Daniel Loewa, Transformation Manager, Mercedes-Benz: From pressure to clarity, the manager’s role in turbulent times
Turbulent times. Daniel Loewa is Transformation Manager at Mercedes-Benz. He has more than 17 years of leadership experience. Beyond his operational responsibility in Sales Operations, he is a mentor and sparring partner helping executives and managers navigate through their leadership challenges. Daniel Loewa is not only a seasoned facilitator – he’s also a sharp observer of what makes teams thrive under pressure. With a warm but thought-provoking style, Daniel challenges managers to go beyond quick fixes and rediscover the deeper role they play in times of uncertainty. In this conversation, he shares practical insights on how middle managers can rebuild trust, foster resilience, and lead through turbulence – not by having all the answers, but by creating space for vulnerability, dialogue, and clarity.
What should a middle manager do to (re)build mutual trust within their team, under the pressure of today’s difficult economic times?
True, the “fasten your seatbelt sign” is permanently on as we are all experiencing lasting turbulences. And these are not only rooted in economic challenges as we face shaky national, European and worldwide political headwinds all the way threats for humanity when it comes to geopolitics and climate change. Not enough, we all have our personal package to carry. All this pulls heavy on our resilience and as managers we are affected as human beings ourselves plus we carry responsibility for our team and to keep it productive and successful.
To stay in the picture of the airplane: in case of the loss of cabin pressure, I am asked to put on my oxygen mask before helping others. To be able to navigate my team through turbulent times, I need to invest in my own resilience and today I would only send you to search among the to many sources and inspirations available out there about “leading myself” in turbulent times. However, as manager I am not just a fellow passenger, and my responsibility goes further: I am an officer on board of this jumbo jet and the team expects me to provide orientation and clarity on the situation and our further route.
Now, let’s put that into practice: I recommend that managers invest time and energy in building safe spaces in their teams, where challenges and fears can be expressed without negative consequences. Managers go first by showing their own vulnerability, demonstrating empathy and facilitating deep discussions in team meetings or one-on-ones. Building trust needs contact and dialogue but not necessarily answers to every question. And building resilience is a team-sport and we should not see it as an isolated individual topic. The “I am not alone”-feeling gives team members the feeling to be seen and see others, which is a great foundation to build a support-network. I recommend identifying the resources and strengths the team can rely on, instead of focusing only on deficits or weaknesses.
What are the most common leadership behaviors or decisions that either build or, on the contrary, undermine trust within team?
Everything starts inside me: do I infer from my view and feeling to others? Do I know enough about the others’ perspective? And do I actually care?
I recommend knowing your people and find out about their motivation, hopes and fears – and be ready to be surprised about the diversity. It is my responsibility to create the safe space in which they share their uncertainties or concerns without risking any negative consequences like punishment or humiliation. The slightest snippy comment or a condescending smile from my side would undermine this process of building trust. This approach is actually scientifically backed by Amy Edmondson and her concept of Psychological Safety, which has proven to have a positive impact on business success.
Building trust is a continued uphill process, not an event or just a verbal commitment. We must stay close to our people, sometimes allowing a step back before moving forward too hasty.
And to move forward I need to create clarity on the destination, the route and the obstacles and threats that we may encounter. As managers, we have access to more information, we are trained to connect the dots, and it is our job to explain our company’s direction to the team with focus on execution. However, we often leave a gap in our team between being informed and feeling informed. To communicate effectively, our messages need to fit to the audience, and we must repeat them often. Each team member will focus on hearing the answer to the question “what’s in for me?”. Repetitively sending identical messages will not be sufficient, and we need to continuously check our impact by staying in dialog and by listening. Listening to understand, not to reply.
What tools or approaches have you used as a facilitator with one or more teams to increase cooperation, build mutual trust, and reduce conflict?
A few things come to mind, some are fit for team meetings, some for one-on-ones. I’d like to start with a daring question: who is the beneficiary of your meetings – the team members or you as the manager?
This in mind, my priority is on team meetings and gatherings as they contribute to transparency and mutual understanding. I recommend establishing rituals like check-ins and -outs, which not only ensure to hear each voice, but also to answer questions like “what is your energy level on a scale?” or “what are your biggest challenges this week?”. And as our brain is wired to crisis mode, allow yourself a plot twist and wait for answers to “what went will this week?” to celebrate small wins.
Teams also benefit from regular retrospectives, looking at things that held us back, did not go well and should be improved. This can build a routine in defusing tensions and resolving conflict before they escalate. Ideally the manager steps back, gives others space to engage and holds back the own opinion and judgement. As you mentioned in the question, the focus is on facilitating the open exchange. By listening to and observing the interaction between the team members, the manager learns a lot about how people contribute and where potential conflicts hide.
The next daring question: does your team meeting happen when you are out of office? It should.
When meeting your individual team members, reserve some time and turn on your coaching mode in the conversation to make it more meaningful. Questions like “what are your challenges right now?” or “how can I help?” go beyond the daily nitty gritty and help you calibrate expectations. Check questions: who talks more in this meeting?
And I recommend going beyond the common meeting structures. Drop-in sessions, cross-team networking meetings, ask-me-anything sessions or just the casual water cooler chat all have the same purpose: to enable dialog on eye-level. All ideas above help to communicate on eye-level, and to build sustainable trust. Enjoy the flight!
