As a young manager, I was prepared for my new responsibilities by a 60-year-old managing director. I spent the first two years as his employee, and the last two years as his manager.

He was a role model in many ways:

• He had a clearly defined set of values, which he incorporated into all of his leadership activities.
• He always put his team first and never lost sight of his company’s interests.
• He was close to his team and yet sustained the necessary distance.
• He used to say what had to be said and always used the right tone.
• He was aware of his effect on others and used it in a conscious manner.
• He used to be happier about his team’s successes than about his own, and contributed to these successes in a significant way.

If you ask me who has had the greatest influence on me during my professional career as a manager, I will mention his name.

I want to contribute to providing employees with these kinds of managers.

Perceiving situations in which people experience their limitations can offer valuable insights. Learning to accept these limitations and then overcoming them in a meaningful way can be a valuable process for both individuals and teams. While the required communicative tools are important, a positive inherent attitude is crucial.

Placing a person into the centre of our attention is not a matter of hierarchies – it means we have a sense of responsibility and a positive attitude towards others.

Supporting people in acting as role models in their own individual attitudes is something that spurs me on every day.

There are so many interesting people, things and thoughts on earth to be passionate about.

Open, clear and true

I was privileged to experience this credo through my former regional manager in a Swiss elevator company. It has always accompanied and influenced me in my professional career as a manager.

Open: Approach each other directly and concretely

Clear: Have an opinion and represent it

True: Honest in every situation

“Ideas are easy. Execution is everything.” (John Doerr, Venture Capitalist)

My Motivation: Empowering employees by means of performance coaching in order to achieve top performance with enthusiasm – because results count.

When strategy and structure rapidly change in a volatile market and adjustments have to be made, the only reliable constant that remains is the value culture. Making a commitment to human resources development is well worth the effort.

Reality is not what we perceive.
It is only the picture we paint of it.

There are different views and perspectives on everything. Which one is the right one? I find changing perspectives fascinating, both for myself and as a trainer. That is what enables people to see things differently and to discover "new" worlds, to suddenly understand contexts in a different light, thereby creating different realities and effects.

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
(John Augustus Shedd)

Companies move within their markets. As such, they are not meant to remain at a standstill either. Employees are crucial to the development of any company. I am always fascinated by the high level of impact that they have on the success of a company. That is precisely what motivates me to accompany them along their paths of development and to ensure that they are understood. No employee or company is meant to stay safely ensconced in their harbour.

Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do.
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

A curiosity for people and things and their interactions are what drive me. Learning something that I can use in different situations is what motivates me.
What are we waiting for?

“The meaning of life is not to be successful but to be meaningful.”
- Albert Einstein

Isn’t it most exciting if we can add value to other people’s lives? If we succeed in making people feel special, we create the foundation of our own happiness in the process.
For me, a smile on my face is a faithful companion on this exciting journey.

Would you like you if you met you?(unknown author)

Is this just a worn-out phrase or a question that’s actually worth asking?

In my opinion, it’s the latter, because self-reflection is the foundation of change and can pave the way to becoming a more satisfied version of oneself.

"I never dreamed of success, I worked for it." (Estée Lauder)

Success is a staircase, not a door. When we have a goal in mind, we should work hard and not give up - even if we stumble or go back a step or two.
The setbacks we experience in the course of achieving our goals teach and strengthen us.