NO ONE REALLY UNDERSTANDS EXECUTIVES. UNLESS YOU‘VE BEEN ONE YOURSELF.

As an executive of a global corporate and investment bank, I have worked closely with leaders of large companies for 25 years. I understand their everyday reality, their fascination, but also their risks and challenges. I have experienced all the highs and lows of being an executive myself. This experience ist not a guarantee of success - but it certainly helps.

In order to become an executive coach, I had to critically examine my own actions as a leader and reflect on my successes as well as my failures. Through my interaction with inspiring leaders, I gained deep insights into how they manage critical situations and, most importantly, how they are able to lead effectively.

My own path to successful leadership was by no means straightforward. I am still proud of my accomplishments. However, I really matured by coming to terms with my failures - painful setbacks and at times severe crises.

On this journey, it was essential for me to step out of the comfort zone of my professional expertise more and more. I had to realize that emotional intelligence (EQ) is the differentiating criterion for effective leadership and learn to act authentically in order to sustainably motivate, inspire, and lead my teams, as well as convince my peers and superiors.

My maturation process as a leader would have been more straightforward and probably faster if I had recognized my potential sooner and utilized my own resources better. Unfortunately, I never had the support of a coach in my career. Now I consider it fortunate that I experienced many setbacks and mistakes on my path to success because I learned from each one. For me, as an executive coach, that is an essential resource.

It may be lonely at the top - but there is someone who understands you.