You talk like a "watered-down fizzy drink"
A good leader must be an excellent speaker and communicator. Not because it looks good on stage, but because leadership that fails to make an impact comes to nothing.
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Ideas for everyday leadership
Short, hands-on articles about self-leadership, team dynamics and entrepreneurial responsibility.
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Why we hate change – and how you can still get people on board
Ellmer was 24 when her first employer – an airline with a long history – was forced to file for insolvency. Mass redundancies were imminent, and an external coach ...
From Strength to a High-Performance Team
"Develop your strengths". What initially looked like a nice team-building gimmick went on to become one of the most formative tools in my leadership practice.
The Carrot Fallacy: Why you should stop trying to motivate your team
This post provides the underlying foundation for my ‘Motivation to Start the Week’ weekly inspiration piece.
Make your bed! 4 lessons from a Navy SEAL admiral to kick-start your week.
Before we get back into the swing of things today – here’s a ritual I’ve been using for years and which I’ve also used in keynote speeches.
Tears on the plane: What "Die Stille Revolutiion" taught me about leadership
It was a perfectly ordinary business flight. What I hadn’t expected was that, by the end of the film, I was sitting in my seat with tears in my eyes...
Don’t wait for the perfect running shoes – AI transformation is a leadership task
Whilst you’re waiting, your neighbour has long since been training every day. On the day of the competition, it’s not the equipment that counts – but who has adapted.
AI does not change organisations. People do.
Leadership means telling a story, not stirring up fear. Statements such as “AI is happening – you’ll just have to get on with it” create resistance.
Why your company’s immune system will turn against you!
There are books that you download, flick through briefly, then set aside. And there are books that change the way you look at your own organization.
The mindfulness guide for anyone who can’t get to grips with mindfulness!
I’d known for years that mindfulness would do me good. A few minutes a day would be enough. And yet, for a long time, it remained nothing more than a constant struggle to get myself to do it, which rarely went beyond mere good intentions.
Digitalisation is not a technical problem – it is a human challenge
Before I became a production manager, I was a DJ.
Book recommendation: Atomic Habits – How to get 1 % better every day
It’s all about habits – and how you shape them so that they make you better, step by step. No grand gestures, no radical overnight changes, but small, consistent improvements that build up over time.
Why do I always ask about trust in every performance review?
Over five years ago, I described on LinkedIn a method that I had already been practising for years at that time – and which I still practise today: in my annual appraisal interviews, I assess not only a person’s performance, but also, equally, the trust I have in him or her. And Simon Sinek has summed it up perfectly!
Psychological safety is the foundation. Accountability is the work.
High performance rests on two pillars: psychological safety and accountability. Not just one of them, but both. And in that order.
Five types of team: Why the most important question isn’t ‘How can we improve?’!
There is a lot of talk about teams – about team spirit, culture and cohesion. What is rarely made clear, however, is that not every group working together on a task is a team. And not every team needs to be a high-performing team. Yet it is precisely this distinction that determines what kind of leadership, structure and expectations are actually appropriate.