Deutsche Bahn: better punctuality through plain speaking in a crisis?

Deutsche Bahn: better punctuality through plain speaking in a crisis?

Deutsche Bahn is facing its biggest crisis since the railway reform, and its executive board openly admits there is not only a performance crisis but also a management crisis.

The response?

An extremely sharp course correction demanding results rather than plans, clearly assigning responsibility and seeking to curb inefficient meetings, as manager magazin reports today.

I strongly support clarity in leaders’ language, so I welcome the fact that the problems, including the board’s own leadership responsibility, are being named clearly, on the one hand. On the other, the way the message is communicated is revealing. Every line expresses a lack of trust in the abilities of the company’s own leaders. And is the leadership culture being criticised not also a product of the behaviour in the boardroom? Should those loudly calling for a change in leadership culture not start by looking more critically at themselves?

Can a culture of “lectures and controls” achieve a turnaround? Or does sustainably improving a system as complex as the railway require more empowerment and collaboration?

What do you think: is Richard Lutz’s radical leadership approach the right way forward? Or should leadership remain inspiring and collaborative even in times of crisis?

#Leadership #DeutscheBahn #ChangeManagement #CrisisLeadership