Today I want to chat about leadership.
For me leadership is inspiring other people to empower themselves,
To bring their best version into the world.
For me that is true leadership in the new world or however you would like to call it,
New way of working.
It has many different aspects and it's in strong contrast to what I have been observing at the university where I worked for 25 years.
I quit my job 3 years ago for those who don't know that.
And to just give you an example about the big contrast about the types of leadership.
I used to have a boss who basically when a new employee started their job,
She was just looking at it from like seeing this huge swimming pool and she kicked someone in the butt and she was like okay,
You swim.
She didn't teach the person to swim,
This is metaphorically of course,
She didn't teach the person to swim,
But she had the reasoning if you drown,
You are not suited for the job.
If you surface and you learn yourself how to swim,
You are perfect for the job.
This was an academic environment.
So highly educated people,
People who are self-supportive,
They know how to learn,
But they didn't feel any support in how to approach their job at that particular position,
What was expected from them.
There was no guidance.
For me,
In that respect,
There was also no inspiration.
For me,
One of the things about leadership is that you show,
You act,
You behave how you want everyone around you to be inspiring and behaving themselves.
It is leading by example.
If you are bullying other people,
Then how to expect other people to be nice to you?
Leading by example,
I think that is for me one thing that is very important now.
That's also why in my work I share a lot of my personal stories.
Because I think vulnerability is one important aspect of making the connection.
For people to recognize,
Hey,
She is suffering from the same.
She is not like on this pedestal.
She is not better than we.
So equality is also a very important characteristic.
That's also how I really feel it,
That the people I work with,
It's always a two-way interaction.
They learn from me,
But I learn from them.
They are also for me a mirror.
Why are these people coming in my retreats,
In my teachings?
What are they actually learning me?
Are they aligned with who I want to be,
How I want to live?
One characteristic is really showing up for yourself,
Take self-responsibility.
That is what I always have had in leading other people.
Also at university where I had a team of eight people in the end,
PhDs and technicians and postdocs and some students.
Self-leadership is important.
And self-leadership is not that you need to do it all by yourself.
You should always connect to other people and find the persons you need to do the job,
To be happy,
To grow,
To develop.
But it's always in connection,
In collaboration.
And in collaboration,
Another thing which is very important is to foster your talents.
You don't need to be good in every aspect.
You don't need to be the sheep with the five legs.
That's how I see it.
You don't have to be able to have the capability to do all the different things.
It will distract you.
It will not put the focus on what you're good at.
And if you can build a team where you are good at one thing and another person is good at another thing,
Where you can split the roles,
But respect each other and see each other equal,
Because that is of course another thing.
At least that's my experience from the university.
Some people thought that they were better than other people.
And of course there were many other examples as well.
But if you feel better than someone doing a lower paid job,
While you need the other person to bring you supplies,
Clean things,
It's disrespect.
And you're not helping anyone,
Including yourself,
By being disrespectful to other people.
So sharing knowledge and helping other people,
Bringing your talents in the world,
Collaborating,
Communicating,
I think that is also a very,
Very important thing.
And the biggest reason probably why we are poor in communicating is because of the lack of the fear of failure,
Not doing good enough,
Being rejected,
Getting negative feedback.
We have to have the idea that we have to do it all ourselves and we cannot be vulnerable,
Because then we will be even afraid to lose your job.
A new way of working for me would be definitely coming from equality,
Supporting each other.
It's like in so many businesses,
We need each other,
Because you are good in one thing,
I'm good in another thing.
And really allowing yourself to step up,
To bring those talents into the world,
That is what the world is waiting for.
The world is waiting for you to step up,
To truly do what you are here to do.
