At age 23, life threw me a challenge: I was working as an investment manager for a Family Office when our investors asked me to take over one of our flailing portfolio companies and pivot it towards success. I didn’t have much experience as an employee at that time, let alone any experience of managing people, and all of a sudden I was CEO of a regulated business that needed turning around, leading a team of 20.

Boy, was it tough. I cried, I screamed, I panicked. My days were plagued by self-doubt, agonising pressure and constant anxiety.

But I also worked really hard, hustled as best as I could and built an incredible team that allowed us to go from strength to strength. And I realised just how much I love leading.

For me, good leadership is about two things that are equally as important as one another: the first one is what we conventionally believe good leadership to be about. It’s about really seeing the person you’re managing for who they are and trying your absolute best to give them what they need to succeed. Is it regular guidance or a more hands-off approach? Do they need more affirmation and encouragement or structure and discipline? Do they work best on their own or as part of a team? 

But there is a second aspect to leadership that I believe to be just as critical, if not even more critical: self-leadership. Practicing the art of self-awareness, soliciting regular feedback, being aware of your own strengths and weaknesses and knowing what the driving force behind your actions is every step of the way. Course correcting when you’re doing things for the wrong reasons and out of fear. Because only by continuously getting the best out of yourself can you get the best out of other people. 

So I fell in love with both aspects of leadership as I learned to navigate my own ups and downs, challenges and emotions, and as I learned to work with incredible people and their strengths and weaknesses. First at my start-up, Paybase, and later, as I exited it, as COO of another exciting Fintech, tomato pay. 

The love for leadership together with my personal experiences of emotional struggle under high-stakes, high-pressure situations and of how coaching and personal growth can make all the difference, inspired me to become a leadership coach myself. I believe that it is fully in our own hands to expand our thinking, our self-awareness, and our notion of who we think we can become. 

We can all accomplish more than we ever dared to dream of by expanding and shifting our mindset.

Today, alongside my board advisory and mentoring work, I provide leadership coaching (in German or English) exceptional entrepreneurs and leaders who want to live intentionally, be full of self-awareness and kick ass at work.

You can read more about my Leadership Coaching Philosophy here, or book a free intro session in English or German