"Prompt Timeliness and Trustworthiness!"
An internal leadership meeting video of Deutsche Bahn has been causing quite the stir online, and not in a good way. The clip shows top-tier Deutsche Bahn officials, led by a trainer, performing an energetic Haka dance at an event, complete with motivational mantras such as "We smash it, we dominate!" and "Precision and dependability!".
The video initially surfaced on social media, courtesy of Spiegel journalist Serafin Reiber, who shared it on X - highlighting it as a long-distance traffic conference. Upon request, Deutsche Bahn acknowledged that the Haka performance indeed took place during a DB leadership conference.
The scene feels a bit odd - not just because of the aggressive body language. The railway is currently grappling with a series of issues like delays, equipment failures, maintenance backlog, and staffing shortages. The DB Haka, complete with stomping and lines like "On time and reliable we'll be!" seems like an unlikely morale booster.
Even the railway and transport union (EVG) chimed in via an Instagram post, commenting that instead of gimmicky perseverance performances, they should focus more on listening to railway workers and their respective councils if they want things to start moving smoothly again. In Maori, their post read, "Ka mate, ka mate" which translates to "I will die" or "This is death".
DB defends Haka at event
While Deutsche Bahn saw fit to defend their unusual conference finale, explaining that the Haka took place at the end of an intense, labor-intensive leadership meeting filled with workshops, and stating that it served as a closure in the form of a group movement activity that brought joy to many participants, the decision remains questionable to many. Deutsche Bahn alleged that their German Haka instructor tours the country, offering the cultural practice to multiple companies and organizations.
Widely recognized as a powerful motivational tool, the Haka emerged from the indigenous New Zealand Māori people, who often use it to challenge or intimidate opponents. However, years of globalization have seen the Haka progressively adopted in corporate environments for team-building purposes, although these instances are usually far removed from the traditional cultural context of the dance. The martial appearance of Deutsche Bahn officials performing the Haka in such a challenging time for the company may come off as jarring and disconnected to some viewers.
- In light of the ongoing issues of delays, equipment failures, maintenance backlog, and staffing shortages, the performance of a Haka dance by Deutsche Bahn executives, which emphasizes precision, dependability, and dominance, seems questionable and voices concern among many.
- While Deutsche Bahn claims that the Haka dance, a powerful motivational tool, served as a closure and a group movement activity to bring joy to participants during a labor-intensive leadership meeting, skepticism persists due to the martial appearance of their German Haka instructor and its occurrence in a time of such challenges for the company.
