Blog

Often, we can’t see the wood for the trees Most people bring a lot of good will to virtual meetings in challenging times, and yet, tension can build up quite quickly. The lack of direct contact can lead to misunderstandings and out-of-sync communication. Our ability to empathise with others decreases with increased stress, fatigue and ...

What do we do? Defending our false narrative, discrediting our opponent? Questioning their integrity and motivations? Manipulating facts and statistics? Really? What creeps up on us when we realize that we are wrong? It is a sobering experience, indeed – with feelings of frustration, defensiveness and fear. With the temptation to continue with “fighting” just ...

Dear Jutta, I am a project manager and very passionate about my work. The director of our division has asked me to join him for a difficult meeting with clients – a great opportunity to raise my profile. I know that my expertise and knowledge can really make a difference, and yet I am rather ...

A “secret” skill for difficult workplace conversations Today, I am sharing a secret skill with you many don’t think of. Well, actually it is not a real “secret”. Often, we are just too busy with ourselves and not clear-headed enough to make use of it as the following case study shows: Case study I was ...

Pass the cake test The cake test is a quick and easy way to save time and energy and stop procrastination, when you do your weekly planning. I love writing todo-lists in order to prepare for the coming week. Getting my list ready on Sunday evening gives me a good feeling that I will be ...

Am I good enough?   Do you feel uncomfortable with the idea of “leading” others in general,  often questioning yourself if you are “good enough”? You are in good company: I noticed, that this is the case for many of my clients, when they become a new teamleader. Or perhaps you tend towards the other ...

Why Feedback makes us cringe Last week, a colleague sent me an invitation for an event, with a topic that made me cringe: “Learning to love feedback” / “Why I want you to criticize me. “ All about “Lowering your self-defence, looking forward to criticism, even if it hurts….” I was surprised by my aversion ...

Plan as though you would load your car Have you ever realized: daily planning is like loading your car boot for a holiday trip. Why? 1. Everybody wants to stuff as much as possible into the car and there never seems to be enough space for everything. It’s the same with planning: I try to ...

 3 Unhelpful Myths About Criticism And Feedback You know that you have to criticize others from time to time,  but you also want to have a good, constructive atmosphere and work wth others in harmony. You find it difficult to criticize in a good way. All those mixed messages out there on how to get ...

De-escalating conflicts: 5 things you can do   Just imagine: You have been working with your team in harmony for years. But one morning, you turn up at work and a bombshell is waiting for you: Two members of your team (who have been dating each other for months) split up the evening before…. Not ...