EqualVoice United Spotlight

January 2025

Leadership Means Letting Go

Remo Guthauser is the CEO of Smart Schweiz GmbH and practices respectful collaboration as a leader.

“At our company, everyone is responsible for their own garden,” says Remo Guthauser, accompanied by a warm laugh. The 34-year-old has been CEO of Smart Schweiz GmbH since 2021 and leads a team of seven. He often refers to it as an eight-person team and sees himself as part of it. He understands his responsibilities as CEO, but even more so the expertise of the people around him and the essential role they play—both professionally and personally—in the larger context.

“Everyone is responsible for their own area, and I’m responsible for the strategic big picture,” he says, describing the teamwork. “Sure, I’d like to dive into the details of certain issues, but there are so many specialized areas in the automotive industry that you have to learn to let go and allow the experts to do their job.” Accepting this is a daily learning process, he admits. And while it’s challenging, he believes it contributes significantly to personal growth and the development of the company.

Trust and Understanding

For him, empathy is central to leadership. “To be a leader, you have to like people,” he says. “I had the great advantage of being able to build my team from scratch three years ago. Competent individuals who excel in their fields and also fit together as personalities.”

For him, leadership means understanding that everyone is an individual and not everyone has their best day every day. Trust and an understanding of humanity are essential for success. “Loyalty comes from being in the right place. It’s my job to create that environment, which also means enabling diversity.”

“That is why we want to change the image of the automotive industry, which is very male-dominated, conservative, and technically focused,” says Guthauser. He and his company are involved in the EqualVoice United initiative to make their internal diversity values visible to the world. “Our goal is to inspire more women to join the industry.”

A key factor in this shift, according to Guthauser, is the complete transformation of Smart into an electric mobility brand. Since 2020, Smart has been part of a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely Automobile. This has led to a reorganization of internal structures and a complete redesign of the fleet. “According to various studies, sustainability is often more important to women,” he says. “With the new electric models #1, #3, and #5, we offer the right solutions.”

Communication and Controversy

For Guthauser, living diversity is all about communication. “How quickly a stupid remark can be made. That should not be tolerated. This, too, is the responsibility of leadership. But it doesn’t mean accepting things just because ‘that’s the way it is.’ Guthauser wants his team members to engage in dialogue—to talk to each other, exchange views, and even debate different opinions on different issues. It’s all about acceptance and respect. “Showing interest in the other person to understand why they might have a different opinion or why certain things are lived differently in their culture,” he concludes. “Ideally, this leads to questioning your own beliefs.”

Guthauser himself experienced his mother as strong and independent when he was growing up, which led him to never associate this trait with a specific gender. However, what he has often encountered in his career are the different attitudes of different generations.

“It is very easy to judge people based on their gender, background, and age,” he says. “Diversity is largely about prejudice. I’m certainly a very young CEO for the automotive industry at 34, and for my employees as well.” He has great respect for their expertise, especially that of older colleagues, but flexibility is still required. “What worked well in the past may not work today. On the other hand, new isn’t always better, but it usually is,” he laughs. “So for me, equal opportunities and diversity are not just about gender equality, but above all about respecting other values and points of view.”

Change and Improvement

Asked if he would like to be his own boss, he laughs again. His answer: “Good question. I’d say I’ve learned a lot from my previous bosses. Often what you take away is what you would do better or differently.” He’s also aware that he doesn’t always get everything right in the eyes of others and his staff. “You can always improve, but of course, it’s not pleasant—especially as a leader—to be criticized. But it’s about letting go and using criticism as a basis for self-reflection and improvement.”

For him, one of the most important lessons was that leadership is not about knowing every technical detail. “And even more, it’s not about trying to solve everything that’s brought to you.” For him, this is an exciting process that is far from over. “The coming generations expect a lot from leaders, but not what I expected from my superiors. Gen Z is challenging me. Expectations are different even in my generation, and I was born in 1990. For young people, diversity in all its forms is not a question of ‘if’ but of ‘how,’ and this will determine whether a company is attractive to them. The solution is to see it as an opportunity.”

 

January, 2025

Source: This is a translation of the article originally published in HANDELSZEITUNG, EqualVoice United Special, on September 12, 2024.