Interview 6 April 2021
“Mindset-Engineering” –
Diversity Competence Is a Win for Any Team

Joël Michaud has been head of the Automation Assembly department at the WAGO factory in Switzerland since 2018 and has written a term paper on a topic you might not expect: “Diversity Management.”

In this interview, you’ll hear about his motivation and the recommendations he has for heads of other departments – and their employees as well.

A Few Words about Yourself:

My name is Joël Michaud; I grew up in the Swiss canton of Wallis; I’m 39, married, with two sons. Professionally, I started as a trainee in electromechanics, qualified as a technician and then got a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering with a business concentration. In 2017, I was brought in as replacement head for the Automatic Assembly department at WAGO. I’ve been the head of this department since 2018 and lead a team of ninety. Because I want to develop my strengths in my leadership role, I’m studying part-time for an Executive Master’s of Business Administration (EMBA); I currently have two semesters left.

As head of a department in a technical area, why did you choose the topic of “Diversity Management?”

My continuing education up to now has primarily focused on technical subjects; however, in my new management role, I quickly realized that social skills were far more important for me. It’s no longer enough to manage based purely on technical criteria. We managers need a different kind of preparation and should aim to empower our employees to act independently. To work on this, I chose “Leadership” as one of my required electives. One module within it is called “Intercultural Competence,” with the seminar topic “Diversity Management.” I chose this course because, as I entered my professional career, I quickly noticed how differently people with different cultural backgrounds think and work with each other. This is something I want to engage with more deeply.

What does diversity competence mean to you?

To me, this is an essential characteristic of a good leader: Treating each employee equally as a matter of principle and offering them all the same opportunities. Their origins or other personal characteristics should play no role in this – only their professional skills and abilities. It is a matter of engaging with stereotypes and prejudices and working toward eradicating them.

What does this require?

A healthy measure of self-reflection and self-guidance, as well as openness, a willingness to learn, a constructive approach to dealing with mistakes and trusting, respectful communication. Because of my technical background, I call this “Mindset Engineering.” In other words, working to improve not just systems, machines and products – but our personal attitudes too! And anyone who just cannot or will not engage with this in the wrong position.

It is a matter of engaging with stereotypes and prejudices and working toward eradicating them.

Joël Michaud, Head of Automated Assembly

What are the most important insights and recommendations you would like to share with other managers and the WAGO world?

Personally, just learning about the topic has helped me a great deal, and I’m working on bringing this knowledge into my everyday work life as a manager. But I do believe diversity competence can be a source of added value for any team, and any individual:

  1. Diversity starts with you: First work on your attitude and reflect on your actions. Be the difference you seek from others.
  2. Grasp the actual situation even if it takes an effort at first! What differences and commonalities exist in the team? What opportunities exists; what potential sources of conflict can affect cooperation?
  3. Diversity offers many opportunities when we stop seeing it as a hurdle. Why do we prefer to hire people who are like ourselves or the team? Actually, it is exactly those who do things a bit differently and bring other perspectives and views to the team that wind up being a source of enrichment.
  4. Communication is important – and that means, instead of just talking at people and sending out messages, actually communicating with each other! Listen, get active feedback and learn from it.
  5. Awareness training should be carried out on all management levels: Here at WAGO, currently we are conducting a pilot project in the form of a three-day leadership seminar, up to the team leader level. This is especially important for people whose career paths have been purely technical, so they haven’t yet studied the psychological aspects.

Values and Culture

As a family-owned company with a strong sense of responsibility, we constantly work toward improving the welfare of everyone involved – whether employees, customers or suppliers. This principle is deeply rooted in our culture and influences all of our day-to-day activities.

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Better for Everyone

We implement sustainability at all levels and are conscious of our responsibility to our employees, our partners, the environment and society.

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