What actually happens to the projects we’ve always wanted to do? What happens to the business idea that has accompanied us for so many years but has never been implemented? You know the answer: probably nothing. But then, other people just put it into practice. That is why I like the motto “Doing is stronger than wanting to do”.
However, there is no need to always take big steps – those that turn your entire life upside down. It is enough to train your skills of improvisation. For improvisation has a lot in common with “Just do it!”. Both call for knowledge, skills, competencies, confidence, and courage. The bigger our toolbox, the easier it is for us to start working. What, then, should we do to “Just do it!” ever more often?
People who proactively embrace change, deal with it, and make the best of it are those who develop something new. This always reminds me of the recent German past: the fall of the wall. It was an incredibly special time full of surprises. Life was turned upside down; there was a spirit of optimism, and Berlin, at least, experienced a kind of anarchy. An enormous amount of creativity was unleashed during this time. People had an almost unbridled desire to try something new. In line with the motto “Just do it!”, they created projects, companies, and ideas.
Half your life is improvisation
No matter how well we prepare and examine our own thoughts and feelings, life always gets in the way somehow. However, you still need to decide how to put the different pieces of your life puzzle together and what kind of signature to develop in the process. This is where improvisation comes in: a fine art based on sound knowledge, expertise, and experience. Catching the right moment, improvising if necessary, and giving space to the new and unforeseen also has to do with trusting the world – a concept that is relevant in existential analysis and logotherapy (as promoted by Viktor Frankl, Alfried Längle, and Christoph Kolbe).
Personally, I associate trust in the world – also known as basic trust – with being able to let things flow and giving time and space for new things to emerge. For new space, I must be able to let go of old things, including existing texts, ideas, and thoughts. Only when you leave something behind is there room for something new. I call this “cleaning up the hard drive”.
I take what I need from my various training programmes and methods and “garnish” it with something new. This can perhaps best be compared to developing your own culinary creations from existing recipes by varying the ingredients. The most important spices for me are curiosity and a thirst for knowledge as well as a willingness to continue learning – in short, a certain fundamental openness to everything that life has to offer. This, then, goes hand in hand with recognising the right moment: when to use which spice, or, in my case, which method to employ at what time.
The “Just do it!” approach has helped me in developing my freelance career and as a manager in multinational companies. After all, work life is always “just” about contributing ideas and trying them out, convincing people and supporting them in their further development. Here we go, then: Just do it!
Do you need support with defining your vision or honing a new idea? Or are you looking for a sparring partner when it comes to implementing your idea? Please, write to me!
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“It’s not what I do, it’s how I do it” – this sentence by engineer Moshé Feldenkrais, which seems rather simple at first, explains why I consider the method he developed so useful for any kind of relationship. People who practise Feldenkrais get into touch with themselves and, in this way, become clear about what they do. And those who are clear about, and aware of, themselves will – quite obviously – also be clear about, and aware of, their fellow humans.
But what exactly is the Feldenkrais method? Simply put, Feldenkrais is a learning method of exertion through movement – a method that triggers a complex process of experiencing physical and mental agility. In his method, Moshé Feldenkrais combined the know-how he had gained from his many different activities in physics, martial arts, anthropology and engineering. He used anatomical, biomechanical, neuroscientific, and developmental psychology findings.
The basis for this holistic approach was the assumption that everyone who concerns themselves with their own body image will learn to make better use of their own body. Unlike other training methods, Feldenkrais is not about rehearsing specific movements, but about discovering new, individual patterns of mobility. Movement is not imitated; it is explored. This also enables the mind to free itself from ingrained patterns.
Perceiving differences, discovering new things
Those who try out the Feldenkrais method will experience that movements can be performed more and more effortlessly, elegantly, and also more efficiently. This is because new things emerge from the perception of differences. You train your awareness of your own body; the mindful perception of how your own movement is performed leads to balance, orientation, and reorientation. This, in turn, translates into a different, better way of dealing with challenges in many life situations.
Why I think, and even recommend, that leaders should also engage with the Feldenkrais method? Well, the reason is: experiencing yourself in your own physicality expands your consciousness. Those who know their habits and patterns of movement know what is harmful and focus on what is good and can be made easier. The experience gained in this way also has a positive effect on mental strength.
Physical exercise in line with the Feldenkrais method also teaches you that there are a multitude of possibilities for you to try out new things in order to reach your goal. In leadership, too, there is not just one right way or one true style. The Feldenkrais experience encourages you to define your own individual leadership style, a leadership style that suits you.
Mindful of yourself, clear with others
Another important aspect is the perception of your own power reserves. If you pause, take a break, or just bide your time, then you will strengthen your own attentiveness. After all, working proactively rather than seeking support only when pain has already set in is a clear sign of foresight. If you build in moments of recovery, you avoid injury and illness – whether you are training for the next half-marathon or standing your ground in your day-to-day leadership routine.
Figuratively, this also means having the foresight to deal with relevant issues at an early stage and to see the processual aspect itself. For working with the Feldenkrais method reveals development – it involves continuous growth and is never complete: “If you know what you do, you can do what you want.” (Moshé Feldenkrais)
You are interested in the relationship between the Feldenkrais method and leadership and would like to learn more about it? If so, please, contact me – I look forward to discovering aspects like these together with you in an executive coaching context!
Thank you very much, Ulrike Worthmann, for tackling the Feldenkrais method together with me both verbally and non-verbally. Feldenkrais Somatic Experiencing in Berlin – Ulrike Worthman (ulrike-worthmann.de)
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Thinking up ideas during the lunch break? Enquiring about possible mentors in the canteen? In other European countries, opportunities for networking are used much more incidentally and naturally. Here in Germany, it is rather unusual for HR staff to meet top management for lunch to talk about personnel development. From my own work experience in France, all I can say is, ‘What a pity to waste such an opportunity!’ I am a firm believer in networking events and in exchange that goes beyond conference rooms. For many of my clients, I designed and implemented networking events as part of talent management.
“Meet the management” – in line with this motto, young talents have the opportunity to meet leaders on an equal footing, off the beaten track of offices and conference rooms. Managers, on the other hand, can discuss things in a relaxed setting and get an impression of their employees without creating an atmosphere like in a job interview. Yet, in addition to being perfect for discussing positions that need to be filled, the events offer also many other opportunities.
Why networking should be practised as an important leadership quality
Networking is an art – an art you can learn regardless of character and preferences. Having relaxed conversations at business level that go beyond work-related topics requires practice. Offering young talents such an opportunity is a good and simple investment in the leaders of tomorrow.
Once they reach beyond the level of classic small talk at a networking event, managers and young talents are likely to have an exciting conversation about interesting topics. In this relaxed setting, the future leaders learn particularly well how to keep cool in such situations and control the conversation.
A conversation in a conference room, which is about clear facts, is quite different from a networking event. In the latter, new levels of discussion may contribute to ongoing substantive challenges.
The advantages of networking for top management
Outside the office world, conversations can be held differently and bonds can be strengthened. What is more, top management gets a good overview of the talents in the company.
In a relaxed setting, the inhibition threshold when talking to managers is lower than in everyday office life. Here, it is easier to get to know new employees.
In fast-growing companies, physical distances can be a challenge. Events are a good way to reduce such distances and to maintain and strengthen contacts.
What is it about and who participates?
To give everyone a chance to talk to each other, management should invite only eight to ten young talents.
Good events offer new opportunities for exchange on both sides. Employees get a chance to ask what they have always wanted to know from the executive board. Top management, on the other hand, can share their messages directly, communicate strategic issues, listen, and gain new ideas.
Extraordinary conversations develop particularly easily if the event is associated with a special theme. A keynote speech of about 15 minutes given by one of the managers can provide exciting ideas for discussion. The quality of the event depends very much on good facilitation – ideally implemented directly by colleagues in HR development. This creates space for qualitative exchange.
What environment is most suitable for networking events?
Unconventional formats such as a shared breakfast or evenings in front of an open fire have proven successful with many of my clients. Getting together in a relaxed atmosphere for two to three hours, eating finger food at a round table – this promotes exchange and has a lasting effect.
Wouldn’t networking as part of talent management be an interesting option for your company? You would like to get started straight away but are not quite sure how best to prepare the events? Please, get in touch!
Photo(detail) © Minyipuru Pangkalpa 2015, Nancy Nyanjilpayi Chapman
Mentoring plays a crucial role for a successful talent management. Used in the right way, it lays the foundation for highly committed new leaders. However, mentoring can only work if certain basic tactical prerequisites are observed. First of all, it is important to find the perfect match of mentor and mentee, to make sure they are well prepared, and to support them with regard to their first meeting, when they should define together the process as well as the guidelines and principles that suit them. Furthermore, it is essential in this initial phase that both parties clearly specify what they expect from the coming relationship. The HR department can occasionally provide guidance and support for the process.
The fresh perspective of the mentee
It has proven successful that the mentee structures the process and is involved in planning the development. Active listening, well-prepared questions for the meetings, and a subsequent summary of the results lead to a high level of involvement in the mentoring process. Someone who uses mentoring should be willing to accept feedback and be challenged. Then they will particularly benefit from the professional and personal support as well as from the wealth of experience of their mentor. In the best case, they will gain permanent support for a long-term career within the company.
However, the role of the mentee is also to question and analyse with an open mind existing ways of working, possibly to bring in and share other references, without losing track of their own development.
Communicator, career coach, promoter: the roles of the mentor
In addition to integrating the mentee and promoting a deeper understanding of the corporate culture and structure, the mentor offers support and asks the right questions at the right time to stimulate thought processes in their counterpart. Their critical view of the gap between experience and skills is an important driver for the mentee. The mentor supports strategic thinking, reveals different options, and helps the mentee to set goals and make informed decisions. In this connection, the mentee should be allowed to speak to their mentor in confidence at any time. As a career coach, the mentor also acts as a potential role model. With the help of the mentor, the mentee can establish contacts in the company and expand their network.
Well-managed mentoring: a win-win situation
Experience shows that, if the above conditions are met, the mentor-mentee relationship will be positively challenging and enriching for both parties. Leaders and top management pass on knowledge and experience, are involved in the development of talent, and can further develop their own leadership skills. The fresh perspective of their mentee enriches their daily work and expands the company’s international network. Many examples from my practice and current research prove the positive effects of this fruitful concept.
I’d be delighted if the second blog post on the topic of “mentoring” in my talent management series has given you a few exciting ideas for your company. Please, get in touch, should you have further questions.
Photo © Pexels-Andrea-Piacquadio
A Teams call in the afternoon. When Isabelle joins the call, Fiona, who works from home, smiles into the camera. She has great news: she completed her Scrum Master certification with distinction. It was through the initiative of Isabelle that Fiona did a Scrum Master course in the first place. Isabelle is Fiona’s mentor. She works in a thriving software company as head of e-commerce. The two have been a mentoring pair for almost a year. Isabelle supports Fiona in her development, guides her when she has to make decisions, and answers questions. But Isabelle also benefits from the mentoring relationship: inspired by Fiona’s fresh perspective on things, she has already adjusted some of her processes for the good of her department. Moreover, Isabelle can well imagine Fiona succeeding a colleague from management whose promotion is coming up soon.
Many of the mentoring processes I have supported so far take place in this way or in a similar way. The case of Fiona and Isabelle demonstrates what a successful exchange between mentor and mentee might look like. I hear many success stories from my clients after we established mentoring as part of talent management in their companies. This is no wonder, because mentoring really is an invaluable development tool. It enables different generations to engage in fruitful dialogue, guarantees knowledge transfer across immediate company hierarchies, and brings exchange of experience to a new, direct and – at best – partnership level. The mentee learns from the mentor and vice versa. New knowledge and a fresh perspective on processes and structures can be very valuable also for executives.
Knowledge, corporate culture, and motivation for the leaders of tomorrow
Research shows that mentoring has a positive impact on corporate culture and lays the foundation for a new level of leadership that is deeply involved in content issues. This makes mentoring an important element in talent and leadership development. It furthers strategic thinking and assists the development of a shared mindset besides paving the way for extraordinary personal relationships. In this way, young talent can be motivated remarkably well, supported in their development, and tied to the company. Top management gets to know the leaders of tomorrow and is strongly involved in their development. Mentoring also promotes a commitment to diversity within the company.
If mentoring is successful, it can develop into a true learning partnership that offers future leaders deep insights into the organisation of the company, promotes personal development, and teaches new skills. It gives mentees the freedom to develop their own solutions under the guidance of professionals and experts. This creates an extraordinary level of trust, which ensures honest and open feedback. Mentoring also furthers the development of a wide and more international network within the company.
How can mentoring be successfully established in a company?
The first step is to bring together promising mentoring pairs in cooperation with the HR department. Ideally, the make-up of the pairs cuts across departments, countries, and functions. Once the pairs have been put together, the mentor is informed about the mentee’s needs and their level of development. At the beginning, both jointly determine the goals, rules and circumstances of their individual processes. For all other meetings, the mentee should ideally take the initiative and assume responsibility. These meetings take place regularly for a maximum period of twelve months – either face to face or as a video call. The HR department accompanies the process in close cooperation with both partners. If successful, the programme is an enriching and rewarding way for both sides to gain new insights – in the company and at a personal level.
Might mentoring be an interesting approach for your company? In this case, you are invited to read the next part of my blog series about this topic: here, I will take a closer look at the role models of the mentoring process and their relationship. You don’t want to wait? Let’s consider together how we can develop a suitable mentoring concept for your company.
You want to keep a strategic eye on the talent in your team? To do this, there is a somewhat unconventional method we know from team sports: the player card. This allows you to compile a well-structured profile of the members of your team, showing their skills and potential at a glance. In development meetings, you can then use the player cards to gain a very special view of your company’s team and to focus your tactics almost playfully.
Taking a look at the team together: development meetings
At regular intervals, management, HR business partners, and the company’s talent managers should all put their cards on the table. Selected talents are presented, and the 9-box grid is used to check and confirm their performance and potential. On this occasion, the participants also determine any development needs and look at the succession situation.
This method provides an impressive opportunity to present high potentials to the top management and to develop strategies that can be used to promote employees. Cross-functional and cross-national job changes get things moving and are excellent incentives for further development and gaining experience.
Outside the playing field: classical methods
Of course, traditional tools such as regular employee and annual appraisal interviews are at least as important as an external perspective when setting up a strategic talent management system. Looking back together on the last months, giving qualified feedback on the cooperation, and setting new goals: these are important elements of the continuous staff development cycle. A target system or performance check can help with the overall assessment – and with expressing feedback in an appreciative and constructive way.
Moreover, efficient programmes can be integrated into the company’s daily routine. In this context, mentoring is an exciting move, because a one-on-one relationship between mentor and mentee holds enormous potential for development. Another important component is networking events, such as the so-called talent table, where members of the board of directors meet high-potential candidates. I will present the two ideas and best practice examples in the next two blog posts on this topic.
You are interested in developing a tailor-made talent management strategy for your company? Please, get in touch: mp Executive Coaching & Organisational Development – mail@marion-pohl.com.
Photo ©pexels-belle-co
Do you want to know exactly which paths your employees are taking? Dismiss that idea! Your ace in the hole is agility. People change. They discover new interests and talents. Restrictive structures and inflexible job profiles hamper further development and stifle potential. In other words, successful talent management is not about setting or planning careers, but about top management enabling its employees to learn and develop. The keyword is “co-creation” rather than “waterfall model”.
Co-creation focuses not only on a transparent exchange between managers but also on dialogue between equals. For example, companies that offer exciting further development options such as cross-functional and cross-national changes open up interesting challenges that can help talent gain invaluable experience. In this way, a systematic talent management can be built up successively in which personnel development concepts gradually take shape.
Room for talent and transparency
Anyone who is currently looking for talent knows how important it is to render their personnel development modern and attractive. In this context, it is important to keep one’s eyes open internally and to maintain an exchange between management, the HR department, and employees so as to identify, promote, and retain talent at an early stage. Only then can companies increase work performance and job satisfaction, and counteract fluctuation. While the opportunities for staff should be flexible, it also helps to provide a systematic process and diagnostic methods. I refer to this as the talent pipeline, but it could also be conceived of as a cycle.
At the beginning (and again and again in the course) of agile and systematic personnel planning, the question should be where highly qualified staff will be needed in future. Keeping your eyes open within the company allows you to identify and attract talent from inside and outside the company in the long term. The next step involves preparation and development: what do your employees need to develop their full potential? Later, these talents can be successively deployed and supported in those positions where their strengths are well suited to the work requirements. This matching of strengths and requirements should be checked again and again through evaluation and further development. Such a comparison of actual and target is necessary to constantly readjust the talent management process.
Planning individually and specifically
Companies differ in terms of content, working methods and culture. It is then all the more important that the talent pipeline matches the company’s qualities. The talent management process, thus, starts with the definition of an individual strategy that specifies workforce structure, staffing needs, and key positions. To facilitate such processes, there are tools such as McKinsey’s 9-Box-Grid, which helps to define talent in terms of potential and performance. Equipped with such an overview, you can design programmes to further develop the selected employees and make them visible.
To ensure a successful implementation, you should involve all stakeholders in this process: managers, the works council, communications and operational HR. Top management in particular should endorse the strategy and actively promote its implementation.
You can read how such a strategy can be implemented in my next blog post on this topic. You don’t want to wait? Please, get in touch: mp Executive Coaching & Organisational Development – mail@marion-pohl.com.
Photo © Pexels-Khoa-Vö
How you identify and promote talent in your company
Almost every company can relate to the struggle for talented professionals. For some time now, companies have been facing the challenges posed by demographic change, global competition, structural transformation as well as technological advances and digitisation. Here, as elsewhere, Covid-19 has acted like a burning glass on an existing deficiency, leading to loss of sales in many industries. How can companies prevent this? Well, proactive and strategic talent management is the right approach.
The basics of professional HR development
However, talent development and retention cannot be integrated into a company structure from one day to the next. After all, it is not only budgets that need to be planned, but also a clear communication strategy at all levels of the company. What good are the best measures if the employees don’t know about them? There is, then, need for a finely tuned interaction between managers, the HR department, and potential talent.
But first it is necessary to identify candidates with potential, and this task clearly lies with HR and the managers. Current literature specifies four criteria as crucial for recognising the talent of tomorrow: potential, performance, volition, and ability.
Let’s start with the skills of your employees. In addition to cognitive, emotional and social competences, they should also have the ability to manage staff in the current work context. This ability can, then, be used as a starting point to monitor performance, derive an actual status and observe it over an extended period of time. On such a basis, you can better assess the potential in future situations and identify development opportunities. If, on top of that, there is a desire to develop, then you are almost certainly dealing with a high-potential employee.
Much more than just a good nose
There are quotes that people remember. Mostly, these quotes are practice-related. In this specific case, a superior once said to me: “The most important thing in talent management is to recognise people, assess them correctly, and, in this way, get meaningful results.” As simple as that sounds, it is complex – like everything that has to do with people. Once this has been achieved, it is “only” a matter of appropriately matching these employees with the requirements and needs of the company. Placing potential candidates successfully within the company can be one of the most difficult tasks.
So much for the theory. You can read how this might look in practice in my next blog post on talent management. You don’t want to wait? Please, get in touch: mp Executive Coaching & Organisational Development – mail@marion-pohl.com.
Foto: ©Frank Petzke – Australien
What a year was that which we have left behind us! And what a year will be this budding 2021? How will things go on? Anyway, I wish you a safe, happy, and successful new year – and I would like to start this new year with a fresh idea.
Those who move develop new ideas and insights literally step by step. They strengthen the cardiovascular system and, thus, also the mind. As the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche stated in 1889: “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
This is confirmed by scientists of Stanford University who found out that movement improves the ability for what is called “divergent thinking”. This includes both quantitative and qualitative innovative thinking, which gives us unusual, even crazy ideas. Movement clearly boosts creativity. (Oppezzo, M. & Schwartz, D.L., 2014, Stanford University)
Another advantage of thinking while walking is the change of perspective that comes about automatically, step by step. Those who look at a problem from a different angle find new solutions and understand their counterparts better.
This is why I like to use the concept of Walk & Talk in coaching. For Walk & Talk triggers creative processes that lead to new ideas. Scientists have proven that looking at things from unusual angles and new perspectives enhances a person’s mental flexibility. As research shows, people who had been walking tended to be much more creative than those who had been sitting.
Physical activities influence our perception. When walking, time and space disappear and we can let go of whatever is otherwise blocking us, make room for new thoughts, and release fresh energy.
In a nutshell, walking is a strategy easy to implement to generate unusual and novel ideas. A noteworthy side effect: in times of pandemic, there is probably no better Covid-19-compliant opportunity for coaching or staff talks than walking in the fresh air. It is, thus, the perfect time to take advantage of Walk & Talk! Give it a try – I’ll be happy to support you!
Source: Oppezzo, M. & Schwartz, D.L., Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking, Stanford University, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 2014, Vol. 40, No. 4, 1142–1152
Photo: ©Marion Pohl in Sumatra
In my blog series “Virtual leadership”, I discuss various aspects of collaborating at a distance. One of the things that inspired this blog series is my work as a lecturer at the FOM University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Management. Another factor is, of course, Corona: the crisis helped to render virtual leadership a prominent topic. Whatever the effects of the pandemic all over the globe, it also contributed to lasting changes in the world of work.
What is surprising, here, is the wide range of challenges and opportunities: from loss of information to more competencies for employees. In conversations with my clients, I was able to better understand the most important changes and to spread their practical tips via my “virtual leadership” blog series – whether they related to meeting structures or included software recommendations. How, then, can leaders be prepared for this changed world of work?
Keeping in touch without having personal contact is a balancing act. Training courses for leaders should, thus, focus very much on human interaction. How can you establish and cultivate the commitment of employees and a strong relationship with them? My clients recommend something rather straightforward: arrange a personal audio or video call once every other week or, better still, once every week, even if there are no immediate tasks that need to be discussed. These calls may also deal with private matters.
“I have a mixed team consisting of younger colleagues and older, more experienced colleagues. The younger ones require more guidance, the older ones have weathered quite a few crises. I spend more time on each employee than before. Regularly calling the team once every other week means talking for half an hour to each of the 28 team members. However, there was hardly a chance to discuss long-term development goals, because the period during and after corona is also about a struggle for survival. One employee, for example, was working short-time with his hours reduced by 100 per cent. He was feeling anxious and feared being made redundant. These topics and emotions now need to get special attention. Another challenge is to talk to the lone wolfs: picking them up from where they are, staying in contact with them, and also leaving room to discuss private things.”
(BW, a regional manager for a consulting team in the IT industry)
Such talks, which are potentially fraught with tensions, require tact and sensitivity – particularly, if there are no non-verbal signs to interpret, as is the case, for instance, on the phone. In video calls, by contrast, the participants can better read non-verbal signs and respond to them.
“Leaders should try to adapt their leadership style to the actual situation and to respond to the different personalities of their employees. I endeavour to interact with my employees on an equal footing and avoid words and phrases that signify a manager-employee relationship. I find that changing the perspective is very useful for me to empathise with my employees. One aspect, here, is discussing topics that we have in common, for example, talking about family or personal matters such as child care. It is important to leave room for topics that individual employees are really concerned about, that are on their mind. The communication may well be casual, leaving out the hard-and-fast facts.”
(BW, a regional manager for a consulting team in the IT industry)
And how to communicate successfully in a large group? Digital conferences can be tricky. This is a truism, as everybody will know who participated in such a conference in the last few months.
“Virtual meetings are much more demanding than analogue meetings, requiring more discipline from everybody. Simple rules help to provide structure: hearing the other out, talking not too long, keeping to the point, etc. I also think that limiting the number of participants is important and useful. Who is really relevant to the topic of the meeting? It certainly makes sense for one person in the team to facilitate the meeting – and that should not be the leader.”
(BW, a regional manager for a consulting team in the IT industry)
So much for the tips regarding communication by audio or video call. What is, and remains, a challenge, though, is achieving proximity from a distance. I have had good experience with team-building events. These need not be extravagant at all; cooking together, for example, is always extremely rewarding. While the colleague from HR chops the coriander and the member of the creative team uncorks the cooking wine, private matters can be discussed much more easily. But can that also be done in a virtual environment? Of course, it can! In fact, it is easy to implement. I got my inspiration from COOKZU, a streaming show to watch and cook, organised by the manager of the eat!berlin festival, Bernhard Moser, and Daniel Finger, presenter at radioeins. (The name of the show, “cookzu”, sounds like the German word for the imperative “watch!”.) They talk so casually about chicken in Traminer wine and monkfish saltimbocca – you could do that together with your colleagues.
Especially in times when people work from home and collaborate at a distance, written communication is gaining in importance. What is crucial in this context is writing clearly and to the point. This is why I recommend to leaders that they strengthen their ability to communicate in writing. It is often the little things that determine the success of a project text, a cover letter or even the fastest written form of communication, an e-mail. For feedback on texts, I personally prefer to rely on the expertise of my trusted copywriter, Natalie Fingerhut. Here I also get tips and tricks in between about how to communicate successfully.
In the past, anyone whose sales pitch at the customer’s premises was successful might have gone to the restaurant around the corner to drink a toast. Yet, what if the pitch has taken place digitally and afterwards everybody pulls out of the MS Teams meeting? Well, clearly, then you need an extra virtual meeting to celebrate. Even if you are not toasting with mojito, here, it is important to commemorate achievements, because they weld people together. This (virtual) room for feedback from both sides is highly relevant also if things didn’t run one hundred per cent smoothly. Where else can the competencies of the individual team members become evident?
Make your team even stronger by focusing on what you have achieved together – because that does not only make your employees happy!
You would like to learn more about virtual leadership? Please, read also the first four articles of my blog series on the topic: “Home office to home office – virtual leadership – a challenge offering opportunities”, “You want to have more competence? Here you go! Virtual leadership in enterprise 2.0”, “Is this New Work? How virtual work becomes a reality as the result of a crisis“, and “About video conferencing, chats, etc.: software solutions in practice”. I hope, you will enjoy yourself and get some interesting ideas as you explore the material.
Have you become curious? Or do you need support in coaching, in change processes or in team development? Please, send a message.
