Leadership | Executives in conversation

What does "leadership" mean to you, Mr Furch?

From Sabine Walter, Head of netzwerk managementberatung | coaching

The Managing Director of Stingl GmbH from Munich, Dieter Furch, focuses on the values of appreciation, reliability, trust and open communication when it comes to leadership. In an interview with Sabine Walter, Dieter Furch explains what is special about the Stingl culture and how the traditional company succeeds in finding and, above all, retaining talent even in times of a shortage of skilled workers.

Leadership means taking responsibility.

S.W.: What does leadership mean to you, Mr Furch?

For me as a managing director, leadership means taking responsibility for my employees and providing them with a safe workplace. This requires, especially in our complex and fast-moving times, many and, above all, rapid Making decisionsto make these transparent and to stand by them.

Particularly when it comes to decisions that affect change. meanI believe that it is the imperative task of the management level to bring this to the attention of the employees and to Opportunities to convey, that this change can bring with it.

Leadership is trust and appreciation.

Especially Trust is elementary in employee management. People for the valuewhat they are and what they achieve and them the To give free space to develop.

I was lucky enough to enjoy such freedom at the beginning of my professional career. That has shaped me.

The thing that makes me as a leader just as much is Authenticity. You can't demand authenticity from anyone. You are authentic or you are not. I am. People know where they stand with me. This builds trust - elementary for a healthy corporate culture.

The team culture makes Stingl special.

S.W.: How do you manage to keep these values you mentioned alive in the company in the long term?

These are different aspects: My attitude and that of my leadership team, the investment in training and development and the investment in a strong team culture.

We know that the most important resource of our company are our employees. Without it, we would not make money as a company. This knowledge is reflected in the attitude of the whole management team and in the investments. This includes various things:

One focus is on training, in which we invest a lot. We are constantly training around 30 apprentices, which we can select from numerous applications - in 2019 there were about 100 (!). And we try to take into account the desire, especially of young employees, to make the workplace predictable in terms of time. This means giving them the opportunity to manage their tasks within regular working hours and without constant overtime. Of course, this requires clear organisation. Who has what role and responsibility? Who takes on which tasks? How are the interfaces organised?

We offer numerous further training opportunities - both professional and personal development. There are offers for work-life balance: we have a sports offer and have been regularly offering Shiatsu massages which the employees are happy to take advantage of.

Also the topic Wage plays a role. But that is not the decisive thing. The team culture that we live and invest in is crucial. For example, we organise many company and department events such as summer parties, Oktoberfest and Christmas parties. There are team workshops and cross-business unit events to strengthen cohesion and communication.

Team is very important to us.

Ownership and development within a common framework.

S.W.: From your point of view, what distinguishes leadership in SMEs from leadership in corporate groups?

The ability to think and act in an entrepreneurial way, to contribute and implement one's own ideas and the willingness to take responsibility

For a medium-sized craft company, we are extremely organised and structured. We have organised the division of tasks in a process landscape. This creates clarity and gives us the opportunity to deploy and develop everyone according to their strengths.

This leads to employees enjoying working for us and contributes to a permanently very good quality.

I come back to "trust" here: For us, trust also means that the employee can develop his or her own area of activity and responsibility within defined guidelines.. We have defined the goal together, but the employee is free to shape the path to it. The demands and promotes personal responsibility and brings different approaches and ideas to light.

These framework conditions simplify the management of the company for me, because I have a management team and employees who work independently, who like to contribute and on whom I can rely.

Living values - internally and externally

S.W.: Which of the values you mentioned earlier do your customers and suppliers feel?

All. We deal with our customers and suppliers fairly and in partnership. We have long, sometimes decades-long customer and supplier relationships. Trust grows here, too, because we are reliable, deliver very good quality, treat each other with respect and appreciation, and the communication fits.

Four years ago, we started a Further education offer started, which focuses on dealing with customers in an appreciative and professional manner. Our fitters take that very well. And it pays off in everyday life, so on our building sites, from.

My credo: "Sales is a control loop. Technical project management is the reference to it."is thus strengthened. After all, the image that companies from our sector project on the construction site and in their dealings with customers can work for or against a company from a sales perspective. Our appearance works for us.

Trust in employees - investment in the future

S.W.: How will leadership have to change to meet our business and societal challenges?

"Delivering quality, handing over responsibility, involving employees and letting them do what they burn for - with a common goal, freedom of design and trust." Be open to change and see the opportunities it offers.

Example: We are currently in the process of digitally aligning Stingl. Digitisation is also becoming a key competence in our industry. The way we do this may be different from other companies, because we consistently rely on the ideas of our employees.

We have at Stingl a "Digital circle"was founded. This consists of ten of our employees from different areas and departments who have one thing in common: Fun with IT and fun with digitalisation. They burn for what they do and have great ideas. I find it fascinating what competences we have in this field, which is new to us, in the house. And if I didn't have confidence in my staff, I wouldn't have discovered this "treasure".

What this example underpins once again is: The most important resource for the The success of our company is not the management. It is the employees who represent the House of Stingl and work for the customer. There are those who, with their ideas and commitment, contribute every day to, that we deliver the quality that the customer expects from us and for which Stingl has stood for decades.

Dieter Furch studied supply engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich and graduated in 1994 with a degree in supply engineering (FH). Since 2003 he has been managing director of Stingl GmbH in Munich, a specialist in building services engineering. The company offers customised solutions from a single source for all areas of building services.