-
When silence kills your team spirit
I remember a team call that went horrible bad. For some reason the atmosphere already alternated from ignorance to arrogance of the participants and not one idea made it through the devastating critics of the outnumbered naysayers. As a result noone wanted to share any idea, thought or update. It hit climax when the boss asked an important question and noone of the management people in the call wanted to answer. The silence weighted heavier than any argument could have. I was reminded of this call when I recently went into another team call in which one team member ignored the question of the moderator. Even after offering three time…
Das könnte dich ebenfalls interessieren
How weakness could be our strongest teambuilding (Part 1)
How aristotle can help with sexual harassment
Why you need to defend your team culture
-
Who is your minister of honor?
For a few weeks now, there is the role of ‘minister of honor’ in my team. Whoever holds this role is responsible to encourage all team members. And although this sounds somewhat silly or easy-to-do at first sight, it it neither nor. People who have been in this role mentioned that it isn’t easy to find the right words for a chat message to encourage someone. They said that they were wondering how to live this role in a creative way. Actually, these are reflection moments that I cherish. If you hand out responsiblity in your team, you give a person the chance to grow. In this case, the minister…
Das könnte dich ebenfalls interessieren
The cycle of success
Do you have ‘career DNA’?
How to have a great team meeting
-
Do I need to leave my job to follow my dream?
Quite often I hear the perception that one would need to leave the job in order to follow the dream, be happy or however you want to call it. But as the job is paying the bills – and in some cases quite well – leaving the job is a high hurdle. In turn, these people feel like not being able to live their dream. Somehow the feeling stays that they would be happier at another place. If you are at this point in your career, I would like to challenge you a bit. Let’s assume, you will not win in the lottery and you need your regular income to…
Das könnte dich ebenfalls interessieren
Why being UNHAPPY is actually great
Why I don’t want your advice
Small stuff matters
-
What is your superpower?
Everyone is new to the team. Noone knows each other. And as the intro, each person should name his/her superpower. Analytical thinking is joined by encouragement as well as positivity and topped with baking or collaboration. This perspective of a team where everyone brings in a strength that results in a multi-power group, resonantes in the participants. You can see everyone smiling, relaxing and enjoying the moment. What is your superpower? What do you like to bring to your team? And what is it that others love about you being around? Take a moment to reflect and explore. It strengthens your self-perception, resilience and mood. And once you are done…
Das könnte dich ebenfalls interessieren
Are you smarter than a 4-year-old?
Do you have a leadership mindset?
What social work on sunday morning at 6am taught me
-
Screaming at people is not an option
“Don’t you ever do this again”, the manager screams into the telephone. What sounds like a scene in a 90s wallstreet movie is still happening today in the corporate world. Less frequent for sure – but there are still people around who believe that screaming in business is a valid way of communication. The aggressor surely feels superior using his loud voice to intimidate the oponent (aka the team member or colleague) and stop an unwanted conversation or reply. The consequence almost always is a hurt relationship that soon will break if there is no apology. Let’s examine why someone uses screaming as a communication tool. The effect of having…
Das könnte dich ebenfalls interessieren
I am in the wrong job
Why leading a few is harder than leading many
Your ugly ego kills your career
-
Are you smarter than a 4-year-old?
Researchers asked 4-year-olds to do a puzzle. After they succeeded they asked them to choose: either do the same puzzle again or try a harder one. Even at the age of 4, several kids decided to go for the safer option for success and repeated the first puzzle. While you would think that you would most definitely have choosen the harder puzzle, let’s take this game into today‘s reality. What tasks do you pick at work? How often do you face a new problem? And how often do you opt in for a new way of solving the problem instead of repeating successful ways of the past? When it is…
Das könnte dich ebenfalls interessieren
Why anonymous feedback sucks
You can change the world today
Small stuff matters
-
Where to grow next in my leadership?
Independent on where you are in your career, you can continue growing in your leadership. If you are in need of some inspiration, this episode will give you precise areas where to focus on and how this looks like in daily doing.
-
Your positive attitude is fake
“Your positivity is fake”, is an accusation that people with a confident mindset might hear regularly. This sentence often comes with the argument that life isn’t always sunny and that the negative aspects need to be named aswell. But do they? Is there a global requirement that requests to name all aspects in all situations? For sure, there are moments of important decisions when all aspects need to be taken into consideration but this is not a general requirement when adressing an issue in the company, project or team. Actually, it is quite hindering when you want to take the next step with your team. As a leader, you have…
Das könnte dich ebenfalls interessieren
A good leader can admit failure
I am in the wrong job
How often do I have to call my mentee?
-
How weakness could be our strongest teambuilding (Part 2)
So, now that you want to change (see Part 1 of this article), let’s examine in Part 2, how can you change your company culture. Culture is naturally created from the top. That means, whereever you are the ‘top’, you can shape culture. If you ‘only’ have an intern you can lead, than this is your playfield. Actually, it is the best playfield you can get as you can try and learn without hurting too many people. Culture shaping always starts with shaping yourself. If back biting and proclaiming colleagues a ‘lame duck’ is normal behaviour for you, you won’t find anyone who trusts you. You might feel superior –…
Das könnte dich ebenfalls interessieren
Small stuff matters
My job adds value
Why does my boss earn so much money?
-
The best is yet to come
What sounds like a phrase of a fortune cookie, could actually have more impact in your life than you’d think. The headline displays a certain belief towards life which is rooted in an underlying narrative that everyone defines for him/herself. Have you ever heard sentences like “If I just had xy, then I could do/buy/move …”, “I cannot do x because …” or “If my boss/team/client wasn’t that way, then …”. Those narratives attribute responsibility away from the speaker towards other people or circumstances. In short: “If you cannot swim, it’s due to the lousy swimwear.” And although there might be tough life circumstances, attributing all your ‘why nots’ to…
Das könnte dich ebenfalls interessieren
My life is f***ed
This crisis kills my empathy
I am in the wrong job
