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The Most Revealing Sentence a Leader Can Say
“Can recruiting send me three juniors for Project Delta?” I still remember sitting in a recruiting meeting when one partner said exactly that. Not because he needed people – but because of how he spoke about them. The sentence reminded me less of building a team than of ordering supplies. “I need three pallets of water in aisle four.” “I need three graduates for Project Delta.” Different words. The same structure. It made me wonder: When do people stop seeing individuals and start seeing headcount? The strange thing is this: I have never met a graduate who wanted to be treated as interchangeable. We all wanted someone to see us,…
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Stop Trying to Make Yourself Smaller
He was almost two meters tall. For several months, I worked with him on a strategic finance transformation. He was the Head of Finance. The person responsible for shaping the future target operating model of the department. A senior leader. A decision maker. And yet, throughout the project, something felt off. Not in a single meeting. In almost every interaction. His shoulders were rounded. Eye contact was limited. He seemed to physically occupy less space than his height would naturally suggest. The interesting part was that he was not lacking competence. Nor was he lacking opinions. Whenever he spoke, it became clear that he understood the subject matter. He had…
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When Words Sound Right — But Feel Wrong
“…I’m very happy to share this.” “I’m so pleased with what we’ve achieved.” “Thank you all for your contribution.” The words are right. The tone is polite. And still — it feels off. You can sense it immediately. The faces stay neutral. No reactions in the room or virtual call. It’s not resistance. It’s distance. And in moments like this, the quiet question hangs in the air: Was this ever really meant? When leaders speak into a room, there are a few things that can go wrong. And one of the most common ones is this: we speak from ourselves instead of from the people we are speaking to. We…
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Bringing Your Whole Self to the Room
She had been in consulting for five years. High pace. High speed. High impact. Promotions earned, recognition visible, reputation rising. From the outside, everyone could see her success. But inside, she sensed something unspoken — a quiet knowing that there was more of her still waiting to surface. Before consulting, she had lived a different life. A life on courts and fields, not in meeting rooms. A life where she coached professional athletes, where bodies moved with purpose and vision was something you felt, not something you put on a slide. And here she was now — a consultant, a leader in the making, carrying this whole previous chapter inside…
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From Anonymous Notes to Open Appreciation
It’s more than ten years ago. I can still see the conference room — too dark, too quiet. I had been asked to design the agenda for a department’s off-site. The leaders wanted to lift the mood, to spark something positive in a team that missed a personal touch. So I built a day full of rhythm and light: exercises on collaboration, time for feedback, moments of laughter in between. And at the end, I wanted to close with something small but meaningful — a gesture of appreciation. Each person would write a few kind words for another. A note to take home, a reminder that what we do matters.…
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Why we should still lead with encouragement — even when it feels like no one is encouraging us
There are days when I leave meetings—internal ones, client ones, even 1:1s with people I deeply respect—and I feel… invisible. No “thank you.” No “great point.” No eye contact, even. Just a blur of agendas, deadlines, decisions. And me, sitting there, wondering: Does anyone even notice how hard I’m trying? If you’ve ever been in that space, I want to tell you—you’re not alone. But here’s what I’ve learned after years of consulting, coaching, and navigating boardrooms and back-to-back calls: We all want to be seen. And ironically, we’re all waiting for someone else to go first. The Silent Frustration It’s deeply human to crave acknowledgment. A simple “thank you”…
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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.…
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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…
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UNFAIR!
Your narrative determines success or failure – but differently what you expect
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Why it is good to have no clue what to do
When I led my first project team, it felt quite overwhelming. Assigning tasks to my team, talking to the client, keeping my internal stakeholders up to date, managing the scope, keeping track of the numbers … sometimes I didn‘t know what to do first. On top, the solution for the client didn‘t fall off the shelf but we needed to interview people, ask questions, define deliverables and agree on a way of working to getting to the results. Sometimes I really wished to know everything already. At that time, a lot of the solutioning was created in the evening when I went swimming. Under water I could think. I could…
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Don’t consult your people for leadership
„What a shitty weather“, he complains while his car is fighting through wind and rain out of the city heading to this place in the middle of nowhere. The navigation system points to a spot along the lonely road. His assisstant had sent him the coordinates with the information to take a warm jacket. His boss requested him to come. Something about leadership – if he remembers correctly. But why on a Saturday? and why at this place? Through the fog, a parking lot unfolds. He reduces the speed and turns right. His colleagues are already there. Nice. Now he needs to spend a weekend with the same people he…
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