Turbo in the Team: Joint Leadership works

The magic word is ‘trust’, in your own abilities and in another person. This is the prerequisite for the Joint Leadership model at the Bank which enables two colleagues to share one management position. Diane Heidbreder and Veronique Dornfeld, who leads a team of the advisory branches Dortmund, Lünen, Unna and Kamen with around 40 employees, is proof that this works. "We’re united like a couple," says Diane Heidbreder with a smile.

The two women are in close contact so that they are up to date in all important matters. They are in the office two days a week. Otherwise, there are calls – a lot of calls, and there’s lively written exchange. Since 2019, they’ve held these roles. Both mothers, they took parental leave, in which the other had more responsibility with the other being made aware of key decisions. This was made possible without any problems thanks to the ‘Keep in Touch program’, which employees use to stay in touch with the bank during parental leave.

Being able to try things out as a leader

The Management Experience is another program of Commerzbank which also helped Veronique Dornfeld and Diane Heidbreder. "We hosted a colleague who wanted to gain management experience, they temporarily represented one of us and was able to try out both leadership and leadership in tandem," explains Veronique Dornfeld. The program offers employees the opportunity to try out themselves as a manager for a limited period of time. Not every detail can be agreed, but it doesn't matter: the solution of this team is – of course – trust. Diane Heidbreder: "We know each other extremely well, stand together and behind what our colleagues are doing, because we know that it’s wise and we’re aligned in our thinking."

Comparatively new as a tandem are Justyna Lebedyk and Matthias Grauling. Both are responsible for the disciplinary leadership of a Frankfurt team of IT transformation experts with seven colleagues. In addition, there’s the management and commissioning of external service providers. "We coordinate regularly via all communication channels and sit down together once a week," says Justyna Lebedyk. "We exchange ideas very intensively relating to our perspectives on people," adds Matthias Grauling. Although each has different priorities in its assessment, the tandem sees the colleagues essentially identical. "We complement each other," says Justyna Lebedyk. Whoever seeks leadership from them will receive it independently of the other person, as required by the employees. Matthias Grauling: "We speak to the outside world with one voice."

Making the model even better known

Around 20 tandems have now been found at Commerzbank, explains Julia Willems, a business expert at the Bank in Group Human Resources. Often, the supervisors bring together employees who can imagine shared management responsibility. "Our goal is to make the model even better known across all levels of the Bank to promote flexible career opportunities in the various phases of life," says Tanja Blätz, Product Owner, in Group Human Resources at Commerzbank. For this reason, since June, every management position at the Bank has been tendered with the option of shared management. The Bank is actively promoting the creation of new tandems.

Working teams are the best multipliers for joint leadership. The Joint Leadership Community was founded in early 2024, enabling regular exchange of all tandems. Members have benefited from each other, says Julia Willems of Group Human Resources. Tanja Blätz knows why: "Different perspectives, a trusted sparring relationship, different life experiences and abilities, all this flows into it." The feedback for the shared leadership is positive both for colleagues and their management. Ultimately, Joint Leadership does not give the Bank 100 percent leadership, but 150 and more. Simply because two heads are better than one.