thomas Herrmann and his family left America and returned to Baden, knowing that busi- ness was going well in the USA. “I built up the location in the USA from day 1. I knew each of the 30 employees. We had a really good working climate,” remembers the CEO in an interview. “When I returned to Karlsbad, I was really shocked about the conflicts that played out within the German compa- ny and the rigid hierarchies that existed here. This was something I never experienced in my years in America.” Something else that Thomas Herrmann noticed: All around the company hung organizational charts as symbols of the rigid order. “The first thing I did was take them down – then I looked for a business coach and spoke with him about our structural problems.” The effect: Since around 2009, the organization has changed radically, step by step. Herrmann Ultraschall thinks and acts in dynamic leadership circles (LC). This begins at the very top in the Strategic Leadership Circle (SLC), which is made up of the two managing directors and seven heads of units, and extends to the employee council. There are currently nine leadership circles at Herrmann Ultra- schall. “The LCs were only the first step in our transformation. They paved the path for our culture journey, on which we embarked in 2016,” continues Herrmann. The family enterprise also faced chal- lenges on this path to a new corporate culture: Many employees, including some who had been there for a long time, refused to toe the line, did not want a change, and continued to think in the existing (career) hierarchies. “With some, it seemed as if time had stood still, because ‘that’s how we’ve always done it,’” says Thomas Herrmann. “But those who wanted change saw that something was happening, that there was movement.” Internally, the leadership circles have a major advantage: There is a focus on collaboration, they facilitate team- work, and: “It is easier when we meet each other at eye level,” says Carsten O’Beirne, Chief Operating Officer at Herrmann Ultraschall. The leadership circles also create more transparency and trust for everyone at Herrmann; they show that everyone has the opportunity to move up. “The leadership circles do not only include people in positions of leader- ship, but also employees with special technical expertise. Those with the corresponding expertise in their field can also develop their career outside of the usual hierarchies. So that this change reaches all of us and everyone can benefit from it. That is important,” continues O’Beirne. “THE LEADERSHIP CIRCLES CREATE MORE TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST.” 65 64