Learning Moments

“The crises I had to overcome and mistakes I had to make… became priceless learning moments that have made me what I am today!”

#Experiences

Made me who I am today.

On the surface, my story and my career journey can be seen as “picture perfect” – so consistent. I have heard that several times! Well, maybe… However, my seemingly straightforward path has had some unforeseen twists and turns. Constantly developing my personality and building my leadership skills have been especially one thing: really hard work!

For instance, there was the struggle with my own high expectations – continuously striving for best performance. Or the inner conflict of letting go. Dealing with complexity, continuous change and uncertainty. In challenging leadership situations or professional change periods questions like these have often been on my mind:

How honest and transparent can I be as a leader?
Is there such a thing as too much trust or too much participation?
How do I make uncomfortable decisions? How do I remain true to myself?
What does authenticity really mean in my leadership style? And what role do my emotions or my vulnerable side play in this?
Expert vs. leader – how deeply should I or must I be involved in the tasks of my team? How to stop working detail-oriented?
How can I fulfil a 360-degree leadership approach, satisfying all my different stakeholders equally?
Mother & woman in a top management position at the same time – can I allow myself to show passion for both worlds?

The Hardest Person to Lead is Yourself

Self-leadership is the first step to becoming a good leader – I certainly only understood that after a few years of my leadership career. To be honest, at some points I failed miserably. However, I was able to learn & develop!

In retrospect, it was the “critical look into the mirror” or the somewhat painful experiences which strengthened me – not only as a leader, but also as a coach, trainer and consultant.