It’s been a typical year-end in the corporate world. 

The last quarter is in full swing, and it’s as fast as ever.

Do you feel the need to speed up and match the increased demands?  Do you hope to cross all your to-dos and close off projects before the holiday break comes to your rescue? Do you frequently check in on your team members’ progress and speak mainly about operations to stay on top of everything that’s going on?

If so, don’t. It’s a trap!

Continue reading → 5 steps to stop being overwhelmed

Have you ever experienced a professional conversation that didn’t feel right? Did you receive a direction that made you squirm in your chair?  Have you ever witnessed a situation where a colleague’s or leader’s behavior made you uncomfortable?

If so, you may have considered your options and the risks that speaking up may represent.

Throughout my time in the world’s largest logistics company, I stood many times in front of the decision: To speak up or not to speak up.

I believe that if you become aware of something risky or limiting to an organization, team, or individual, you have the responsibility to engage. Otherwise, you are becoming a part of the problem.

Continue reading → To Speak Up or Not to Speak Up: that is the question.

Continue reading → The end of one conversation is a beginning of another.

Are you intellectually suffocating?

Do you feel as if the box you’re in is way too tiny?

There’s no air?

Maybe you’ve been active within a particular industry and feel it’s time for a change, but it seems impossible to find the right opportunity.

Perhaps you relocated, and find that the experience you gained in your last local market doesn’t count here.

Or maybe you’ve had a particular image as a leader, and even though you’ve successfully transitioned through different experiences, you don’t seem to be able to shake off that old reputation.

 

You’re stuck.

Continue reading → Crack the box you’re in. An exercise for ending your intellectual suffocation and inviting change into your life

Recently, while emailing with the representative of a large corporation, something felt off. She was okay on video, but the only time she responded to emails was when I copied her bosses.

My alarm system went on. I’ve been there before, in situations with individuals in unhealthy cultures and unproductive environments.

How about you?

Maybe you, too, have had to deal with a peer who acted as if they were under continual scrutiny—or maybe you’ve been the one feeling scrutinized! Perhaps you’ve felt inferior in a relationship with a customer, or when leading a team for which cooperation always seemed to freeze.

Each of these situations is somewhat intangible and hard to address. When they arise, do you ever find yourself ignoring the issue, focusing instead on work activities that give you tangible results?

Continue reading → How to face Ego and Fear and Walk Your Authentic Leadership Path

Do you feel a pull towards something particular in your life? No matter what you do, that thing, that desire, keeps reappearing.

Maybe it’s the hobby that is way too expensive, or your partner doesn’t enjoy it, so you already talked yourself out of it a few times. Perhaps it is a particular place on earth you desire to visit. Or maybe it is one of your talents that you keep burying under pillows of self-dissuasion as it is not needed or even causes trouble in your current role.

No matter what it is, it keeps stubbornly reappearing as the little rubber ducky my 3-year-old daughter pushes under the water in the tub.

She pushes it down, lets go, and it bobs back up again. Over and over.

Continue reading → How to step into the desires that pull you. Lessons from my clients and a rubber duckie.

Are you going to the office tomorrow?

As vaccination rates increase in some parts of the world, businesses are re-opening.

Maybe you’re lucky to live in a country where the number of infected people is dropping, and you’re getting your laptop bag out of the closet, and ditching your leggings or sweatpants in exchange for what will feel like getting your normal life and self back.

Just like you, I’m much looking forward to re-entering the world of in-person meetings.

But I also feel a bit unprepared.

If you’re like me, once the excitement over occasionally escaping the home office settles, you’ll be starting to think about the nuances and changes in your current work scheme, and how you should best approach them.

Here are some questions on my mind that you too may be wondering about:

Is it ok to ask whether your colleague/business partner/client is vaccinated?

Will you wear a mask? In which circumstances and when is it okay not to?

Are you ready to speak up and ask others to wear a mask if they’re not complying?

Can you excuse yourself from a meeting if you know that some of the attendees aren’t vaccinated?

How will we keep safety at the forefront when we’re tired of this topic and desperately wish to feel and behave “normal”?

 

If I could come up with those questions in less than 30 seconds, so will your team members, business partners, and colleagues.

Continue reading → Are you ready? How to prepare for and lead in a hybrid office

It was such a privilege to speak with Anja Foerster on her podcast earlier this month.

I know Anja for over 7 years when we’ve met on an international conference in Prague, Czech Republic. We stayed in loose contact ever since.

Anja has made it her mission to empower women to reach their full potential, whatever it might be: as the CEO of a large corporation, an entrepreneur, or an employee thriving for more than just the nine to five job. 

Her podcast, She Unplugged, features women who share success stories about transformation, following their dreams, and stepping into their courage.

Anja has a gentle but direct way of questioning and I enjoyed digging deeper with her on topics such as leaving the corporate world to serve it maybe even better from outside in, what drives and motivates me and what I’ve learned from 11 high performing global leaders about dealing with fear.

You can listen to our conversation here:

https://www.anja-foerster.com/she-unplugged/ 

Or watch us on She Unplugged.