Martin Zubler leads 1,300 people from two different teams. In this interview, he explains the role of trust and why it's okay to make mistakes.
In 2020, Martin Zubler took over as head of the Aargau region and head of the Pharma Switzerland unit. He gained his facility management expertise in the pharmaceutical sector during five years in various leadership roles at ISS. Prior to joining ISS, he worked for several years at Basler Verkehrsbetriebe as Head of Building Construction and Head of Real Estate/Network. A trained technical specialist (TS), he holds a Master of Advanced Studies (ZFH) in Real Estate Management.
You took over as head of the Aargau region and head of the Pharma Switzerland unit a year ago. You’re essentially juggling two jobs at once. How are you handling this Herculean task?
They are effectively two jobs. The biggest challenge was that I now have only half as much time for each team. Time is an extremely limited resource. I commute frequently and spend half a day in Basel and half a day in Aargau. At first, I felt like I wasn’t doing the teams justice. But I’ve learned to manage it, set priorities, and delegate.
How does the Aargau region differ from the Pharma unit?
In the Pharma sector, we have fewer but very large clients. In the Aargau region, it’s exactly the opposite - we serve many more clients there, though they’re smaller. The focus is also different. The Pharma unit consists of specialized service teams. In Aargau, we have generalists who support clients from A to Z. But what both teams have in common are the people. It’s the same factors that determine whether a team is successful or not.
What opportunities do different teams offer?
The teams can benefit from each other’s expertise and skills. For example, our facade climbers from the Pharma sector were able to provide optimal support to the cleaning team in the Healthcare Aargau division. The great thing is that, despite the current situation, a wonderful momentum of its own has developed. Managers from both regions regularly exchange ideas and bring their teams closer together by sharing experiences. In this way, regional boundaries are increasingly being broken down and collaboration is strengthened. These are truly win-win situations - and we’re only just getting started. There’s still so much more potential.
What values do you exemplify as a supervisor?
Open and honest communication is important to me. But the be-all and end-all is trust - and I have to earn that every day. It’s also important to me that all employees understand the purpose or goal behind their work. Everyone should be able to understand why something is being done. Another thing I value is a genuinely supportive culture for learning from mistakes. All employees have my full support, and it’s important to me that they know that. I want employees who are decisive - who, in addition to taking responsibility, also have the necessary decision-making authority. Especially in an organization as large as the one I’m privileged to lead, there’s nothing worse than employees who are afraid to make a decision. That leads to gridlock, and I myself become the bottleneck. I’m fortunate to have many self-assured managers on my team, and that brings me great joy.
You seem to be doing a lot right. Last year, you received the highest award that ISS presents annually, in part for your leadership qualities. What does that mean to you?
I’m naturally flattered, of course. That said, I clearly see this award as a recognition of the achievements of my entire team. All my employees are specialists in their fields. I see my strength in fostering my employees’ skills and self-confidence and building effective teams. Only by working together can we provide our customers with the best possible support and thereby achieve our ambitious goals. I’ve always been lucky and have very often relied on the right people in my team.
Would you like to have yourself as a boss?
Yes, I think I could get along just fine with myself as my boss (smiles). I’ve always been fortunate to have had supervisors who gave me the freedom to grow. That said, I’m not exactly the easiest employee to work with - my supervisors have pointed this out to me on several occasions. To come back to the question: As a supervisor, yes; as an employee, no (laughs).