Living the Leadership Principles: How Micha uses Learn and Be Curious as the motivation for his work

Amazon is defined by 16 Leadership Principles, and the principle Learn and Be Curious is the basis for our culture of invention and experimention. Micha Mauthe, manager for a team of technical programmatic consultants, enjoys using his naturally inquisitive mind to develop his skills, solve problems, and support both his team and customers.

Micha Mauthe loves nothing more than talking through a complicated problem.

Based in Hamburg, Germany, he runs a tech-focused team of consultants who act as an escalation point for some of the most pressing and complex customer issues at Amazon Ads.

Micha’s career at Amazon began in 2018 when he joined as a Programmatic Solutions Consultant. It wasn’t long before he discovered a passion for the technical side of the role, and with the support of his manager, he developed his coding skills through on-the-job experience and formal training. He went on to pass a technical exam to become a Technical Programmatic Solutions Consultant, a role that focuses on unblocking customer issues in the short term while working towards sustainable, long-term solutions.

“It’s the kind of work I really like,” says Micha. “I’m a data addict. As a tech consultant, I get to use data to find answers to difficult issues and pass on those solutions to the team and customers.”

Since moving into the technical role, Micha has seen his job expand to team lead for Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, and Spain, and recently he’s been promoted. “I’m now a manager, which I love,” he says. “It’s very satisfying to provide my team members with guidance and mentorship and to help them develop their own careers.”

What excites Micha the most is the global nature of his team. “It’s interesting to see cultural nuances across the regions,” he explains. “Understanding the different problems customers are facing and the way people handle them in different locales allows all of us to keep improving and learning in new ways. It’s what makes Amazon exciting.”

The Amazon Leadership Principle Learn and Be Curious means that Amazonians are always learning and seeking to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and proactive in exploring them. It’s a principle that Micha lives by, and he wants to help others learn and be curious too.

Originally trained as a teacher, he has combined his background in education with his technical and leadership skills to train other team members who want to become technical consultants.

“I worked back from the end goal—passing the technical bar—then created a curriculum that contained all the relevant training,” say Micha. “It includes Amazon online learning modules, training videos, information on our intranet, and e-learning courses from outside Amazon—whatever I felt would help my colleagues.”

So far, everyone who has taken the course has passed the technical bar. “My role has taught me how to make a project a success,” says Micha, “and I wanted to pass that on. It makes me happy to help my collleagues succeed.”

And Micha’s not done with his own learning yet. “I’ve only recently become a people manager, so I’m excited about focusing on improving my leadership skills this year,” says Micha. “Managing a team’s performance and supporting their career growth is a new area for me, so there’s certainly lots to learn!”