"DHL Express Europe CEO Mike Parra talks like a riled-up coach on the verge of a championship, with the kind of motivational cadence you'd expect from Brené Brown, only more urgent. Yet his leadership mirrors the company's culture, with a people-development system that feels more like that of a university than a logistics giant. Parra's perspective stems from four decades at DHL, which employs nearly 600,000 people across 220 countries."
""I never forget that I started sorting mail," Parra says, which left him convinced that supervisors need deep preparation and support, not just technical skills. "We've always said that our supervisors are basically the glue," he explains. It is "without a shadow of a doubt the most difficult position" in the company, caught between leaders and teams, expected to counsel, coach, and correct in real time."
""[It] is owned by us, delivered by us ... and managed internally ... which is our secret sauce," Parra says, adding that the company spends €55 million to €60 million ($59 million to $65 million) annually on the training, now in its 17th year, with a measurable return. "[More than] 80% of the supervisors that go through the program are promoted up one level," he says, and DHL tracks impact down to the team level via its employee opinion survey."
Mike Parra leads DHL Express Europe and emphasizes supervisors as the essential glue between leaders and frontline teams. He draws on four decades at DHL and recalls starting by sorting mail, which shaped his conviction that supervisors need deep preparation and support beyond technical skills. DHL runs an 18-month CIM Supervisory Excellence Academy within its Certified International Specialist program, funded at about €55–60 million annually and in operation for 17 years. More than 80% of supervisors who complete the program are promoted one level. The curriculum combines behavioral nuance and managerial rigor with an AID feedback framework and enabling coaching.
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