Boots

  • Boots,  Highheels

    How to Say No Nicely (When “Yes” Would Cost You Your Future)

    There’s a version of adulthood nobody warns you about: You don’t burn out because of what you’re paid to do.You burn out because of what you do on top – the extra mile, the “quick favor,” the “step-up opportunity,” the “can you just…” that quietly eats your evenings and your nervous system. And in consulting, leadership, and any high-performance environment, the extra mile is currency. Sometimes it buys trust, visibility, sponsorship, promotion.Sometimes it buys you… nothing. Or worse: it buys someone else relief while it buys you a problem. So the real skill isn’t “working hard.” The real skill is discernment – and the ability to say no in a…

  • Boots,  Highheels

    Build Your Personal C-Suite

    Why your leadership gets easier (and stronger) when you stop trying to be everything There’s a quiet trap many leaders fall into. We build teams.We build org charts.We build governance. And then – without noticing – we also try to become the entire executive committee ourselves. We try to be the strategist and the culture carrier.The risk radar and the motivator.The calm adult and the one who brings the room to life. It looks responsible. It even looks capable. But it’s rarely sustainable. And it almost always leaves something underfed: the parts of leadership that don’t happen in meetings. Over time I learned a simple truth: The best leaders don’t…

  • Boots,  Highheels

    Why Leadership Can Feel Isolating (and How to Stay Connected)

    Suddenly, I was no longer one of the team. I was leading it. There was a beautiful pride in that moment—but also a quiet void. Meetings changed. Conversations shifted. People started looking to me for answers, but I still had so many questions. And somehow, it felt like I had to figure it all out… alone. If you’ve ever stepped into a leadership role and thought, “Why does no one talk about how lonely this is?”—you’re not alone in that thought either. We often assume that once we’ve “made it” into leadership, everything clicks into place. Especially when we’re surrounded by more experienced leaders who seem calm, composed, and confident.…

  • Boots,  Highheels

    Grace Over Games: Leading the Person Who Tries to Undermine You

    You’re in charge. A new team member joins. They shake your hand, smile, nod—and then proceed to ignore everything you say. At first, it’s subtle. A deadline slightly missed. A different format than the one you asked for. Small things, and maybe you think: “They’re just finding their feet.” You give it time. But soon, the pattern sharpens. In meetings, they talk over you. They change decisions behind your back. Their tone is passive-aggressive. To your face, they’re pleasant—but the results tell another story. You sense it. Others sense it too. And you ask yourself: What is going on here? And more dangerously: Did I do something wrong? Let’s pause…

  • Boots,  Sneakers

    From Survival to Strategy: How Journaling Became My Anchor

    More than a decade ago, I didn’t start journaling because I wanted to. I started because I had to. Life had placed me in a tough private situation—one that shook my foundation far beyond the walls of my home. Even though I kept showing up at work, leading teams, delivering results, and putting on the polished armor of professionalism, the truth was: my strength was stretched thinner than it had ever been. Every morning, I would power through, believing I could handle the day. Meetings, deadlines, leadership challenges—it all felt manageable at first. But then, around early afternoon, the emotions I had carefully tucked away would come rushing in like…

  • Boots

    Your detours write history

    Every good storyline evolves around a person who needs to overcome challenges – a big loss, an unfortunate turn in life, a challenge too big to overcome alone. We get intrigued by those kind of stories and suffer with the main cast until the (happy) end. Yet, in our own lives, we are quite upset once even a single little step doesn’t work – the delayed promotion, the reduced bonus, the unfair feedback. In movies, we can acknowledge how obstacles strengthen the hero of the story. In our own lives, we cannot even accept a little hurdle. We feel that the missed chance to get to the one great university…

  • Boots,  Highheels

    Attention: trap ahead!

    „I have sooooooo much to do.“ I would love to get a dollar each time I hear this sentence of people in leadership roles. Of course I get it: asside from people really having a lot to do, this sentence is a certain way of communicating a level of importance . But as a coach, I’m a bit concerned that a leader is telling this story to himself/herself. Because let’s face it: you are paid for having ’so much to do‘. This is not even your leadership role. Here is what concerns me: If you are telling people around you that you are already packed with topics, you won’t get…

  • Boots,  Highheels

    What will last?

    Recently I was hit by a picture on social media: a man being honored by his company for his 85th aniversary within the firm – he being 100 years old, sitting on his desk with a certificate smiling into the camera. Although I get the beauty of the value ‚loyalty‘, this picture moved loyalty to a certain level of absurdity. Absurdity because you could see that his tasks were done at a desk – but all the colleagues and people who got to know him along the way were missing. If you look back at the years, you have been working so far: What do you remember? There might have…

  • Boots,  Highheels

    What to do when a team member quits

    „I need to leave the team“, she sighs. After training her the past year in different roles, I have offered her a leadership position in the team. And while she was thinking about it, she realized that she needed to focus on another role in her life. And that role is not in my team. I have mixed feelings: I am more than proud that she thought deeply and made a decision (these are the type of people I want in my team!) all while I am sad because I will not work with her in the future anymore. Did people quit in your team, too? It is very easy…

  • Boots,  Highheels

    How to handle a missed promotion

    Promotion time! And everyone has been promoted except for you! At least, it feels that way. How can you handle such a moment in your career? First of all, stay silent about your disappointment in business – especially if the emotional rollercoaster is still ongoing. In the heat of your emotions you might make statements which you regret once you have thought about it for a while. Therefore, take some time, walk through your emotions with friends and family and let the high peak pass through. Once you feel, you can think clearly again, evaluate your situation. Here are some questions to consider: Why did you miss the promotion? To…