Elmar Degenhart, CEO of Continental AG (Germany)

Article link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-05/continental-delivers-stark-message-to-managers-to-shape-up

This short article reports on a stark message that CEO Degenhart and other board members sent to around 400 managers at the German automotive supplier Continental AG.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- What effects could a letter like the one that Degenhart and his colleagues wrote to the managers of Continental AG have on a team?

- Do you see this letter as an example of effective communication? (Please provide reasons for your assessment).

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (USA)

Video link 1: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/tech/satya-nadella-on-the-importance-of-teamwork-for-success/videoshow/61537020.cms [1:24 minutes]

In this Times of India video, Satya Nadella explains why effective teamwork is extremely important for organizations to become successful.

Video link 2: https://youtu.be/6tyCydR30pg [7:18 minutes]

In this video, Satya Nadella reflects on why and how he tried to change the organizational culture at Microsoft.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- What is the role of culture for making a team successful and how can a manager influence team culture?

- Reflecting on what Nadella said, why do managers need empathy to be effective in their job?

Article link: https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/this-1-book-that-transformed-microsofts-culture-from-cutthroat-to-creative.html

This article reports on Satya Nadella handing out a book about nonviolent communication to Microsoft executives when he became the technology company’s CEO.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- How can nonviolent communication contribute to effective teamwork?

- How would you assess the usefulness of nonviolent communication in negotiations and conflict situations?

Her Excellency Sara Al Madani, serial entrepreneur and director of several companies in the fashion, food and beverages, and technology sectors (United Arab Emirates)

Video link: https://youtu.be/vjAKRrf32wE [18:38 minutes]

In this video, H. E. Sara Al Madani, an award-winning entrepreneur and business manager from the United Arab Emirates, shares her thoughts on what she sees as the main preconditions for being an effective team leader.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- What is your opinion on H. E. Sara Al Madani’s reflections about what it takes to be an effective team leader?

- Why is it important to invest in getting to know your team members well in order to become an effective team leader?

David Cancel, CEO of Drift (USA)

Video link: https://youtu.be/m62mCsgW3nU [22:47 minutes]

In an interview with Claire Lew, the entrepreneur David Cancel, CEO of Drift (a company that provides sales communication software for businesses) reflects on the lessons that he has learned about effective team leadership. He puts a special emphasis on adjusting communication styles to different personalities (and refers to one widely used personality test, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® test, in this context).

Reflection and discussion questions:

- What does it mean for effective managerial communication when Cancel says that “everyone is slightly (or wildly) different and they need to be communicated to in different ways”?

- What do you think of Cancel’s approach to dealing with conflicting ideas in teams (assuming that “both your idea and my idea are wrong”)?

Article link: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/business/corner-office-david-cancel-drift.html

In this interview with the New York Times, David Cancel provides an insight into how he developed his supportive management style and what he is looking for when he hires people for his team.

Reflection and discussion questions:

- Cancel talks about the importance of giving people new opportunities and letting them “fail a little bit”? How could a team leader use this advice to create a high-performance team?

- What can we learn from Cancel’s approach to hiring people when building a successful team?