How we live leadership at Bosch

Leadership is individual and can be challenging. For Isabel that's precisely what makes the job so exciting “At Bosch, the associates are diverse. Whether it's different backgrounds, education, or cultures — these differences shape Bosch and add a huge amount of value. I enjoy working with many different personalities. At the same time, it can be challenging to make the most of our diverse perspectives and achieve extraordinary things as a team. That is exactly what motivates me as a leader: I can connect associates, shape collaboration and achieve great things together with my team.” To make this possible, we at Bosch support our leaders. We provide them with three leadership perspectives that reflect expectations and requirements placed on them, offer new food for thought, and thus support them in continuously developing their leadership behavior.

At Bosch, we pursue clear goals that we achieve together as a team. Our leaders help us to get this right: “The targets are set by the senior management teams for each area. For example, we may need to focus on gaining a foothold in a new business area or expanding production in a country. These are the parameters within which we as leaders at Bosch operate,” explains Isabel. “My job is to work with my team to achieve our goals within the predefined scope. How I accomplish this is entirely up to me, and this is precisely where my leadership role begins. Because my decisions determine whether we are successful as a team or not.”

To achieve their goals, leaders can take a range of actions: “The focus is initially on the associates. Their individual backgrounds bring diverse strengths — which I want to utilise strategically,” emphasises Mario. “Sometimes the team's existing resource isn’t sufficient to reach its goals. This can be due to available capacity or the team's existing expertise. Depending on the task, it can be beneficial to bring in outside knowledge and work on it together. Making these kinds of decisions is also an important part of the leadership process,” reports Jessica.

It may even make sense to deliberately postpone certain set goals, Isabel explains using an example: “Basically, there’s a predetermined profit margin for my department. Occasionally, from a strategic perspective, it can make sense not to reach it — for example, if in doing so we can acquire a new customer and thus generate more revenue and profit in the long term, or enter a new market segment. This is then an investment in the future of my division. Of course, I’m taking a risk with such a deviation from the plan and have to advocate for this approach with my supervisor. But I can always choose a different path if I truly think it’s the better one. I really value this scope for maneuvers.”

Before his team starts working on something, Mario believes it’s crucial to communicate the reasons behind any decisions that have already been made: “I always explain to my associates, what's behind it: Why does this task exist? Why do we need this product or process? And what's the overarching goal?” “This is important for a key reason,” Isabel emphasises. “Because without a rational behind a task, motivation dwindles. I approach a task with more ambition when I know why I'm doing it. Of course, there are also tasks that don't directly contribute to achieving a specific or overarching goal that still need to be done — for example, legally required documentation. And that's perfectly fine. But, wherever possible, I think it's important to understand the connection to the main focus and thus the bigger picture.”

Our company founder emphasised the importance of delegating tasks and passing on responsibility to associates. But can everything really be delegated, and is that even sensible? For Jessica, there are three levels: “There are recurring tasks that associates are already familiar with and can complete independently. If they need me, I offer support — but generally, I stay out of it. Then there are new tasks, which means entering uncharted territory. In these cases, I get involved at the beginning and gradually withdraw as the associates have developed the necessary expertise. And of course, there are tasks I can't delegate — for example, this is the case for me with the quarterly reports. There are messages I have to and want to formulate.”

Giving feedback is an integral part of working at Bosch — whether in regular conversations or specific circumstances. But what does good feedback look like? “In my opinion, feedback should always be as specific and solution-oriented as possible. It's important to me that feedback isn't about assigning blame, but rather a constructive analysis of what happened — always with the goal of identifying areas for improvement,” says Jessica. Isabel deliberately doesn't give feedback immediately: “When I have feedback for someone, I always consciously wait a day. This allows both of us to reflect on the experience and discuss it with some distance,” she explains. “In my view, critical feedback should always take place in a private, confidential conversation. Of course, I also give praise in front of others from time to time — I see nothing wrong with that.”

And what about feedback for leaders? “In China, you do receive feedback — but usually only if you explicitly ask for it. I am very grateful for the feedback from my colleagues, as it helps me to reflect on myself,” Jessica emphasises. This applies not only to China, but also to Germany. “I would say that as a leader, you generally receive less feedback — even though it’s just as important as it is for associates without a leadership role,” explains Isabel. “That’s why I actively ask for feedback, both from my associates and my supervisor. I do this especially when I realise that something hasn’t gone quite right or I feel that I haven’t reached everyone with my messages as I would like.”

As you would expect, leaders generally lead by example. But do they see themselves as role models? For Mario, this question isn't easy to answer: “I have high expectations of myself — and I have the same expectations of my associates. Whether it's discipline, reliability, or openness: I can't expect anything from my team that I don't practise myself — whether it's arriving on time for meetings or completing tasks conscientiously. If they do actually see me as a role model, though, I can't say.” Isabel shares this assessment: “I don't see myself as a role model exactly, but rather as someone who serves as a role model. Because, of course, not everything I do is perfect. But I like to lead by example and try things out. And I am pleased when others follow me in this.” For Mario, being an advisor is even more important than being a role model. “I enjoy giving my colleagues tips and advice — not just on work-related topics. Some associates also come to me with their private concerns. This demonstrates a great deal of trust, and of course I want to help.”

In a volatile world, personal development is crucial for our leaders. Mario, however, isn't just thinking about himself: “It’s satisfying to be able to develop not only myself, but also my team. I'm very interested in new tools and features, and some time ago I had the idea of making our shopfloor paperless. To achieve this, it was clear that I had to learn a lot, including programming. At the same time, I knew I couldn't do it alone. That's why I told my team about my goal, and they were inspired by my enthusiasm. It was a lot of sometimes hard work — but together we did it. Today, for example, there are no more paper notes attached to our machines; instead, QR codes take associates directly to the relevant data. That was a significant team achievement that we are all proud of and that has brought us even closer together.”