Guide to leadership at GIZ
How to approach this guide
The guide is aimed at line managers. Where the text
refers to managers, it means persons with line manage-
ment responsibility. This guide sets out the expectations
placed on managers to contribute to successful operations
and play a role in shaping the company’s transformation
process as defined in the 2023-2028 strategy cycle.
Fundamental to the understanding of leadership at GIZ
is the balance between the necessary clarity of guidance
for all staff and their scope for active participation. This
requires results-based, cooperative leadership within indi-
vidual teams, as well as in interaction with neighbouring
teams and other organisational units. This document
refers to the latter as Cooperation in Leadership.
The guide provides orientation by developing guidelines
as well as by asking questions designed to serve as a
mirror in individual work contexts. The questions should
be seen as an invitation to seek answers to matters of
guidance through individual and joint reflection. In line
with this, the guide features two types of boxes:
The blue boxes represent guidance (orientation). These
are the guidelines which GIZ, as an evolving organisa-
tion, has established on its path to the future.
The green boxes provide key questions which manag-
ers (and their cooperation partners) should ask them-
selves, both independently and in dialogue, in order to
translate the guidance into concrete action. An honest
answer to a question will always pinpoint individual
behaviour in terms of the guidance. The level of ambi-
tion here is to ensure a positive contribution to GIZ’s
transformation towards a successful future.
0. Change, shaping change, and leadership:
preliminary remarks
Change must be actively shaped if we are to strength-
en both our ability to deliver and our contribution to a
future worth living.
Leadership in this context is imperative. It provides guid-
ance and certainty in dealing with uncertainty; it ensures
the ability to make decisions; and it establishes a frame-
work for the involvement and health of staff. It fosters
an environment that enables everyone to develop their
potential. Leadership sends out important signals which
are essential for good cooperation. At the same time,
successful cooperation supports leadership in its central
functions. Cooperation and leadership are therefore
two sides of the same coin.
Cooperation across departmental boundaries, working
in a networked environment, a mindful and respectful
leadership dialogue and a willingness on the part of all to
take responsibility have become essential for our future
viability. As part of the hierarchy, all managers have a
part to play in shaping the change.
We are aware that this places a great deal of pressure
on managers. The workload on all staff has been increas-
ing appreciably for many years. At the same time, a steady
growth in the complexity of our work means that change
processes have become increasingly difficult to predict.
But this situation also presents an opportunity, because
new possibilities are created, if we work together as a
company to find appropriate ways to deal with uncertain-
ty. So it is more important than ever for all managers to
act in the interests of the company, and that in difficult
situations, in particular, for there to be a strong sense of
certainty that we can rely on each other.
To meet these challenges, the Principles of Cooperation
and Leadership were developed, applied and assimi-
lated in practice over the course of a four-year project
from 2018 to 2021. When this project was completed in
late 2021, the principles were transferred to the regular
structure and became guidelines for our leadership style.
Cooperation and leadership are therefore an indispen-
sable and ongoing part of our corporate culture. And
the Management Board would like to see this culture
strengthened on a daily basis. While managers continue
to play a key role in this respect, the willingness of staff
to take responsibility is no less important.
Leadership means facing up to change with an active
desire to shape it.
Shaping the future means making desirable futures
more likely by acting in the here and now.
What stories do I tell about cooperation and leader-
ship? What does the way I tell the stories say about
me? How do my stories contribute to dealing with
change/transformation? What effect does it have on
others? Do my actions match my stories?
1. How do the Principles of Cooperation and
Leadership support the core functions of
leadership?
As complexity increases, so does the need for guidance,
to ensure a rapid response capacity. Decisions are made
at the various corporate levels. Leadership is imperative
to maintaining coherence in the overall system: it
establishes the framework within which actors move and
actively contributes to shaping it. Leadership provides the
necessary certainty and encourages staff to take respon-
sibility. In a networked working environment, it ensures
that the various decisions are made and intermeshed
within a common framework.
As a social phenomenon, the digital transformation has
increased the speed of change processes and triggered
greater pressure to innovate. But it has also created other
networking opportunities which we must learn to deal
with.
2
In this extremely complex context, leadership fulfils
important core functions.
1. It provides orientation and certainty in dealing with
uncertainty.
2. It ensures the ability to make decisions.
3. It establishes a framework for the involvement and
health of staff.
4. It fosters an environment that enables everyone to
develop their potential.
The manager ensures that these functions of leader-
ship are met. To this end, leadership creates spaces for
results-based dialogue, so that the team can play an active
part in the process. The Principles of Cooperation and
Leadership support the specific shaping of this dia-
logue, because they guide our focus towards...
• a shared understanding of the meaning of our common
actions;
• a balanced diversity of perspective to strengthen our
understanding of problems and solutions;
• the different needs and skills of those involved with
regard to their leadership;
• space available to adapt and create innovative solutions.
Judicious use of these principles for the core functions
of leadership results in transparent decisions that can be
implemented consistently. Openness in dialogue with
other teams and organisational units about cooperation
in leadership ensures that these decisions contribute to
the overall success of the company.
A shared understanding of the Principles of Cooper-
ation and Leadership helps us to take on current and
future challenges, guarantee our capacity to deliver,
provide innovative services, meet the pressure of
political expectations and survive in the face of in-
creasing competition.
Leadership means acting in the interests of the com-
pany as a whole as well as standing up for the inter-
ests of its staff.
A manager ensures that the core functions of leader-
ship are fulfilled.
Managers are in close contact with their teams, their
peers and their own line managers, in order to fulfil
the core functions of leadership.
 Am I clear about the contribution my team/organisa-
tional unit is making to the transformation of GIZ?
How does transformation put pressure on my team/
my organisational unit to adapt? How well are we
positioned in terms of cooperation? As a manager, do
I set out clear general conditions? Do I consider my
cooperation behaviour to be exemplary?
Which of my actions have a positive impact on the
core functions of leadership?
How and when do I seek feedback on whether I am
fulfilling the core functions of leadership?
How do I deal with tensions in the cooperation envi-
ronment? What does it take for me to actively address
these?
What might guidance look like beyond clarity of mes-
sage? What do I need in order for others to feel guided
by my actions?
2. Leadership and delegation of
responsibility
Cooperation and leadership are not synonyms for staff
(cooperation) and hierarchy (leadership). Staff have
potential that should be used, because they both seek and
deserve the right to take responsibility for the company’s
vision for the future.
Leadership therefore includes the delegation of selected
tasks and processes, but does not mean that responsi-
bility for results is transferred to the team. Specifically,
this means that managers can delegate individual tasks
and processes, but in principle they remain responsible in
terms of accountability for the quality of the results.
There are different levels of delegation, however, which
range between two extremes: ‘the manager communicates
a decision without further explanation’ and ‘the team is
completely self-organised and informs the manager of
its results’. The appropriate level of delegation must be
explored with support from the Principles of Cooperation
and Leadership. This is a management task, as described
in the aforementioned core functions.
3
Responsibility for the quality of the overall results
always lies with the manager, even if tasks and pro-
cesses can be delegated.
It is the responsibility of management to define the
level of delegation appropriate for the task, the situa-
tion and the team during the leadership dialogue.
Managers must have the courage not to prescribe con-
crete results, but to take responsibility for the results
of the team (within a set framework).
How much time do I spend on the leadership dialogue?
And how much time do I waste by failing to invest
properly in good leadership dialogue?
What circumstances make it easy or difficult for me to
delegate tasks for which I ultimately take responsibil-
ity for the outcome?
What would be the next logical step for me to lever-
age the opportunities afforded by delegation?
What contributes positively to my willingness to take
responsibility for the outcomes of delegated tasks that
I do not find acceptable? What helps me to take
responsibility for something over which I have no
direct influence?
What personal experiences have made it easier or
more difficult for me to delegate tasks?
3. Ongoing development of the understanding
of line management: cooperation in leadership
In recent years, an increasing number of situations have
arisen that pose new challenges to our familiar under-
standing of line management. The following two scenari-
os are particularly common:
• Key elements of global project approaches are imple-
mented locally in our partner countries through service
packages. The Code of Cooperation exists to define
the interaction between our regional departments
and the Global Programmes Department (GloBe). An
important element here relates to the leadership of
those colleagues who work on implementing the service
packages in direct contact with local partner organi-
sations. As a rule, line management responsibility for
these colleagues in the respective country is held by
officers responsible for implementation, while responsi-
bility for the commission of the overall project remains
with GloBe.
• Many processes (new services, dialogue with commis- Good dialogue strengthens relationships and enhances
sioning parties, implementation of focus projects, etc.) the reliability of joint action.
are now implemented by cross-departmental teams. As
It is the task of managers, in cooperation with those
a rule, process responsibility lies with managers who
who exercise overarching responsibility for the pro-
are not line managers or have this role only for certain
cess/commission or with expert responsibility, to en-
team members. Conversely, the respective line manag-
sure the necessary clarity of mutual expectations. This
ers are either not directly involved in the process or the
is an essential prerequisite for successful cooperation.
process responsibility is shared.

Both scenarios give rise to new questions about staff

management, including staff development and perfor- How do I approach dialogue with other people, when
mance evaluation, strategic process design, responsibility we seem to be pursuing different goals?
for overall results, control of resources, etc. The under- What circumstances/conditions increase the likelihood
standing of line management is therefore extended to of my shaping the leadership dialogue outlined above
scenarios in which leadership is necessarily triangular in in line with the Principles of Cooperation and Leader-
nature to enable flexible service provision to succeed at all ship?
in the complex environment. A leadership triangle in-
How do I cooperate with others in the event of a per-
volves the interaction of staff, line managers and persons
ceived conflict of objectives? What would others say
with overarching responsibility for the process/commis-
about my cooperation behaviour?
sion or with expert responsibility.
How do I deal with interpersonal disturbances?
This creates considerable need for additional coordina-
What does it take to achieve sufficient clarity of
tion and regulation. The fundamental question here is
mutual expectations?
whether this need is met by additional rules or a common
understanding of cooperation in the company’s interest,
by applying the principles of cooperation and leadership.
In view of the increasing complexity and nuanced nature
4. Invitation to share learning
of specific situations which require coordination, the
company’s decision is clear: prescribe only as many rules
Learning is what makes successful transformation
as necessary, and beyond that trust in the Principles of
possible. That’s why we extend an invitation to everyone
Cooperation in Leadership and the guidelines presented
to get involved in our exchange via the Practitioners’
here.
Platform. The platform gives people an opportunity to
share experiences from our different partner countries
This goes hand in hand with the need for trust in the
and organisational units. Our understanding of leader-
ability of managers and employees to cooperate and shape
ship and cooperation is constantly evolving in dialogue
the company, as well as in the company’s planned trans-
with the Management Board, Strategy Committee and
formation process towards a new logic: guaranteeing the
Management Committee.
company’s performance by mainstreaming overarching
process responsibilities.
• KuF Practitioners and Ambassadors (MS Teams room)
• Cooperation and Leadership on IDA

Responsible:
GIZ, KuF team
Published by:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Authors:
Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Sonja Berdau (Management Board office)
Eva Gierth (Human Relations)
Registered offices Joachim Göske (GloBe)
Bonn and Eschborn
With contributions from:
Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg Bettina Printz (Corporate Communications)
65760 Eschborn, Germany Bosse Alexander Klama (Corporate Communications)
T +49 61 96 79-0 KuF project team
F +49 61 96 79-11 15
E info@giz.de Design/Layout:
I www.giz.de Iris Christmann (cmuk), Wiesbaden

Eschborn, May 2022