Bernd-Georg Spies joins Wisnio to accelerate data-based team diagnostics
Ott Niggulis
Wisnio is excited to announce that Dr. Bernd-Georg Spies is joining us as a Senior Advisor.
As a former Managing Director of a leading executive search, leadership, and succession firm, Spies has over 20 years of experience placing senior-level leaders around the world.
Throughout his career, Bernd focused his energy on trying to deeply assess and understand organisations and their particular culture. Where the company is coming from, headed towards, and any problems and challenges that arise from that.
This deep understanding of organisations helps not only to identify qualified candidates who could do the job knowledge- and experience-wise, but also candidates who would fit into existing teams.
Notable assignments:
Restructuring and reorientation program of a major European energy company. A complete leadershipt assessment contributing towards a new strategy for one of the world's most important energy, oil, and gas companies.
The Head of North America for a major European industrial manufacturing company.
Extensive work in the energy sector in Russia.
Numerous CEO’s for listed companies across Europe, notably in the UK and Germany.
“The issue of team fit or how different people fit together to form a high performing team has always been at the forefront of my endeavours.”
Bernd-Georg Spies
The changing face of hiring
Throughout his career, Bernd conducted several hundred search assignments over some 20 years.
The world changed a lot during that time, and so did the management teams and boardrooms he was involved with.
Overall, management has become more demanding in a globalised polycentric world. It used to be a male-dominated field with overbearing and towering CEOs. Not anymore.
“From the first moment, I learned that all these people are only humans and that there's not much point in turning them into God-like creatures. I saw a culture change from an ego-driven charismatic CEO who was revered and admired to a much more pragmatic inclusive style of leadership”
Bernd-Georg Spies
These changes have led to a more open-minded and productive corporate leadership culture. Leadership has become more egalitarian and moved towards a more pragmatic style.
A decision toolbox for managers and teams
With changing demographics and ever-growing diversity, the issue of team fit or making sure that leadership teams understand each other and can work together effectively is more important than ever.
On the executive search industry side, clients are moving from a short-term assignment-based model to a medium-term interaction-based one. From “I’ve got an assignment for you” to “I want you to be the chosen advisor on leadership and organisational questions for years to come.”
All this leads to a clear need in the market for solutions that not only analyse one candidate and then another, toward solutions that can analyse leadership teams, team members, and candidates alike.
All this leads to a clear need in the market for solutions that not only analyse one candidate and then another, toward solutions that can analyse leadership teams, team members, and candidates alike. A tool that can augment and bring data and analytics into decision making.
For Spies, this tool is Wisnio. At Wisnio, we use science, data, and analytics to analyse leadership teams, team members, and candidates to make better hiring decisions, build high performing teams, and improve onboarding.
We turn black or white management problems into a traffic lights system that alerts users of potential issues so that managers can deal with them in a constructive way.
“Wisnio gives managers a toolbox for a sophisticated intervention in trying to make teams work better together. It’s not just about whether that person fits or doesn’t fit, it’s more like an alert system. With Wisnio, you can turn cultural or other behavioural value-based inconsistencies into a management issue. And deal with them much more effectively”.
Dr. Bernd-Georg Spies
We are thrilled to welcome Bernd to our team and look forward to using his experience working with top executives around the world to build even better solutions for our clients and partners.
