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How Can One Best Navigate Differing Beliefs?
Spoiler alert: by caring! This can actually become a trick question rather quickly. Especially when we are talking about the workspace. Because lets face it, what you are doing in the privacy of your own home, isn’t exactly visible. Even though differing beliefs can be challenging to maneuver in any environment, that’s for sure. Since the Supreme (or not so…
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From My Survival Playbook – Introducing My Mental Parking Lot
What to do with all those emotions or feelings, thoughts, concerns or worries that tend to hit us at the worst possible time? We are super busy with work or with daily life stuff, minding our own business and suddenly there they are. Popping into our lives out of the blue and demanding mental space. A lot of space, usually.…
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Let’s Take The High Road – It Really Isn’t As Busy
Have you ever received a clearly sneakily bitchy or even bullying email? Sneakily, because the sender is smart enough to disguise their actual intention. Did someone, who seems to have a less than innocent motive, provoke you? And is trying to discredit you and / or your reputation? Oh man, I am so sorry that is happening to you. I…
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What Can Beautiful Fall Teach Us About Change Management?
I just spent a week away from hot and humid Florida in the Great Smoky Mountain area. Some well deserved and urgently needed vacation time with my husband and our pooch Sam. Upon our arrival we were greeted by the most beautiful Fall colors. Fall foliage might just be my favorite thing about Fall. Combined with a usually much colder…
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How I Found The Strength To Be Vulnerable
A dear friend and colleague recently asked me this as a question through our slack program. I had just written two very vulnerable and open blog posts, that resonated with him. You can find both here and here. My very first reaction was to applaud him for recognizing that vulnerability is a strength and not a weakness. This is definitely…
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It’s An Absolute Judgment Free Zone, Or Is It?
I am not going to start this post by saying that it is going to be “a little controversial”. Let’s face it, based on where you stand on literally any topic, all posts have the potential to be controversial. Even one about our puppy, Sam. And this post is definitely not going to be any different. If one is going…
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The Girl Behind The Curtain
It is around 8pm, bed time for the girl who is maybe 7 or 8 years in age. On other nights this would be the time to secretly read one of her beloved books with a flashlight under her blanket. The girl is a bookworm, much more into reading than into sports. She usually reads books, that are not necessarily…
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Are You Having The Right Perspective On Your Success?
Happy Sunday! I felt it’s time for another vulnerable post. Get yourself comfortable but also ready, because what I am going to talk about today, might be uncomfortable to read at times. I am going to talk about success. And about why I called my blog and my podcast (find the link here) “My Kind Of Success” in the first…
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Episode 2 Focus Is Our Friend Part 1
Below the links to the second episode of My Kind Of Success – The Podcast: Focus Is Our Friend Part I. Feeling a little or a lot of overwhelmed? Things are out of (your) control and annoyances are piling up? Then now might be the perfect time to take a break and listen to my latest podcast episode! A friend…
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Should We Really Just Focus On The Things We Can Control?
I recently shared with my coach how I felt compelled to bust some of Social Media’s wisdoms/myths. Social Media wisdoms? I am sure you have seen those one sentence “insights” on platforms like LinkedIn that sound really good. They usually seem easy enough to follow. They also somewhat claim to be the one size fits all solution to mostly all…
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Episode 1 The Power Of Coaching
News on mykindofsuccess.net – I just launched my first episode of My Kind Of Success – The Podcast. While I am not going to discuss all topics both on the blog and in the podcast, you can expect some older articles to be recorded for those who prefer to listen over reading. More to come! Episode 1 is all about…
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My Top 5 Reasons Not To Be A Servant Leader
“To be or not to be, that is the question”. Ever wondered what Shakespeare’s take on things would be these days? No, that’s just me? Oh well. Firstly, I am wondering, if Shakespeare would be one of those influencers on platforms like LinkedIn that leave their audience with smart sentences? Sentences like “Leadership is not an expertise. Leadership is a…
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How Are Our Top 2 Values Impacting Our Lives?
Have you ever thought about your top 2 values? Or your values in general? I was somewhat clear that I have values, but never thought much about what they were. And definitely not about how they were impacting the (work) life I am living. In situations where they probably tried to make themselves known, I just did not associate the…
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It Is A Great Idea To Fake It Till We Make It – Sometimes
I think everyone heard the phrase “fake it till you make it” before. We tend to use this catch phrase jokingly, when we are not feeling something (yet), but have no choice. For example we might not be into Mondays. However we do not have much of a choice to start the week on the same. So, our reply to…
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Working Hard At Actually Being Happy And Content
If you read some of my previous posts, you probably know by now, that I am a work in progress. I totally am. I am never going to stop learning. Well I will eventually, but that’s when I also stop being. And I am very thankful that I learned this lesson. One thing I continue to learn and work on…
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Are You Actually Really Listening To Understand?
Are you a good listener? I admire people that are naturally good at listening. Not just being quiet while someone else is speaking. Actually actively listening. I am not good at it. Partly because I am a pretty chatty person. But also because I am not the most patient human there is, either. I am lucky that I am quite…
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Always, Never And Other Conversation Killer
A Not So Serious Guide How To Start A Fight It’s been too peaceful in your life lately? I guess you are not living in this world then? But not to worry, there is a few easy things you can do to change that. It’s all about communication. Let me help you out! You really just need a few simple…
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Having Zero Tolerance For The Nonsense In Your Life?
I can so relate! I mean, the struggle is real people. So much going on and being empathetic, I can literally feel the pain of everyone around me. So much pain. Who needs additional nonsense in their life? Not me. And I hate to break it to you, but we still got to own what happens next. In my humble…
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The Super Powerful Walk In Another Person’s Shoes
Care to walk in another person’s shoes? Do you feel judged or even shamed sometimes? I do. Because there is a lot of pressure to do the right thing. Always. To never fail at doing such important things like inclusion and diversity. Be an ally and know exactly how and to make no mistakes. This is at least true if…
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What If I Have No More Words?
Today’s Struggles Of An Empathetic People Leader I was going to write a different blog post today. It was going to be uplifting and insightful. I would write about how I constantly work on becoming a better listener, combined with some tips and tricks of course. Words of experience and encouragement. Thought provoking as I like it best. But then…
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6 Important Life-Hacks I Learned On My Weight Loss Journey
Four years ago I embarked, for the hundreds time, on what I thought was yet another diet and short-lived weight loss journey. But this time felt different from the get go. It actually felt “feasible”. I managed to lose the ~60 lb of weight I wanted to lose within a little over a year. But most importantly I have been…
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Did You Know Craving Validation From Others Is Actually Seriously Risky?
When was the last time, that you celebrated yourself or something that you accomplished? All by yourself and without anyone else celebrating you or your success first? Are you usually getting excited for yourself when something joyful or great is happening or you did something awesome? If the answer is yes, good for you. If the answer is no, then…
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The Important Fact We Should Know About Our Dream Job
When I grew up, I wanted to become an FBI Agent. I had seen US crime series and movies on TV with my Dad and it intrigued me. It was my absolute dream job. There was just one minor obstacle. I grew up in Germany and I was seriously disappointed when I realized, there was no such thing like a…
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Good To Know What You Want, Really Powerful If You Know Why
Many of us have goals. Goals for our lives, goals for our careers, our families, our health and so on. We will likely not always accomplish all of them. And that’s ok. However we can dramatically increase our chances, if on top of knowing what, we also know our “why”. Because the “why” might be much more important. It definitely…
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How To Get What We Need? Just Be Supportive!
Well, well, well. Should things really be that simple and easy? No, likely not. Life just really isn’t such an easy thing to do. But if we want to get what we need, it does help to not expect anything from anyone. Instead we should try offering our own support first. One hand might wash the other, if we do.…
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Why I Don’t Mind Being Vulnerable And Neither Should You
Happy International Women’s Day! How are you doing today? I am writing this the day before as Sunday afternoon is for writing. And I am actually having a great Sunday so far today. However overall? I am also feeling sad. And I am definitely a little bit tired, too. Thankfully I have no problem with being vulnerable and sharing this…
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Some Great Books, Tools & People That Helped Me Grow
So today I thought I would start providing content in a completely unused category on my blog. “Recommendations”. And just as a disclaimer upfront: I am not earning any money by recommending these tools, people or books. Book(s) I have to start with my favorite non-fiction book of all times (so far): Kim Scott’s “Radical Candor: Be a kickass boss…
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Reminder To Self: No Need To Panic!
Wow, another week gone. Time flies. It’s been a year now, that I have not been working in the office. Well at least it’s finally weekend and time to share the last time I was about to panic at work. And how I was thankfully able to stop myself, before I could do some serious damage. I am sure everyone…
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Do You Know Your Top Strengths? Focus On Them!
Isn’t it so easy to get lost in the things we are not good at? Not surprising, since we really do not like to suck (excuse the language) at something. Especially if it is something, that we thought we should be great at. But we are not going to be geniuses at everything. It would help though, if we really…
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The Surprising & Powerful Difference Coaching Made in My (Work) Life
Happy Monday everyone! Are you ready for another (work) week? Ready to rock it and live your best (work) life? Or are you dreading the day and the week ahead? For you it’s a mix of both and now you feel weird? Don’t! I don’t believe these are exclusive. But it’s been taking me a while to admit this to…
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Never Assume, You will Likely Fail Every Single Time
Assumptions are a tricky thing. We are in fact constantly making assumptions. Especially when critical data points for an informed decision are missing. Our brains are wired to make assumptions, to fill information gaps. This stems from a time, when information gaps could literally be deadly. And yet, we should really never assume. We will be wrong every single time.…
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Time To Think About Your Powerful Focus Word For 2021!
I think we are past that time when wishing a “Happy New Year” is still “appropriate”. I do however still wish you a great, happy and healthy 2021. Let’s fill it with lots of love and laughter. Yes, you would usually use the passive “filled with lots of love and laughter” but that won’t do it for me. After 2020,…
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Why Are So Many New Years Resolutions Failing?
The New Year is about to start. Finally. And I am sure we can all agree, a real new start is in order, once we made it through 2020. But trust me, this year is not yet over so I am not going to celebrate early. Just don’t want to jinx it any further. But I am wondering, are you…
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Did You Know A Simple “Good Job” Just Doesn’t Do It?
The art of giving praise and compliments @ work Have you ever received a “positive feedback” that left you clueless or disappointed instead of motivated? You have, but you don’t know exactly why? Maybe the person providing it was just not familiar with the art of giving praise and compliments at work. Giving feedback, the right way, does not come…
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You Are Really Great, But Nobody Notices It?
Well, are you “telling” them? In many companies it’s time for the Year End review. Which might have to do with the fact that, well the year is almost over. You are or have been really great, but nobody notices it? And now, at your Year End review, you are realizing that is not a good thing? Have you been…
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You Will Really Never Be Happy With Your Outsourced Service
Unless you put in the work! It’s been a while since part III of my series about how I changed my outsourcing game. Mainly because I have been on vacation. And yes, partly because things have been a little crazy in the US in the last couple of days. No headspace to talk about things not happening, unless you put…
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Actually Never Been Happy With Your Outsourced Customer Service?
Try Integrity & Ownership! Yes, those are two very strong words. Maybe even words, you might find in some “bullshit bingo” charts as well. However, I personally think these two belong together and should be front and center for every true leader. You have to try integrity & ownership , I am sure about that. So much so, that they…
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Still Not Really Happy With Your Outsourced Customer Service?
Try Genuine Care & Radical Candor Welcome back to part II of my post series about my journey to a better (outsourced) Customer Service. And what happened, when I lost that client attitude and tried genuine care and radical candor, instead. You have not read part I yet? No worries, you can find it right here and I recommend reading…
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Really Not Happy With Your Outsourced Customer Service?
Try Losing That Client Attitude! When I “pitched” this blog post idea “Try Losing That Client Attitude” to my coach, she hesitated to reply. But ultimately she honestly told me, that it made her cringe a little. You are hiring a contractor or Customer Service BPO for a reason, right? And that reaction of hers made me smile. Because I…
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3 Simple Tips For A Less Stressful Work Week
The weekend is almost over and a new work week is about to start. Working days can get quite stressful, tense even. This is definitely especially true, in the crazy times we are living in right now. So I thought I would share 3 of my simple tips for a less stressful work week. So what are those 3 simple…
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The Magic Process Of Becoming A People Leader
Let’s talk about the magic process of becoming a people leader today, shall we? Because there is many bosses out there, but in my opinion not as many true leader. So, what’s the difference? Well, let me share my thoughts and you’ll be the judge. And a spoiler upfront – if you are willing to put in the work, the…
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Check-in #21 now available
Missing your regular dose of “Covid-19 check-ins”? No worries, I am still sharing my take on the pandemic, Covidiots and the Covidiot in Chief. It has just now moved to my second blog: https://mykindofhappiness.net/ You can find Check-in #21 here. Check-it out and sign up for notifications! More new posts on this blog soon!
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The One Exciting Power Of Routines
Do you think, daily, weekly or monthly routines are boring? You might want to think again. Because routines can be very powerful in helping with your career and “work-life-balance”. There is one exciting power of routines, that I would like to explore with you today. I will admit, that the word “routine” or even the explanation in the dictionary do…
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Check-in #19
My Social Distancing Diary has moved to a new home. Check-it out and let me know your thoughts under https://mykindofhappiness.net/
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How 1 Simple Step Can Help Change Your Life
How 1 simple step can help change your life. A journey of a 1000 miles, begins with a single step. This quote, attributed to Laozi (Chinese Philosopher), sounds simple enough. Because a single step does not sound too difficult, does it? So how can one simple step help change your life? And how easy is it really, to take that…
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Focus Is Our Friend
I think we can all agree, that 2020 so far has been an interesting year. To say the least. One, not many of us would likely recommend to a friend. For sure things have been and continue to be difficult, even overwhelming at times. But how can we best deal with all of this? Or with other difficult situations? Certainly,…
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Comparison…
…is the thief of joy. Would you agree with this statement, that we commonly attribute to President Theodore Roosevelt? What do you think he meant by it and what does it mean to you? If it would be in our human nature, to compare ourselves and as a result see equality, comparison would probably not be such a bad thing.…
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It’s OK To NOT Be OK!
It’s OK to not be OK! Here, I said it publicly. Because I mean it, too! And if your first reaction to this intro is “of course, why would you even talk about it. That is common sense”. Then let me first congratulate you to your self-compassion! And second let me tell you, there is an unfortunate reason I am…
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WHO OR HOW?
Do you think, mistakes are inevitable when people are actually working and making decisions? Yes? That’s a great first step. But have you really accepted that fact and embraced mistakes as a means to grow and achieve even better results? Well, you really should. Per LinkedIn posts, many leaders are saying they are embracing mistakes as an opportunity to grow.…
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#Blackouttuesday
“There is nothing, I can do!” Is nothing, anyone who successfully helped drive change ever said. But I am sure, it has been on their mind and weighing on their hearts. And then, then they felt that the weight of doing nothing was so much heavier. And in order to be able to breathe, they had to do something. There…
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Too simple?
When it comes to describing what makes people successful, keeping it simple might seem like a good idea. One picture says more than a thousand words after all. And too much context might be too complicated, right? Right. But not so fast. Too simple is a thing. And context has it’s merits. Today I saw this picture that someone had…
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Work-Life-Balance
Is work-life-balance something, you are trying to accomplish or you are even missing in your life? Many people seem to be struggling with this. And this might be partly, because they are trying to balance their work with their life. Almost as if our work wasn’t a part of our life? Ever noticed this flaw in the term? Why I…
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Day 54
What an ending to an otherwise rather normal Friday! It’s Day 54 of our little Covid-19 community blog. It’s also Friday, May 15th. But honestly, it could as well have been Friday the 13th, based on how the day ended. But from the beginning. As forecasted, the weather was a wash-out today. But it was not bad enough this morning,…
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Little things matter!
As I said yesterday the weather is rainy and since it is Sunday afternoon, it’s a good opportunity to write another blog post. So here I go. Little things matter. At least to me, they do. Professionally as well as personally. And by little things I mean the everyday successes, many actively choose to overlook or at least not celebrate.…
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The Integrity Challenge
It’s about time for another, as Henning called them, “positive” blog posts. And by positive, he actually meant a post, that does not talk (at least not only) about Covid-19. It’s rainy and super dark outside. The pooch is lying next to me and the mood is right, so here we go! Let’s talk about integrity. But what is Integrity?…
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Failure? (Not) An Option!
My husband told me yesterday, that I should be writing “a positive” blog post again. I gave him a confused, yet slightly upset look as a reaction. What was he telling me? My daily diary posts are not “positive” enough? So he went on to explain, he meant a post like the ones I would have written before Covid-19. There…
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Rockstar or Superstar?
I did not spend too much time watching the Grammy’s (I did not watch them at all to be honest). I also did not watch the Golden Globes really so that isn’t it either. Why would I then want to talk about Stars and Rock- and Superstars of all things? Why ask “Rockstar or Superstar” at all? It’s because we…
