Blog

I have seen top teams become incapable of leading while still believing they were leading. And by the time they realize it, they have already caused enormous damage. These are intelligent, experienced leaders who still believe they are functioning as a team while trust erodes, the organization becomes political, good people disengage, and the business […]

A Green former Prime Minister says Germany needs to “really get going again” and that people should be allowed to work 14-hour days. The outrage was immediate - and strangely revealing. Which makes me wonder: have we become allergic not only to exploitation - but also to intensity itself? To be clear: I’m not interested […]

Some organizations don’t struggle to change because they are behind. They struggle because they’ve been successful for too long. I see this pattern in many companies I work with. Highly successful organizations, proud of what they’ve built. And then something shifts. Not a visible crisis, more a quiet saturation. People say the right things: transformation, […]

Do you know that moment on a Sunday, when it gets quiet and the usual hamster wheel stops? And something subtle creeps in. Not a big crisis. Just a slight uneasiness. A restlessness in the body. A sense that something isn’t fully settled. I notice how quickly we move away from that. We pick up […]

Most people don’t use the Enneagram for development. They use it to justify who they already are. I see this much more often than people admit. A label lands, and within seconds complexity is reduced to something manageable. “That’s just my type.” It sounds reflective, but more often it closes inquiry. The Enneagram was never […]

What if not knowing yourself is part of your competitive advantage? I know this sounds strange coming from an executive coach. But in executive teams and senior leadership groups I work with, I see it more often than most people would like to admit. Reflection is rarely rewarded as strength. It introduces friction. It slows […]

On the bike yesterday, next to my beloved partner Eva K. I was reminded why these moments are not optional. Nothing to fix, nothing to optimize. Just being there. And I notice how much that gives me - not as an escape, but as a reference point. Because I see the opposite often. In the […]

A lot of coaches will be replaced by AI. Not in theory. In practice. I see a subtle tension spreading across our field right now. A lot of conversations about tools, positioning, how to “integrate AI.” And very little willingness to name what is actually being exposed. A large part of what we have called […]

The strong leader is back. Or maybe we are just less willing to tolerate not knowing. In many executive teams I work with, I see a subtle shift. Under pressure, the room tightens. Conversations get shorter. The appetite for dissent drops. And suddenly, the “decisive” voice carries more weight than the thoughtful one. It feels […]

If the people closest to you consistently get what’s left of your attention, what exactly are you calling love? I’m starting to question whether we’re fully honest about this. Among the executives I work with - and in my own life - I keep seeing the same pattern: the people who matter most often receive […]

On the flight back from a team workshop, I took this picture. I look tired because I am. I had just spent time with a team that has been together in this constellation for quite a while. What showed up wasn’t “low performance” in any simple sense. It was heavier: cooled-down conflict, emotional withdrawal, guarded […]

Most leaders still talk about AI as if it were a strategy topic. It isn’t. It’s an exposure. I came across a piece by McKinsey & Company on why meditation is becoming essential for leaders. On the surface, it’s easy to agree: more complexity, more speed, more need for clarity. But if you stay with […]

Hungary’s landslide vote last Sunday. The Pope under attack all week. And a question I can’t quite shake: What are leaders actually rooted in? Because the contrast right now is hard to ignore. There are leaders who are rooted in themselves - their power, their image, their gain. And once that becomes the center, something […]

Last fall, I had the privilege of working with a remarkable leadership team. Last week, I returned. Much had changed. Several new members had joined in the meantime. In many teams this would reset the dynamics: people becoming cautious again, conversations more diplomatic… But something different happened. Within a short time the team had re-established […]

Are we quietly returning to a leadership culture where becoming an asshole is mistaken for strength? I’m asking this quite seriously. Because in a few executive conversations recently I noticed something subtle. A shift in tone. Almost a sense of relief in the room when someone says things like: “Look… times are changing. Now we […]