LEADERSHIP ON THE FRONT LINE

It was 1:02pm on a Friday afternoon in November 2023 as I was sitting at home in Helsinki and had just joined a virtual meeting. The meeting was with Oliver Gierlichs, the General Manager of Bayer in Ukraine, who was joining the call from Kyiv. The line started crackling and I saw a dark image pop up on my screen. It was Oliver, calling in from the garage of their office building that serves as a bomb shelter as the air raid sirens were blaring in the background.

“I think we should postpone the meeting by an hour, the sirens don’t usually stay on for too long”, Oliver said in a calm, casual, and almost apologetic tone of voice.

At 2pm I joined the call again, as did Oliver. He was still in the bomb shelter, the air raid sirens were still blaring. According to Oliver, it was best to have the interview then and there, as there was no way of telling how long the situation was going to last. As Oliver moved to the other side of the garage for a better acoustic, he showed me his surroundings. The garage was equally filled with cars, desks and chairs. This was not only a bomb shelter but a back up office. This was the new normal.

“For others the new normal is hybrid work after Covid, for us, it’s this”, Oliver said with a plaintive smile on his face.

And so, we got into the interview about how MySpeaker Rhetorich had helped Oliver in his demanding role as the General Manager of Bayer in Ukraine.

“It all started with a 360°, which indicated that I had some room for improvement in my verbal communication and public speaking skills. This is an incredibly important skill for me, not only as the GM of Bayer here in Ukraine, but with everything the war brought along and changing my tasks. If I were to use some football terminology, I was previously leading Bayer in a country that was definitely playing in the big leagues, but not fighting for the championship. Ukraine was an important market for the company, but before the war, my role was very different. After the war started, the spotlight was on us. Bayer is one of the great supporters of Ukraine and has donated massively towards aid here. Thus, I found myself being asked to attend many different German TV news broadcasts, panel discussions & radio interviews to explain the situation in Ukraine.

My role had transformed overnight and public speaking became a major part of it. So, if you are speaking on German prime-time television, you should quite frankly be a better public speaker compared to what I was in the beginning. Therefore, it was lucky timing that I was training this specific skill with MySpeaker Rhetorich”, Oliver explains.

From the Spotlight to the Training

In Oliver’s unique case, it was clear that the need to improve verbal communication and public speaking skills were very concrete and urgent, which of course put some pressure on the Rhetorich platform and training.

“The richness of the tool is incredible”

“I’m the type of person who likes a lot of background and theory behind all learning, so for me the richness of the tool is incredible. There is so much data and information to dig into, you could literally spend hours and hours learning just by utilizing the content on the platform. Especially when it comes to a skill like verbal communication, you can always continue to develop it, thus making Rhetorich a catalyst for lifelong learning.

“Everybody can find what they’re looking for in this tool”

I also understand that many people are quite the opposite of me and want to focus only on a couple of clear areas of improvement. This is also a beauty of the tool, as everyone gets an individual analysis of their personal speaking skills with highlighted information on where to improve and what to focus on. I do believe that MySpeaker Rhetorich is a tool for everyone. Everybody can find what they’re looking for in this tool. You can be very focused on certain items and techniques or you can go very broad in understanding the theory and nuances behind effective speech.

One of the benefits was that you were able to try out new things in your speech based on theory, upload a new video and see how it worked for your overall score. It was a very safe space to try, because the analysis came from the AI. Of course the coach can see your videos, but that just added so much value to the course. I truly enjoyed the sessions with my coach André Noël Chaker. They were very informative and André gave a lot of insights into my speaking and what to work on. All in all, it’s a very complete training and remarkable tool.”

Why is it so crucial to improve your verbal communication skills?

After talking with Oliver and listening to his experiences with the tool, I wanted to understand his point of view on the importance of effective verbal communication. While we at MySpeaker believe that we can make the world a better place by communicating and speaking more effectively, I was intrigued to hear Oliver’s thoughts on the matter.

“You at MySpeaker are sitting at the heart of one of the important topics to get things across in our world, no matter if it’s a product, a message or political will. Speaking today is becoming more and more powerful and important. From influencers, who are making these short videos on Tiktok and other social media, to the professional speakers on big stages, effective speech is becoming so important in our world. You can have a huge impact on companies, people and political figures through speaking and storytelling. Once you see the value, you can truly benefit the world with it.

“What you bring to the table is powerful.”

Today, if you don’t stand out from the crowd, your message will be lost. So for example, if you’re managing a company, you’re looking for investors in your organization, you want to be promoted in your career or you want a political opinion to be adopted, you need to make sure your message is heard. This is where your tool Rhetorich comes in. What you bring to the table is powerful.”

Listening to these words being said by a person living in a war torn country and having to live the new normal of escaping to bomb shelters, I couldn’t help but feel the urgency with which we need to make the world a better place. Whether it be one spoken word, one speech or one speaker at a time, we need to get our voices heard.

As I thanked Oliver for an eye-opening interview and closed the Teams meeting, it all felt surreal. There he was in a different world, so close, yet still so incredibly far. I got to thinking about the unfairness of the world and the helplessness we can easily feel amidst the terrors surrounding us, but I want to choose hope. I believe that little by little, we are able to affect our surroundings and make a change in the right direction. Even with a small word of kindness or an act of compassion, we can help those around us and start a ripple effect for the greater good.

This article was written based on an interview with Oliver Gierlichs, the General Manager of Bayer in Ukraine.