Episode 108
How to Build a Winning Culture: Insights from Schneider Electric’s Michael Lotfy Gierges
Balancing High-Performing Teams with a Collaborative Culture of Kindness
Join us as we explore how to build a winning company culture with Michael Lotfy Gierges, the Executive Vice President of Schneider Electric’s Home and Distribution Division. With over 20 years of experience in energy management, Michael offers valuable insights into people-centric leadership within a global organization.
In this episode, you will discover:
- The Impact of the Electronics Industry: Learn how the field influences humanity and the planet, from energy management to addressing climate change.
- Transformative Leadership Approaches: Understand how Michael’s Mediterranean background and empathy-driven philosophy shape his leadership style.
- Building a Collaborative Culture: Gain insights into breaking down organizational silos and fostering global cooperation.
- Diversity as a Superpower: Explore how Schneider Electric leverages gender and ethnic diversity to drive innovation and customer success.
- Feedback as a Tool for Growth: Discover how Michael incorporates feedback from all levels to continuously improve as a leader.
- Cultural and Personality Integration: Learn the importance of respecting and integrating cultural differences within a global team.
- Personal Leadership Evolution: Hear Michael’s reflections on his growth and the importance of humility and continuous learning.
- Empowerment and Recognition: Understand the mechanisms Schneider Electric uses to recognize and retain top talent.
Michael’s dedication to ethical leadership and sustainability provides actionable takeaways to enhance your leadership skills and drive positive change within your organization.
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“Be kind, don’t be nice. Because nice gets you in a stagnant place, but kind gets you to collaborate and have this difference of opinion that’s challenging one another and strives for the best.”
Key takeaways
People-Centric Leadership in a Global Organization:
Creating a people-centric culture is vital for high performance and innovation. Effective leaders see employees as the foundation of their business. By promoting humility, empathy, and collaboration, teams can excel and achieve outstanding results, enhancing the organization’s collective intelligence.
Leveraging Cultural Diversity for Innovation:
Cultural diversity is a key driver of innovation. Encouraging collaboration among globally distributed teams allows organizations to utilize diverse perspectives for unique solutions and better challenge anticipation. This collaboration enriches the development process, leading to more innovative outcomes.
The Power of Feedback and Continuous Improvement:
Consistent feedback is essential for effective leadership and organizational success. By seeking input from all employees, leaders can identify blind spots and improvement areas. Structured engagement surveys and informal feedback channels allow companies to adapt continuously, fostering a culture of ongoing improvement.
“To me, true people-centric leadership is about balancing empathy and performance. You’re building the highest performing team with a foundation of humility, empathy, and collaboration.”
“We are as strong as our collective intelligence and not an individual intelligence.”
Show Notes:
In Episode 108 of the “Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast,” host Sannah Vinding sits down with Michael Lotfy Gierges, the Executive Vice President at the Home and Distribution Division at Schneider Electric. With over 20 years of experience in energy management, Michael shares his passion for sustainable home energy solutions and his commitment to people-centric leadership within a global organization.
Key highlights from the discussion include Michael’s dedication to the electronics industry, which he describes as profoundly impactful on humanity and the planet. He elaborates on how his work in energy management—from high voltage substations to renewable energy and sustainability—reflects his commitment to addressing climate change and ensuring electrification, which he likens to “air and water,” remains accessible.
Sannah and Michael delve into his leadership style, emphasizing the importance of humility, empathy, and a people-centered approach. Michael shares how his Mediterranean upbringing fuels his belief in people as a company’s greatest asset. He discusses the balance between building high-performing teams and fostering a collaborative culture that emphasizes kindness over mere niceness.
The conversation touches on the challenges and strategies for fostering collaboration across Schneider Electric’s global hubs. Michael highlights the importance of overcoming organizational silos by encouraging cross-regional communication and peer reviews, creating a culture of shared ideas and diverse perspectives. He stresses the value of collective intelligence and continuous learning, noting that his team’s diverse cultural makeup is a ‘superpower’ for innovation and performance.
Michael also speaks candidly about his personal leadership growth. He shares how he solicits feedback from various levels within the organization and actively works on personal and team development. The importance of customer-centered approaches, retaining talent through empowerment, and giving credit where it’s due are underscored as crucial elements of his leadership philosophy.
Reflecting on his career, Michael advises emerging leaders to be humble, listen actively, and embrace boldness. He acknowledges the inevitability of mistakes and encourages a mindset that views them as learning opportunities.
Throughout the episode, Michael and Sannah provide valuable insights and personal anecdotes that underscore the importance of empathy, inclusivity, and continuous improvement in leadership within the manufacturing and energy management sectors.
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Guests
Michael Lotfy Gierges
Executive Vice President, Home & Distribution Business at Schneider Electric
Michael Lotfy Gierges, Executive Vice President, Home & Distribution at Schneider Electric, has over 20 years of professional experience. In this position, he holds complete responsibility for all aspects of Schneider Electric’s offerings and solution development for residential and small buildings. This includes strategy, research and development, market expansion, production, and go-to-market efforts, drawing on his extensive experience in industrialization.
Michael leads a global team across all four major Schneider Electric regions. His team is dedicated to utilizing Schneider’s legacy and cutting-edge technology in the home sector to provide innovative Home Energy Management Solutions, contributing to a zero-carbon future for homes and small buildings.
At a young age, Michael became the youngest executive to lead a global business division at Schneider Electric. He is a strong advocate for sustainability and has actively promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives throughout his career.
Previously, Michael served as Senior Vice President of Power Products for the North America Hub, where he managed a division portfolio that achieved double-digit sales growth and successfully launched five innovative products in the electrical industry.
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