“Netzer, Weisweiler and a lack of clarity”: It’s all a question of trust
Essay by Dr. Reinhard K. Sprenger, leadership expert and management author
It still is the match of the century for many and, at the same time, possibly the most dramatic crisis of leadership in German football: it’s the 1973 cup finals, Borussia Mönchengladbach against 1. FC Köln. Following a month-long quarrel with his boss and coach Hennes Weisweiler, Günter Netzer had been benched. He had been dropped there by his boss after the 1:1. A few minutes later, he puts himself on. Weisweiler looked the other way and let it happen. Netzer charges forward, his blonde mane flying him behind him like a flag, touch of the ball, he kicks, doesn’t quite hit the ball, but nevertheless: he scores a goal and the cup victory. Could this be a model for management?
Much of what is discussed in companies right now is packed into this anecdote. The markets are more anxious than ever before, something that will likely continue. Barely able to cope with the complexity, individuals seek support from others. Does an executive really need the inside view, or is an overview enough? Is it even possible to have a ‘firm grip’ on complexity? One thing is clear: the actions of employees should not be based on top-down decisions any longer. An employee should be able act on initiative, ‘putting themselves on’, as it were. Either/or is obsolete; we should replace it with an as-well-as. This requires some tolerance towards ambiguity, the skill to handle uncertainty and a lack of clarity.
This has consequences for the interior structure of organisations. Even when limiting it to certain issues and subjects, a high level of trust is essential. Not everywhere, at the same time, on the same level, and certainly not spread out indifferently throughout a company – a maximum amount of generalised trust would be naïve. However, many rules should take on the character of guidelines, allowing for well-founded exceptions. Situations may arise when rules should be broken. Indeed, there is no other way: a modern company can and should trust that their employees handle rules respectfully and interpret them wisely (this used to be called ‘shades of grey’). There is a reason that working-to-rule and striking are closely related. An organisation would be paralysed without providing some room for interpretation; it could not survive on the market.
As a principle, profit-seeking businesses create customer value. However: a judicious company may never leave the sphere of self-preservation. We will all have to live with a 10-percent uncertainty, or we will end up rigid and inflexible. In any case, the occasional rap on the knuckles is better than to engage in collective punishment and to stifle staff with a net of regulation. This makes a company slow and inflexible. As a rule of thumb, it is wise to avoid clobbering every structural problem with a rule. The more rules, the more people are faced with a dilemma, coercing them into crossing the boundaries. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy that is widely recognised.
Handling uncertainty requires courage and power of judgement. The judgement to identify what makes each situation special. Faced with uncertainty, it takes courage to act. This courage cannot be had without a high level of confidence. Netzer knew full well what the key to success was: defiance. Weisweiler, on the other hand, also knew a thing or two: leaders should only intervene if the company’s survival depends on it.
Dr. Reinhard K. Sprenger is a leadership expert and management author. He lives in Winterthur, Switzerland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. His latest book is ‘Magie des Konflikts’ (‘The Magic of Conflict’) (DVA-Verlag).