Engagement and Leadership Culture Development in a German-Japanese Context

Context

The German unit of MCE, a Japanese corporation, wanted to improve its employee engagement after a group-wide survey had revealed a comparatively low level. The leadership team decided to start with leadership first – and to give all employees a voice. The intercultural context was particularly notable: German and Japanese understandings of leadership were to come together into a shared, sustainable practice.

Task

PUETTGEN Consulting designed and facilitated a participatory organizational development process: confidential “Open Interview Days”, reflecting the consolidated insights – not traceable to individuals – back to the workforce in townhall dialogue formats and working on them together, and deriving from this a “Leadership Best Practice” training series for management.

Approach

Consistently participatory and resource-oriented: diagnostics and intervention interlinked, neutral external support created a confidential space, large-group dialogue and culturally sensitive leadership learning complemented one another – an iterative rhythm of listening, dialogue, leadership learning, and renewed assessment.

Formats

Semi-structured, voluntary, and confidential individual and group conversations across all levels; facilitated townhall dialogues for the entire workforce; a multi-part “Leadership Best Practice” training series (building trust, the impact of the leader, leading in German-Japanese teams); iteratively continued over several years, most recently virtually.

Role

PUETTGEN Consulting was responsible for the design and facilitation of the process, conducted the confidential interviews and their consolidation, facilitated the townhalls, and designed the leadership trainings – as neutral, multipartial external facilitator.

Transfer

A one-time survey became a continuous framework for reflection and dialogue – with renewed interview days and townhalls – that anchored leadership learning in everyday practice.

Distinctive Feature

A multi-year cultural process with interviews, townhalls, and leadership trainings – with a particular focus on leadership in a German-Japanese context in collaboration with visualization partner Till Laßmann, https://till-lassmann.de