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Why should I even head for a career?
Whenever I ask women what ‘career’ means to them, I hear ‘personal development’, ‘having impact’, ‘developing others’ and further more. What is never a driver is ‘money’, ‘power’ or ‘status’. Interestingly, most coroporate careers offer exactly that: status, power and money. They are tightly connected to the hierarchy levels within the ranks. And ‘running through these ranks or ‘climbing the ladder’ is the general definition of doing a career. As this system has been designed by men for men, it is no surprise that there are little incentives that are attractive for women. Unfortunately, a lot of women do not pursue a career because the immediate gratification seems irrelevant to…
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Is it opportunistic to take that new job? Or: When loyalty becomes a toxic value.
I can recall many conversations in which the behavior of colleagues – especially younger colleagues – got labeled with being ‘opportunistic’. For example, when they asked for a new project opportunity, said ‘no’ to extra work or even switched companies for a new offer quite quickly. The word ‘opportunistic’ has different shades, but in these moments it was used in the bad sense of the word – with the slight touch of betrayal and unethical behaviour. As I knew a lot of these people very well, I knew that they had what you call a ‘good heart’. They did not act out of bad motives. For them, having the choice…
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Why you should always have a notice of termination ready
Like every morning, he is opening his word document, adjusts the date and saves his termination notice. He never turns it in. But the feeling of being ready to leave any time relaxes his mind when the pressure gets on in the project. It‘s his daily reminder that each job and task is temporary and that the power of ending any business situation is in his hands. Feeling in control and being aware that there are always options is an important factor when it comes down to feeling well at work. Maybe you know the feeling of being stuck. It quickly turns into a damned and doomed scenario where it…
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‘I messed up’ – how you turn your messy leadership moments in fruitful team culture
A few weeks ago, I messed up in a team meeting on a Friday afternoon. I was tired of the week. I was at my worst. I was unfair to my own team. When I took some time on Saturday to reflect on the week, I realized what had happened. During my tiredness, the worst side of my ego took over and I let my own team feel as loosers. When I saw what I had done, I was angry at myself, unhappy and shocked. Instead of building a cool cuture where everyone thrives, one selfish comment attacked so much trust and teamspirit. As I could not call my team…
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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…
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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…
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Happy Easter 2021 – but how?
Easter 2021 is a chance for recharging, reflection and refocus. Four days in a row given to you – with no special family assignments, official gatherings or even services. At the same time, you cannot rely on any routines as most of your usual Easter activities probably have been canceled. In order to use your time well, some thoughts in advance are needed. Why? If you think back of the past weeks: what particular moments can you remember? Often people refer to this corona time like one endless week in which each day is so similar to all this others that it is hard to tell what happened when. Easter…
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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…
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Why you need to defend your team culture
Your team culture is important. It is the very reason why people join, perform better than expected or leave once they don’t feel they want to contribute anymore. But did you know that a good team culture needs defense? Let‘s assume, you have established the following team culture: 1. Everyone greets in the morning 2. Everyone helps one another 3. There is no backtalk accepted In order to establish this culture, you will need to speak explicitly about these three points in team meetings. You will give details why these behaviors are important so that everyone in the team understands why they should do the effort of behaving that way.…
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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…