Anton Duvall

Insights from the Chief Financial Officer, Americas, Siemens Building Technologies.

He admits to being too frank sometimes. His greatest career challenge was restructuring a French company … without being able to speak French. He also has no time for stereotypes.

As CFO of Siemens Building Technologies’ operations across the Americas, Anton Duvall, CGMA, CIMA, has a lot to say about leadership, mentorship, and motivation. And given that he’s spent his career leading teams in the U.K., Belgium, France, Switzerland, and the U.S., it’s a good idea to take note.

Early on in his career, Duvall was “assigned” a mentor. As you might imagine, this faltered quickly because the relationship wasn’t a natural fit. Luckily, Duvall connected with another mentor who understood his goals and better matched his personality. From this experience, he learned that both the mentor and mentee need to be on the same page, interested in learning from each other, and willing to be honest. As he says, “Mentorship works best when it’s a fluid relationship and for the right reasons.”

Drawing from those early lessons, Duvall today continually aims to create open and nurturing environments for his employees. “Honesty and transparency are the keys to creating a motivating work environment,” Duvall explains, sticking to his no-nonsense approach to leadership.

Although he admits that he can come across as too frank, Duvall makes it a personal mission to provide quick, timely feedback with the intent of making everyone better. His key to this approach is to be even-handed with everyone. Unlike many leaders, however, Duvall expects employees to voice opinions and share ideas without reserve in return. This “speak up” culture keeps the team on the same page and motivated. It also helps foster organic mentor relationships where both parties benefit.

Duvall is often quoted because people development and motivation is of great importance to him, but beyond that, he’s truly fascinated by the impact mentoring can have on everyone involved. It’s not surprising then that Duvall’s professional passion and motivation revolves around the challenges of change management and turning around failing businesses.

One of his greatest career challenges to date was taking on the restructuring of a French company without being able to speak the language—a barrier for sure, but a learning experience as well. Duvall overcame that challenge, working closely with an assistant as a translator, and left with much love and appreciation for the culture and country.

Subsequently, Duvall, a U.K. native, has spent much of his career working with other cultures here and abroad. Knowing the challenges firsthand, his advice to others is simple: “Don’t believe stereotypes. People’s basic needs are always the same and their motivations are always the same, even if they look different. Take time to listen and understand. Once you understand why something is different you can quickly get to the same point.”

In times like these, we’d all be wise to take some time to listen and understand.