Feb 13

When a Manager Becomes an Addict

How do I care for myself in the role of a manager when the structural framework is extremely demanding for me? Most managers will skip this question and switch over to how do I respond to expectations and how do I function even more and better?
Maximizing performance and numbing failure, this is what often leads [...]

Read more...
Feb 2

Are You Listening Attentively?

How many times a day are you talking to another person like your boss, your subordinate, a friend, a relative or another person and you notice that your conversation partner is not really present when you speak? He is physically present, but he doesn’t pay much attention to what you say. Take a minute and [...]

Read more...
Jan 13

Giving Employees A Chance For Self-Leadership

I recently listened to an interview with Thomas Sattelberger, Member of the Board and responsible for Human Resources (HR) at Deutsche Telekom, a German Dax 30 company. When Sattelberger, one of Germany’s most respected experts and practitioners in the field of HR, was asked about the main HR trend for 2011, he pointed out that [...]

Read more...
Jan 3

Caring Self Leadership – How to choose the New Year Resolution that suits you best – and stick to it.

The beginning of a new year is the time for making New Year resolutions. We want to make a change to the better, be it career, relationships, health, or other areas of our lives. But for many of us these resolutions are abandoned by mid of February. Here are some Life Coaching tips on how to chose the right New Year resolution for you, and how to follow-through to ensure lasting change.

Read more...
Dec 20

Gaining Power, Wealth, and Prestige

Last week when I attended an HR conference in Frankfurt we had dinner in one of the in-places of town. Coincidentally one of Frankfurt´s private banking houses was celebrating Christmas there as well. Listening to speeches and talks, one assumes that power, wealth, and prestige are the most influential motivation drivers managers follow during their [...]

Read more...
Dec 10

Is It Time To Apply The Brakes?

We often talk about employees burning out, but companies can burnout as well. Organizations in growth mode sometimes try to do too much, too fast. Never–ending , hard–charging activity and change inside an organization – that’s what authors Heike Bruch, professor of leadership at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, and Jochen Menges, lecturer [...]

Read more...
Dec 1

Learning New Aspects Of Caring Leadership

Over a year ago, when I wrote my first guest blog, I defined caring leadership as „always keeping your commitments“. I tried to illustrate how one can practice this everyday both at work and in one’s private life. That still holds true, I believe. Nevertheless, I would like to suggest three additional aspects of or criteria [...]

Read more...
Nov 21

Experiencing Change Positively

For my work and approach how to deal with change as a manager and head of human resources I found a philosophy of five genuine principles. These principles are my personal working charter. They reflect how to make change a positive experience for employees and all other stakeholders, apart from demands for a tool kit [...]

Read more...
Nov 11

The Challenges Of Succession Planning

Last month, I was one among four speakers at Dataconsult’s Thailand Regional Forum. The statements of all speakers pointed unanimously in the same direction: succession planning is a strategic issue that is absolutely  critical for the continuous  business  success of a company. Nevertheless, research indicates that about half of companies do not have a succession [...]

Read more...
Oct 24

Gandhi – A Role Model for Essential Leadership Principles

These days I conducted job interviews for a middle ranked management position and one of the candidates was a young German of Indian origin – smart, structured, straight forward, with excellent social skills and high ambitions – basically someone you would hire on the spot for a middle management position. Although I knew that my [...]

Read more...
Oct 14

Soft Values Drive Hard Results

Leaders who possess strong soft skills perform better at driving hard results while executives with weak interpersonal skills were rated poorly on their ability to deliver good financial results, especially over time, and received predictably poor ratings as people managers. These are key findings from a study by U.S. organizational consulting firm Green Peak Partners [...]

Read more...
Oct 4

Implementing Gender Diversity

It is gender diversity that becomes one of the most critical drivers for business success in the Western world. This world shaped by a structural framework of aging societies and a desperate lack of technical experts and leaders. Once Western – mostly male – managers understand the issue and make it a top priority on [...]

Read more...