• Highheels

    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…

  • Highheels

    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 –…

  • Showing appreciation in virtual teams

    In this podcast you get inspiration on how appreciation is perceived, how it looks like in a virtual team setting and what is relevant when appreciating people. Each section contains a coaching question. Take some time to reflect for yourself, how you want to appreciate your team based on the inout given in this episode.

  • Highheels

    How weakness could be our strongest teambuilding (Part 1)

    “I would never go back to that company”, a friend tells me. “There is a culture where you cannot share your real emotions. You are forced to play cool at all times. This is toxic.” I nod silently. Although the professional business environment certainly encourages less emotions than other work places, there is a tendency in some company cultures to extinct emotional up and downs in order to not seem ‘weak’. To be precise: not ‘weak’ towards clients or competitors, but even within the same team the competiveness can be so challenging that grief, sleepless nights and illnesses are hidden. In consequence, colleagues who hit bad luck in life are…

  • Laugh yourself successful

    Can you remember how you felt after a good laughter with friends and colleagues? The energy provided by a heartful laughter elevates your team and your mood. Especially when working in virtual teams, a common moment of shared laughter can move mountains in a project. In this podcast, you get some ideas what you can do to get into laughing again.

  • Boots,  Highheels

    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…

  • Deal with your pain to become a better leader

    This episode encourages you to deal with your inner pain. It also gives you a practical guide on how to walk through emotional difficult times without falling into cynicism or ignorance. As a result, the pain loses its power over you and you don’t even need to avoid the hurtful topic anymore. With this healed heart, you can be a true help for your team members when they need to go through a season of grief.

  • Sneakers

    The wonder of first sight

    Do you remember a moment when you visited a place for the first time and you fell in love? There was this specific sparkle and the marvellous feeling of having found something special. The wonder of first sight feels warm and cosy. You look at every detail, inhale the air consciously, touch leaves, trees or water and explore nature with your whole being. This feeling also shows up when you see something cute or extraordinary beautiful – a newborn, puppy or piece of art. Fascination takes over and you concentrate on every detail in this moment. Time stands still as you explore every attribute while absorbing the beauty and wonder…

  • Boots,  Highheels,  Sneakers

    This crisis kills my empathy

    Working in virtual teams has been around for years in project management and consulting. But the extend in which we now work remotely is new. And this is why project leads and management members in consulting need to adapt their leadership style accordingly. Before the pandemic, a good portion of the day was already spent at the laptop and in calls. But there were breaks to chat with colleagues over a cup of coffee. Often these talks were work-unrelated and even with people who weren’t on the same project. We just bumped into them by accident when leaving our desk. But in home office or people-reduced corporate offices, we don’t…

  • Highheels

    Why I don’t want your advice

    “Forget all I have advised you in the past years“, my boss says in our last meeting on my last day of work “and just continue doing what you think is right. You will need it where you are going.” I am smiling. He is smiling. The past years, I have been some sort of a troublemaker in his department – in the best sense of the word. I brought in new ideas, conducted trainings in project management for the colleagues, started cooperations with HR and delivered some projects despite adversity. But I didn’t blend in with the colleagues who just wanted to do their job. He advised me from…