1.
What I like about my job
What I like about my job, even after a month, is the fact that I can continue what I started as an independent contractor: to guide companies and their employees during the process of change. I enjoy working closely with people, want to understand what drives them in the corporate context, where they stand and what they need to be able to cope with change more easily. I like to look at strengths and potential, and to help overcome boundaries in people's minds that seem immovable at first glance.
2.
What sometimes frustrates me
There is always a certain potential for frustration for impatient people like me in the process of transformation. Even though I know that change does not consist of flipping a switch once, but of many small baby steps, I am always happy when I can feel and see the effectiveness of what I am doing.
3.
My secret alternative job
A mixture of beekeeper, novelist and data scientist.
4.
Best strategy to survive a really bad day at the office
Thanks to Corona, I haven't been in the office much, nor have I had bad days. But what always helps me, when nothing else works, is to go for a walk on my own for hours on end. (Escalation stage: Tons of yogurt gums.)
5.
When are you in the famous flow
When I have time to fully concentrate on a topic without distraction or interruption. And when there's a tight deadline.
6.
Biggest success so far
I find it hard to pat myself on the back – I try to do the things I do as well as I can, sometimes better, sometimes worse. If I had to answer what I'm proud of, it's that I was able to find myself a new professional challenge, although – or maybe even because – I almost exclusively followed my gut feeling and no career strategy. I like that I do what I enjoy and no longer have to be corrupted.
7.
Biggest defeat
When I was in my early 30s, I got my first management position virtually overnight, and there were a lot of things then that I did not do well, or that I would do differently today. At that time I was not able to be a leader that the team wanted to follow and recognizing that was a painful process.
8. Worst buzzword
Agile – not because I don't think the agile perspective is good and important, but because it neither means that everyone does what they want, nor is it the answer to all questions in the context of digitization.
9.
Best reward after a hard week at work
Hiking or at least going for a long walk.
10.
Home office or in-house
Under normal circumstances, I would immediately say ‘home office’, because as a mother it gives me more flexibility and takes away my guilty conscience in both areas. But at the moment I would like a little more time in-house and a chance encounter with real people.
11.
Most important traits a colleague/business partner must have
I like smart, appreciative, humorous and sincere people, both in my personal and professional life.
12. Your creative hack
I love mind maps, visualization and assigning thoughts. It often helps me to think further and to spin new ideas.
13. First website to check in the morning
Right after I get up I check the buzz from Twitter, then the Zeit or the New York Times to validate the rumours.
14. Favorite digital tool
My Apple-Watch.
15. In which book or series have you learned the most for your (work) life?
A book that has worked especially well for me, in the context of my professional reorientation over the last year, is ‘Re-inventing Organisations’ by Frederic Laloux. It has helped and still helps me to better understand organizations and their structures and mechanisms, and to find starting points for sustainable change.
16.
Which series, book or podcast can you generally recommend?
To pass the time, I prefer to listen to the ZEIT Verbrechen podcast. When I'm looking for new perspectives, I listen to episodes of Coaching for Leaders or The Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders.
17.
Most prominent follower on a social channel?
Barack Obama. He is (for reasons unknown to me) my first Twitter follower ever.
17 and a half: What has always...
...puzzled me: People who are not interested in others and yet are still entrusted with their leadership.
