As the year draws to a close, it is not only time to appreciate your teams’ achievements, successful changes and whatever else you might be proud of, but also to reflect on what you want to stop, start, continue doing in the future. Believe it or not, introspection works best for me while baking; and [...]
Leaders, Did you know that 1% of the world population is psychopaths? This percentage increases amongst senior leaders up to 14.5%. Well, this article is not at all suggesting for you to develop psychopathic traits* and lose sight of your empathy in order to manage extremely stressful situations. It is rather about mental health and [...]
This beautiful picture was drawn for me by my big niece (8) Leaders, Welcome! How would you rate the importance of creativity for your company’s success? Instead of pondering about how we can apply creativity in a helpful way, we often limit ourselves to identifying what could hinder our creativity or block [...]
Leaders, © Otmar Brettschneider Authenticity is not another personal brand value. Authentic leaders lead with their hearts, not just their minds. They show their emotions genuinely, and connect with staff. They communicate in a direct manner with empathy. Authentic leaders lead from their core. Here are five fast facts about authentic leadership [...]
Leaders, Baum der Hoffung © Otmar Brettschneider This article is right for you if you can whole-heartedly agree that communication to convince and give direction to your teams and other stakeholders is far more than the typical company speak via bullet points in a presentation, dry memos or hyperbolic missives. Persuasion and [...]
Leaders, What comes to your mind first, when you think of strengths? Well, for me it is “Popeye” – one of my favorite cartoon characters. He would do anything to overcome obstacles to first and foremost please Olive Oyl. His love of spinach which he eats in large quantities to boost his strength is legendary [...]
Leaders, Aristotle taught us that „without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.“ Yet, astonishingly enough, it has become so much harder to make genuine human connections and establish trust – crucial prerequisites for successful change. Let me give you an example: My little niece finally started school last Fall. [...]
Leaders, Nothing great has been and nothing great can be accomplished without Passion. G.W.F. Hegel (1770 – 1831), German philosopher Passion is a key topic with all my coaching clients at some point in our process. Professionals require passion to be able to inspire and motivate themselves and their teams. And by doing so, they [...]
Leaders, As it’s time to prepare for the mid-term performance evaluations with your teams, I thought it might be worthwhile sharing as to what could enhance the effectiveness of your feedback discussions. I will talk about formal and informal feedback in this blog post. Giving feedback can be one of the hardest leadership tasks. To [...]
„Whenever anger comes up, take out a mirror and look at yourself. When you are angry, you are not very beautiful.“ Thich Nhat Hanh, Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames Recently, my little 6-year-old niece, had a fit of rage. She burst out with fury out of the blue when she was at my parents’. [...]