Could Germany be a great power without dreadnoughts?

Would Germany still have been taken seriously as a great power if it had not built dreadnoughts?

Yes as a major state, but dreadnoughts were important peacetime status symbols in that era, much as aircraft carriers later became visible measures of naval reach.

A nation's overall power differs from the fleet units used to display it. The examples of Russia's limited carrier force and China's recognition as a major power before fielding carriers illustrate why status cannot be reduced to one ship type. Dreadnoughts nevertheless offered a conspicuous peacetime display of power in their own era. Aircraft carriers later filled a comparable role as large warships that visitors could board and see.