· 4 min read
Tears on the plane: What "Die Stille Revolutiion" taught me about leadership
It was a perfectly ordinary business flight. I’d downloaded a film onto my iPad that had been recommended to me, and wanted to make good use of my time.
What I hadn’t expected: by the end of the film, I was sitting in my seat with tears in my eyes – and was glad that nobody in the row next to me was looking my way. The film is called "The Silent Revolution" (a German documentary). And he sparked something in me that still resonates today.
How it all began
It all started during a long car journey, whilst I was listening to podcasts and videos about Bodo Janssen, (external link, opens in a new tab)the managing director of Upstalsboom (external link, opens in a new tab). His story gripped me straight away: After a devastating associate survey – which revealed that many of his people who wanted a different boss – he didn’t just carry on as before. He questioned himself. And transformed the company from the ground up.
What also impressed me was that his life story has been shaped by a kidnapping he experienced whilst he was a student – an event that continues to shape him to this day. Leadership, I realized, rarely comes from a textbook for those who are truly credible, but rather from what life has made of them.
Driven by this fascination, I then watched "The Silent Revolution" – a documentary that explores precisely this question: What does it really mean to lead people? Featuring a stellar line-up of academics and practitioners, including, amongst others, Prof. Dr Gerald Hüther (external link, opens in a new tab), the film paints a picture of just how much our traditional understanding from "Leaders" and "Employees" is out of touch with reality."
The sentence that has stuck in my mind
One thought from the film has really stuck with me because it is so painfully true. What is an ‘employee’? (this sentence only works in German - Angestellter, angestellt, nichts anstellte, ausgestellt) :
Many people are ‘switched on’ in the morning and ‘switched off’ in the evening – and during the day, people make sure they don’t ‘get up to any mischief’.
Once you’ve heard this phrase, you can’t stop hearing it. It describes an attitude that – consciously or unconsciously – still pervades many organisations: viewing staff as a cost factor, as a risk, as something that needs to be controlled. Rather than as people who want to grow.
Why this affected me personally
I am not writing here as someone who stands on a stage and says, ‘We’ve sorted this out’. I am writing as someone who has held leadership roles for almost 30 years and knows, how easy it is to fall into the management trap yourself: Figures, data, facts, processes – and in the process, losing sight of the people for whom one is actually responsible.
The film has once again made it very clear to me what, for me, is the essence of Leading Myself is: Before I can help others to develop, I must be honest with myself. And what, for me, is the essence of Leading My Team is: Leadership is a service to people – not a privilege that one has earned.
Have a look at it
I can’t show any clips from the film here, but I’ll share the official Trailer (in German) close to my heart – just two and a half minutes, which already give some idea of what it’s all about:
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More Information You can find the film (in German) here: https://diestillerevolution.de (external link, opens in a new tab); I personally bought the film on Amazon Prime Video.
For our management philosophy, see here: https://www.upstalsboom.de/der-upstalsboom-weg (external link, opens in a new tab)
To be continued
Bodo Janssen and his way of thinking have stayed with me ever since – as some of you may have already realised, I’ve become a real fan. In an upcoming post, I’ll tell you what it was like to actually meet him in person years later – and what stuck with me from his keynote speech.
In the meantime: if you haven’t seen "Die Stille Revolution" yet, do have a look at it. And if you’ve already seen it – what stuck with you? Feel free to drop me a line!
Do you have any thoughts or comments? I’d love to hear them. Please head over to the LinkedIn post (external link, opens in a new tab). Or drop me a message via the contact page (external link, opens in a new tab).
I’d be delighted to discuss these topics with you.
Dr. Peter von Wartenberg (06.23)
Learn to Serve and Protect. Leading Myself | Leading My Team | Leading My Business