Why We Bet on Emotional Intelligence, Owners…

A post by Anna Rauch and Malte Lensch – Managing Directors at Till Freitag.

Why culture is not a soft-skill topic

When we advise companies, we talk about tools, processes and automation. But internally we know: the foundation is none of those things. The foundation is the way we work together.

We're a small team. Every person counts. Every interaction carries weight. That's why we decided from day one not to leave team culture to chance – but to shape it deliberately.

The four pillars of our team culture

1. Emotional intelligence – listen before you respond

Emotional intelligence is not a buzzword for us. It's a daily practice:

Self-awareness: Knowing when you're stressed – and communicating that instead of letting it spill over
Empathy: Understanding why a client is frustrated, not just what they're saying
Conflict competence: Addressing disagreements before they turn into problems
Feedback culture: Honest and respectful – both at the same time, not either-or

Anna: "In consulting I'm often the first person a client talks to. Trust is made or broken in those first few minutes. And trust doesn't come from expertise alone – it comes from truly listening."

2. Teamwork – real collaboration, not working side by side

For us, teamwork doesn't mean everyone being nice to each other. It means:

Sharing responsibility: When a project goes sideways, it's never 'one person's problem'
Leveraging strengths: Everyone brings something different – and we build on that instead of standardising everything
Living transparency: Open boards, open calendars, open communication. No silo thinking
Being reliable: When someone says 'I'll take care of it', it actually happens

Malte: "I'm an engineer through and through. But the best architectures don't emerge in isolation – they happen when I factor in Anna's perspective from client consulting. Different viewpoints aren't an obstacle; they're a feature."

3. Ownership – take responsibility, don't wait

Ownership is perhaps the value that defines us most. Here's what we mean:

Act proactively: Don't wait for instructions – spot problems and solve them
Think end-to-end: Completing a ticket isn't enough – the result has to land with the client
Own your mistakes: If you have ownership, you also own your errors. That's not weakness; it's strength
Make decisions: An 80 % decision now beats a 100 % decision never

This sounds obvious. It isn't. In many organisations, responsibility is delegated until no one is accountable. For us the question is never "Whose job is this?" – it's "Who's picking this up?"

4. Independence – freedom with responsibility

We don't micromanage. Full stop. Instead:

Goals over tasks: We define what needs to be achieved – not how
Flexible working hours: Because we're adults who know when they do their best work
Personal learning time: Everyone can and should grow – in topics that genuinely interest them
Trust by default: Until proven otherwise, we assume everyone is giving their best

Anna: "Independence doesn't mean loneliness. It means I trust my team to make the right calls. And when they need help, we're there."

What this has to do with consulting

You might ask: what does your internal culture have to do with your clients? Everything.

Because our consulting is only as good as our team. Because clients can feel whether a team truly works or merely functions. And because we believe the best processes are worthless if the people behind them aren't on board.

When we do change management for clients, it's not from a textbook – it's from lived experience. We know how hard it is to establish ownership. How much effort real feedback culture takes. And how much it pays off when it works.

Our hiring process: culture before CV

When we look for new team members, we obviously consider expertise. But the decisive questions are different:

How does this person handle feedback? – Open and eager to learn? Or defensive?
Can they name their own mistakes? – Self-reflection is non-negotiable
How do they communicate under pressure? – Clear and respectful? Or frantic?
Do they contribute their own ideas? – We're looking for co-thinkers, not order-takers

Malte: "A missing tech skill can be learned. A missing mindset can't. That's why we hire for attitude and develop skills."

What we'd tell other teams

If you want to strengthen your team culture – here are five things that work for us:

Regular retrospectives – not just for projects, also for collaboration itself
1:1 conversations – real ones, not the HR-handbook kind. Questions like: "What's frustrating you right now?"
Celebrate wins – actively and visibly. Not just the big deals, also the small victories
Don't sit on conflicts – the sooner you address them, the smaller the problem
Lead by example – culture isn't introduced by memo. It's modelled from the top