Berlin Leadership Insights – under this name, we organized a one-week learning journey through the Berlin and German Associations for 22 US executives from Cleveland. The encounters between the US executives and Berlin executives were fantastic and exciting.

Here are some insights:
– With the program, we wanted to give our friends from Cleveland the opportunity to get an overview. What better place to do this than the Panorama Restaurant atop the TV tower, Germany’s tallest building? At the welcome dinner on the first evening, the US executives met with Berlin executives from our network.

– We used the chapel of the Gedächtniskirche, the landmark of West Berlin, as our venue. Here, in the immediate vicinity of the hotel, we started and ended the program and met for interim meetings. This included a discussion with Dr. Senior Consistory Councilor Dr. Clemens Bethge about the church’s charitable work, the loss of members, resistance and accomplices in the churches during the Nazi era, and tax financing of the church today.

– We met Claudia Buckenmaier in the ARD studio in the capital. As head of the Washington studio of Germany’s largest television broadcaster until 2022, her job was to explain US society and politics to the German public. In our conversation with the group from Cleveland, she was able to provide insights into German society.

– Interesting, especially for us as the German organizing team, was the visit to the US Embassy with Cherrie Daniels, US Cultural Attaché for Germany, and the views on German society and similarities and differences with US society discussed here.

– The insights into the realities of life for minorities, which we organized in the form of small group sessions, were both exciting and sobering. The participating US executives had the opportunity to choose between a meeting with insights into the work of an organization that supports African families (Joliba), insights into Jewish life in Berlin (with the Jewish Orthodox community Kahal Adass Yisroel), or insights into Muslim life in the city (Islamic Federation).

– We organized comparisons of the respective leadership contexts in individual meetings, for example, bringing together the managing director of the Cleveland Zoo, Brian Zimmermann, with the managing director of the Berlin Zoological Garden and Tierpark, Dr. Andreas Knierim. We also organized a meeting between Joseph Cimperman, president of the Cleveland-based NGO Global Cleveland, and Prof. Dr. Ulrike Kostka, chairwoman of Caritas Berlin. We also arranged for Prof. Dr. Robert Fischer, a Cleveland professor and chair of the master’s program in Non-Profit Management, to attend a lecture by Prof. Dr. John Siegel at the Berlin School of Economics and Law.

– Our excursion to Slubice in Poland was also very stimulating, with meetings with interesting people on both sides of the border, such as the mayor of the German border town of Frankfurt/Oder, René Wilke, and on the Polish side the founder of the Collegium Polonicum, Dr. Wojciechowski.

This list could be continued with several more inspiring encounters. Many similarities were identified (such as the divisions in society) and differences were also noted (such as the organization and financing of the community).

Many of our American friends were certainly surprised by how openly Germany deals with its Nazi past. It was positively acknowledged that Germany commemorates its past with a Holocaust Memorial in the center of its capital, numerous museums and memorials, and even stumbling blocks.

Also on our program day in Poland, which lost a sixth of its population in the Second World War, an important topic was how the two countries found each other in a united Europe and what the relationship is like today.

But also a critical examination of the merging of East and West Germany, Germany’s integration into the EU, the issue of environmental protection and CO2 neutrality as well as the strengthening of right-wing forces were topics that were repeatedly discussed during the program week.

We thank our friends from Cleveland for their interest and openness in the program, for asking questions and sharing their perspectives. We also thank the many people who contributed to the success of the program through numerous encounters. It was especially nice to see so many alumni from our network come forward and invite guests from Cleveland to dinner at their homes.

 

Here is some feedback from the participants:

“Leadership Berlin comes to the table with a full smorgasbord of learning/experiential opportunities! They provided a direct look into Berlin/Germany’s political climate, educational programming, employment & economic conditions, religion, and leadership focuses! For that unique end to end experience/exposure and to have been asked to their table is an honor/privilege – one that I am eternally grateful for!”
Brian Lane, President and CEO,  Cleveland Center for Health Affairs 

“Excellent week in Berlin. I think the team crushed it. The experience was extraordinary. The dynamic duo is to be commended for the work they did to showcase Leadership Berlin.”
Brian Zimmerman, CEO, Cleveland Metroparks

“Leadership Berlin opened doors for our group from Cleveland that would never have been open to us without their efforts. This helped each of us have a greater, richer experience to know and better understand Germany’s history and culture. Berlin is a large and complex city with both current and historical problems. A better understanding of those problems helps us from the U.S. face and understand current problems we are having in our own country.”
Jan Roller, Attorney, Perez Morris

“I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Tabea, Bernard, Hannah, Benjamin, and the staff for all their hard work in organizing the agenda for us. Additionally, everyone was incredibly kind, compassionate, and knowledgeable about their community. I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in visiting Berlin. Thank you for everything!“
Jasmin Santana, City Council Member Ward 14, Cleveland, Ohio

“The speakers through the days were excellent – I would highly recommend this program to others – mostly getting to know the personality of Berlin and how it has been resilient through the centuries was fascinating and how it has thrived not just survived – the attention the team put into making each program thoughtful was incredible – thank you very much !”
Joe Cimperman, President and CEO, Global Cleveland

“Leadership Berlin partnered with the Cleveland Leadership Center to put together an immersive agenda where we learned so much about the city, its past, present, and future.  Bernard, Tabea and the entire team is authentic, respectful, and celebrates each other. There is nothing more fulfilling that being surrounded by diverse, bright and mission driven people who want to improve our communities. Thank you for an incredible week and new friendships.”
Laura J Mimura , Senior Vice President, KeyBank Corporate Communications

„I decided to go on the trip to Berlin because I wanted to learn how to put together an immersive experiential international trip for leaders and I learned from the very best! Their impeccable attention to detail, cultural awareness, guidance, warmth and care for everything they organized showed in every activity and program each day. Everything was carefully designed with each of us in mind, with the depth and breadth of a semester-long college course! This was a life changing experience that has provided me with so many insights into history and culture and is helping me continue enriching my level of appreciation and understanding of global issues. Gracias, Leadership Berlin“.
Marcia V. Moreno, President, AmMore Consulting LLC

“My Leadership Cleveland/Berlin experience was both informative and transformative. From the tours to the talks, my eyes were open to the cultural similarities and differences of our respective cities. Especially after the one-on-ones, host experience, and small group visits, I came away with ideas and insights that I quickly and enthusiastically shared with my colleagues. I hope others will have the opportunity to experience (in some way) what we did during our week in Berlin.”
Montrie Rucker-Adams, Chief Visibility Officer, Visibility Marketing, Inc.

“An outstanding experience that notably provided the opportunity to interact with a wide-ranging selection of real people in Germany and Poland. We became acquainted with German society and politics and learned about the experience of minority groups. The Leadership Berlin team showed great care in customizing the experience for us and shepherding us through a whirlwind week of activities. Thank you!”
Robert Fischer, Associate Professor, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences of CWRU

“The Leadership Berlin team’s planning and guidance during the week were outstanding.”
Sam Steinhouse, Principal, SPS Management Advisers

And we would especially like to thank the people who helped prepare and accompany the program days:

– Hannah Schneider, who moved to Berlin as an American a few years ago and impressed and touched people as a city guide

– Eka Neumann, who works as a discrimination-sensitive coach and was available to answer the participants’ questions about Germany, contributing her perspectives and communicating context with commitment

– Elke Freiling, who, as an intercultural trainer and consultant, particularly supports delegation trips from Asia to Germany and provided the content of the event app in the background

– Benjamin Dörfel, who as an intern was very committed to the organization and support of the program week

It was a pleasure to organize and participate in many exciting encounters during the week. We hope to see you again sometime!