TOPIC

Leadership Overview

Submitted to: Sir Sallahuddin

ANGELA MERKEL
 LETTER OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

18th August’ 2019

We would like to express our gratitude to our teacher Sir Salahuddin, for providing us with the
relevant guidance and opportunity to work on this project together which brings out the leader in
each of us.

This was a great learning experience for us, and more than that we learnt to explore ourselves and
work together as a team. We also hope that this hard work on the project is going to help us in our
personal development and in future projects.

Yours Sincerely,

 Annus Ejaz Hyder Balouch-20106

 Ali Hassan-17933
 Muhammad Omer Usman-14458
 Rishem 20065
 Roop Mati-17106
 Shahbaz Muhammad Khan-17104
 Wajiha Fatima-21764
.

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S.no Table of Content Page
1 Executive Summary 3
2 Overview of Merkel's Life 3-4
3 Personality 5-6
4 Economic Performance 6
5 Unemployment struggles 7
6 Eurozone membership 7
7 Reflection of assertiveness 8
8 Refugee Crises: A hero or traitor 10
9 Recommendation 11
10 Conclusion 11

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 Executive Summary

The report explains the leadership style of Angela Merkel and covers her political journey.
Angela Merkel is one of the first female Chancellor in Germany history. During Merkel’s tenure, her
leadership skills were challenged and tested. In this report, we have critically evaluated her personality
traits and linked her leadership style with the crises that Germany faced during her era. It is essentially
important to debate on economic performance of Merkel’s eighteen years rule. This paper provides a
360 overview of Merkel’s leadership chapters.

WHO IS ANGELA MERKEL?

EARLY LIFE OF ANGELA MERKEL
Angela Merkel who is a German politician was born Angela Dorothea with a surname of Kasner on July
17, 1954, in Hamburg, Germany. She is the eldest daughter among three siblings of a Lutheran pastor
and teacher who relocated his family east to pursue his theology studies, Merkel grew up in a rural area
north of Berlin in the then German Democratic Republic. Merkel is of German and Polish descent and
since the mid-1990s, and also has openly revealed her Polish heritage on numerous events and
described herself as a quarter Polish, and in later years her Polish background became well-known as a
result of her biography being published in 2013.

In 1968, Merkel joined the Free German Youth (FDJ), as the official communist of the youth movement
being sponsored by the ruling Marxist–Leninist Socialist Unity Party of Germany. Back then the
membership was voluntary, but those who did not join found it challenging to gain admission to higher
education, she wasn’t much participative but had a lot of curiosity in several obligatory developments
being done on Marxism-Leninism with her grades only being regarded as "sufficient".

EDUCATION OF ANGELA MERKEL

Merkel was educated at Karl Marx University, Leipzig, where she studied physics from 1973 to 1978. As
a student, she contributed in the reestablishment of the ruin of the Moritzbastei, and as project
students took the initiative of creating their own club and recreation facility on campus. At school, she
learned to speak Russian fluently, and was awarded prizes for her proficiency in Russian and
Mathematics.

At the completion of her education, Merkel pursued her career as an assistant professor at an
engineering school. As a condition for getting the job in the future. Merkel worked and studied at the

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Central Institute for Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin-Adlershof from 1978 to
1990. At the Academy of Sciences, she became a member of its FDJ secretariat

After being awarded a doctorate degree for her thesis on quantum chemistry in 1986, she worked as a
researcher and published several papers. In 1986, at the Academy of Sciences, where she was among a
few female researchers which in the future brought several opportunities for her as she was able to
travel freely to West Germany to attend a congress; she also participated in a multi-week language
course in Donetsk, in the then-Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (now part of the disputed Donetsk
People's Republic). She was convinced that a career in science would protect her from the constraints of
the East German regime.

PERSONAL AND MARITAL LIFE OF ANGELA MERKEL

In 1977, at the age of 23, Merkel, then Angela Kasner, married physics student Ulrich Merkel (born
1953) and took his surname. The marriage ended in divorce in 1982. Her second and current husband is
quantum chemist and professor Joachim Sauer, who has largely remained out of the media spotlight.
They first met in 1981, became a couple later and married privately on 30 December 1998.
She has no children, but Sauer has two adult sons from a previous marriage.

POLITICAL LIFE OF ANGELA MERKEL

The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 served as the catalyst for Merkel's political career.
Although she did not participate in the crowd celebrations the night the wall came down, but one
month later Merkel became more involved in the growing democratic movements around the country,
after joining the new party Democratic Awakening. Following the first (and only) multi-party election in
East Germany, she became the deputy spokesperson of the new pre-unification caretaker government
under Lothar de Maizière. Merkel had impressed de Maiziere with her proficient dealing with the
journalists questioning as the role of a party leader. In April 1990, Democratic Awakening merged with
the East German Christian Democratic Union, which in turn merged with its western counterpart after
reunification.

In the German federal election of 1990, the first to be held following reunification, Merkel successfully
stood for election to the Bundestag in the parliamentary constituency of Stralsund where she
successfully secured the re-election from this constituency which was afterwards renamed, in 2003 at
the seven federal elections held since then. Almost immediately following her entry into parliament,
Merkel was appointed by Chancellor Helmut Kohl to serve as Minister for Women and Youth in the
federal cabinet. In 1994, she was promoted to the position of Minister for the Environment and Nuclear
Safety, which gave her greater political visibility and a platform on which to build her personal political
career. As one of Kohl's protégées and his youngest Cabinet Minister, she was frequently referred to by
Kohl as "mein Mädchen" ("my girl").

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 An Overview of Angela’s Personality
Ethics & Duty
Angela Merkels Lutheran belief ("she calls it an innate compass") is reflected in her unexciting style and
instincts: debt is bad; supporting the needy, good. Ethically, she thinks, not ideologically. "I am rather
liberal, somewhat social-Christian, somewhat conservative," she said in 2009. For Richter, Konstantin

On June 27, when she met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Merkel was also seen
shaking, but her representative said she was fine and later went on with her planned trip to Japan for a
G20 summit. At the moment, a public official informed Reuters that it was more of a psychological
problem as she desperately attempted to prevent repeating it. Merkel walked directly into three days of
tortuous discussions in Brussels after her journey to Japan to decide on a fresh group of nominees for
top employment in the European Union – a package that strained her coalition government.

Merkel is known for her amazing work ethics and has a reputation for outlasting other EU summit
leaders with her capacity to concentrate deep into the night on the details of complicated debates.

In November 2016, when announcing that she would seek a fourth term as chancellor, Merkel said: “It is
a decision not just for an election campaign but about the next four years ... if health allows it.”

Merkel has commented in the past that she is a "sleep camel" who can go days with only a few hours of
sleep as long as she receives a weekend complete night of sleep. She's supposed to go on vacation later
in the summer. She is a highly ethical individual and could not see any shortcomings. After a party
financing scandal in 1999, she turned against even her own mentor Helmut Kohl Helmut

Authenticity
The distinctive diamond-shaped hand gesture of Chancellor Angela Merkel, known in German as the
"Merkel-rhombus," was the first thing most Germans tended to associate with the physical appearance
of the legislator for many years. Indeed, on some of the 2013 campaign posters of her party, her
trademark gesture even featured. It symbolized the imperturbable, steadfast personality of Merkel in a
sense.
At some point, many Germans started to refer affectionately to Merkel as "Mutti," a mother's
affectionate German word. But some contend that depending on the quasi-maternal role of Merkel's
management.

She is a remarkable individual who understands who she is. She's not trying to be anything else. She's an
genuine, critical leader. She has a set of powerful principles, and she knows exceedingly well the history
of Germany, partly because she comes from East Germany. So she has some humility that arises from
her biography. She's fighting for her people and her country. She is an analyst, a fierce politician, and a
very qualified politician. That's not how she started, but she's definitely become that. And on the world
level she understands how to operate.

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She holds her values and opinions real not because they are socially or politically acceptable, but
because she has gone through a self-reflection phase and proved her own beliefs.
Angela Merkel showed it wasn't about the "wow" factor of anyone else, it was about finding your own.
Without any drama, she lets her words stand alone.

Authentic management is an important attitude for any inspirational speaker, as Angela Merkel has
shown us. Discovering your actual beliefs is a challenge, but once you've grown deep, genuine
leadership and authentic communication bring great rewards

Humility
She is a people’s person, very down to earth and is acknowledged as a genuine, principled individual
who does what she says, always putting the people up first. This characteristic of personality makes her
more predictable and inspires trust in the German nation and culture.

In her professional and private lives, Merkel's humility is noted. Her office is like the work setting of any
manager. Ministers, MPs, and staff members say she's available and pleasant. She does not shine at the
cost of her entourage, unlike other rulers. Angela Merkel leads an almost ordinary life outside the work
environment. Shopping in the store is often seen, though flanked by her bodyguards.

It seems that Angela Merkel is imbued with a sense of obligation to her nation. Having grown up in a
torn Germany and in the part that suffered most from World War II circumstances, Merkel does not
appear to be obsessed with her own profession or with creating a name in History for herself. She's
there to serve her nation first and not to serve herself.

Performance of Economy during Merkel’s Tenure

Angela Merkel's Strategy may more seem to be as Luck
First of all, Unemployment in Germany stood 12.6 percent in 2005, the highest since the era of Adolf
Hitler in 1933. After 2005, it kept a sluggish downstream and resorted to 4.9 per cent in 2018, which
undoubtedly highlights the prosperity of Ms. Merkel’s era. Prior to Ms. Merkel’s era, Germany's laws
made it difficult to lay off employees and decrease wages.

The reunification of East and West Germany heightened unemployment. The economy absorbed
workers from the former Communist bloc. Most importantly, the German culture reinforces saving for a
rainy day rather than current spending which would boost the economy.

However, this achievement in reducing unemployment is argued to be influenced somewhat by the

social impact of the reforms started in the early 2000. Those reforms produced “mini-jobs”, i.e., limited

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hours and free from the protection of regular jobs, with the significant effect having many people
constituting together full-time employment with clusters of part-time descriptions.

Secondly, in 2005, the budget deficit was 3.5 percent of GDP, however, in 2019, the estimated Budget
Surplus would peak to 3 percent of output.

Thirdly, the Current account surplus of 2 percent was exhibited in 2005, nevertheless, in 2019 it will be
near to 8 percent. Last but not the least, Ms. Merkel protected Germany against mortgage crisis by
keeping the legacy of exporting more and importing almost zilch as compared to the exports.

Current account surplus of Germany, which is the largest in the world, has been attacked from both
Europe and outside. From a European perspective, running this much large surplus unbalances the
Eurozone. However, international world argues that Germany does not import enough from its
neighboring countries. Germany’s surplus is one of the reasons why Donald Trump is reacting to what he
argues is an unfair relationship between the US and Europe in terms of Trade.

The threat of tariffs on imported cars seems to be targeted directly to Germany, however other
countries including UK and Japan have been caught in the crossfire.

Germany Overcame Struggles with Unemployment

The reason behind Germany’s huge Trade Surplus, is that it produces what people in foreign countries
want and need to buy. Moreover, doing so at a competent price because it has managed the incurrence
of its costs better than other countries have.

Beneficial Membership in Eurozone

Germany is benefitting from its membership in the EU by adopting the Euro since the power of the euro
means interest rates stay low, which has boosted investment.

Many argue that Germany profits the most from its membership in Eurozone. Its strong manufacturing
base has plenty to export to other countries in the Eurozone and does so immensely cheaper. That gives
German companies a competitive edge. That creates progress, enriching German consumers with more
money to spend locally. As a result, the local market recently became more significant to economic
growth.

The companies that have contributed enormously to the GDP of Germany are:

 Volkswagen Group (Automotive Manufacturing Company)

 Daimler AG (Automotive Manufacturing Company)
 Allianz (Financial Services Company)
 BMW Group (Automotive Manufacturing Company)
 Siemens (Industrial Manufacturing Company)
 Adidas Group (Sportswear Manufacturing Company)
 Bayer Ag (Pharmaceutical Company)

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  Deutsche Bahn (Railway Company)
 BASF (Chemical Company)
 Bosch (Engineering and Electronics Company)
 DHL Express (Logistics Company)
 Munich Re Group (Reinsurance Company)
 SAP SE (Software Company)

All of the above information regarding the economy of Germany during Angela Merkel’s era can also be
inferred as a success of entrepreneurial setting of the business giants within the German boundaries.

Leadership Style – The Merkelism

Reflection of Assertiveness in Leadership Style:
An assertive leader ensures consensus of team members and concludes the outcome on mutual
agreements. Evaluating Angela Merkel political career, she came from a non-political background, joined
a male dominant political party in west, while she had roots of eastern Germany. It was essential for her
to be assertive and values the opinion of every team member. She couldn’t eventually afford any
enemies at such initial stage of her political career.

Her political position was challenged multiple times during crises such as euro crises, Ukraine refugees &
Brexit. She proved herself a network-oriented leader throughout. Perhaps, she sets an example of being
cooperative and assertive in leadership style, yet emerging Germany a powerful state in west.

“Will we be able to continue working well together or will we all fall back into our individual roles? I
call on us, and I hope we will find a common position on this, let’s make the world better together and
then things will get better for every single one of us.”

“So, one has to try to find compromises with mutual respect, but also with a clear opinion. That’s
politics – always looking to find a common way forward.”

– Angela Merkel

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Consensus & Precaution
Angela Merkel is an intelligent lady. She plays smartly in every situation. She does not over react to any
situation. She takes her full time to think rationally before taking a decision. Once she took a decision.
She tried to make it implement quickly. She used her scientific approaches in decision making. Her most
decisions are based on rationality and analytical thinking.

She always tries to understand the problem first then give the judgment about the problem. She focuses
on pros and cons of a decision. She always focuses on future. She takes decisions to keep future in mind.
Her some decisions may be not looks good today but they will help her nation in future. Over the years
her decision could be seen as proactive approach. She never took decisions alone. She takes opinion of
everyone and makes consensus among all then make a decision.

She never takes credit of anything, she always give credit to his team for success. She plays at safe side.
She looks for middle ground in dealing with people. She tries to keep everyone on same page and avoid
conflict.

Data Driven
Merkel is not driven by the ideology said by journalist Jacqueline Boysen who wrote biography on her life
when she was not chancellor of Germany. She takes decisions on the basis of data, statistics and facts. If
reason and argument suggest a certain decision, Merkel can ignore ideology or limiting party.

Analytical
When looking at other political issues she looks at all the edges to understand it logically and analytically.
Merkel does not go by hunches but finds out what others think (especially exerts). She studies and issue
very carefully and critically and does not make right off the decisions. Her decisions are based on the
principal and logic and leads in a direct, assertive manner.

Directive
Leadership style is the most important and appropriate one for leaders to choose. These contingencies
are skill and experience, Locus of control, task structure and team dynamics. By analyzing these four
contingencies we can conclude a clear leadership style of Angela Merkel, although things are quite
different from managing companies or organizations when talking about leading the government or a
country. Merkel and her government deal with every day not only routine they have to face emergencies
and unforeseen problems under these circumstances the directive style is the best way to lead the country
and its people.

She sticks to her country objective and exhibit shared vision for her people. She lowered the
unemployment from 11.3% to 5.3% and led Germany to survive from financial crisis. In this directive and

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achievement oriented style of leadership she wins the heart of German people and able to get most of
the votes.

De Facto
In 2015, Time Magazine has idolized her as De Facto leader of the European Union throughout her tenure
as Chancellor. She has been twice named the world’s second most powerful person, the highest rank ever
achieved by a woman. She was heavily criticized for her decision of letting in 1 million refugees in EU when
nobody welcomed them; it was Germany who stood up for the refugees. The top leaders of the world
appreciated this effort of her and this emerged herself as empathic person and gained a positive image of
Germany. She saved the whole Europe from mortgage crises which makes her not legal but understood
leader of Europe.

Refugee Crises: Merkel- A hero or Traitor?

Merkel was heavily criticized for letting n around 1 million refugees in 2015. Her decision was under one
of the most hyped controversies. This eventually tested her leadership style. Expecting an unexpected
surprise and reciprocating it in the most optimal outcome was Merkel’s aim.

However, she was widely acclaimed to improve Germany’s image in world. The top leaders from globe
appreciated her move and since then, Germany started to focus on word ‘’Culture’’. Portraying
continuously in debates and emphasizing heavily that how welcoming culture Germany has fostered.

There were mixed reviews among Germans, few called her traitor to nation while other hosted refugees
and provided food & shelter. But if we evaluate her decision, she was with no choice, except to let in
refugees, when they are already on border. Closing doors for them would have been a big question mark
on Germany and more than that on Merkel’s reputation. She played wisely, letting in refugees and
emerging herself an empathic person towards world and gaining a positive image of Germany.

The question is, will Germany be able to deal with the problems that comes with refugees? Considering,
the majority of migrants are non tech and semi-skilled labour. The communication gap hence will play a
vital role t bridging the distance. To get the probationary for job process at least takes 30 months in
Germany. How the living will be funded? How the massive population will be utilized to generate
effective income in country’s economy? The risk of illegal migration and future prospect of refugees
comes under so many questions.

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 MERKEL TAUGHT US LESSONS

Team player: She has been a team player and has mentioned it at many forums that the only
way to go forward is to find common grounds but that stern on the fact and that is politics.

Simplicity: Being from a humble background of torn Germany. Markel has been very simple in
her lone voice. She is a very private person but she tends to have simplicity in her stance and
her ambition.

Deontological: She was born in West Germany but grown up in East Germany and after the
reunification she had always the responsibility towards the Germany since saw it broken down
and separated in her childhood. She take it as a duty to serve for her country and ethically drive
her politics.

Affiliative: She has been affiliative throughout her political career. To keep the moral ground
intact between people and develop ethical relationship has been one of stances. She Was
initially a Catholic christen and lather converted nevertheless her sense of morality plays a vital
role in life.

Assertive: In the male dominant society, Merkel has raised her voice and had been firm on
her decision once made. She may take a lot of time in deciding but once it is don’t, she makes
sure that is implemented.

Leadership Level: 4 (People Development): As a leader she seeks mutual consensus for
decision and you value the opinion of others. Ensuring the peers values are distributed equally
amongst all.

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 RECOMMENDATION & CONCLUSION:

LACK OF VISION
Angela Merkel’s approach to a problem is to sit it Out (To not be involved directly into suggesting
solutions to the confronted problems). Rather than entertaining strategic ideas of a strategic mission or
historic vision, she would be inclined to address today’s problems, in a way that validates the existence
of her power.

Many of Ms’ Merkel’s critics claim that she is indecisive, unaware and always resort to public opinion.
They describe her not as a Strategist but as a Tactician, with no long term vision and being unable to
challenge or change the old German political weather.

In some of her acts, it can be inferred that Ms. Merkel is a cynical administrator, who is Machiavellian in
her stunting of political opponents and who acts specifically only in the way she believes will most
inspire the voters.

LACK OF BLUE OCEAN LEADERSHIP

As previously said that Ms. Merkel was one of those who would manage to sustain her power today and
disregarding tomorrow, it can be further highlighted that even though she has been sedulous in
modernizing the Germany’s stance in terms of Information Technology by affiliating the relevant
organizations of Germany with Chinese technocratic authorities and alarming the locals to be inclined
towards the betterment of digitalization, she still is unable to accept that modernizing in IT alone has no
better future until or unless she herself brings enhancement in the political weather of Germany which
should be in concordance with her “modernizing the digitalization”.

The politicians of today have to be innovative and proactive and should be able enough to diagnose the
gaps today, fill them tomorrow, and communicate it to the mass day after tomorrow. But as inferred by
her intensions, she gets influenced by the other powerful economies such as China and USA, and do her
best to import their own solutions to Germany’s local problems. As suggested by many neutral political
figures, she must diagnose the local disease and figure out the ultimate remedy rather than importing
the non-relevant solutions from international world, as she recently visited NEC Corporation in Tokyo
just to get familiar with the bio-metric technology

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