Are dual leaders right?: With one boss, there are only problems

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When companies announce new leadership models, they are almost certain to receive criticism. Bank Vontobel was recently hit. He announced that the venerable financial institution will in future be led by a man and a woman: Christel Rendu de Lint, Head Investments, and Georg Schubiger, Head Wealth Management.

Protest quickly followed: for example from former UBS and CS boss Oswald Grübel, or from bank analysts who raised the usual arguments such as “friction losses” or “indivisible liability”. This newspaper also expressed this opinion in a comment.

Of course, you may be skeptical. But you may also ask yourself whether the traditional model is really that ingenious. Personally, as an employee, I felt sorry for myself a few times throughout my career because I only had one boss (unfortunately, I’ve never had a female boss). Let me summarize: Despite my good performance, a supervisor became personally uncomfortable with me and therefore regularly exposed me in meetings. I suffered greatly from this and later left the company. Another failed to give women a place and voice in a male-dominated culture; This made me uncomfortable and eventually encouraged me to quit. A third person approached me. This took me one house further.

“Developing a learning dialogue”

Who knows what would have happened if I had a second point of contact in these situations? Nepotism, denials, employee misjudgments, unconscious biases, male networks: I think all of these are subject to at least a certain corrective effect with gender-mixed binary leadership. Provided, of course, that there is a real match between the co-leaders.

Research on dual leadership also shows that whether or not a dream team exists depends largely on the cooperation between two people. A high vote factor does not necessarily have to be considered negative. A 2021 Springer study, for example, points out that the effort to understand can be justified not as a negative cost factor, but as “developing a learning dialogue.”

“To keep going. Even if things go wrong.”

Which brings us to the heart of the problem: Many of these alpha animals at the top of companies grew up in systems where rubbing elbows and assertiveness were more useful than a willingness to social learn to achieve leadership positions. Banks in particular are not known for their avant-garde leadership. So I think: More of the Vontobel model please! And if the attempt fails: stick with it.

Source :Blick