When a good command of English is no longer enough, you should aim for full fluency in English Photo by Foto Sushi on Unsplash If your clients or business partners are based in majority native English speaking countries, a good command of business English is probably not enough. You, your team or organisation will survive with a B2 […]
Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash In my experience, the most successful learners identify their fears, face those fears and learn to overcome them or to manage them. So what are your fears when it comes to working in English? What language, emotional or psychological barriers are holding you back? What typical mistakes do you want to correct? What […]
Your confidence in speaking English will impact the way your team speaks English and the type of opportunities they pursue. A manager who lacks confidence in their English language skills can have a negative impact on the team’s level of and willingness to speak English. If team members sense the manager’s insecurity, they may hesitate […]
Time and again I see the same problem: an experienced German-speaking manager has difficulty leading her English-speaking international team effectively. With a German-speaking team she always achieved excellent results. But these results do not carry over into English. She asks for help with her business English. A teacher in his twenties or thirties is assigned […]
Imagine you’re leading a change management project. You’re exhausted. Your team is stressed and overworked. In an effort to motivate them, you smile and shout positive sounding things like: “Come on, team. We need to shake things up!” “Adapt or die!” “Change is the only constant.” But instead of motivating them, you could be making […]
When triggered, the amygdala, the part of your brain primarily associated with emotional processes, can be activated. It releases stress hormones that prepare you to fight, freeze or flee. Fantastic if you’re in physical danger, but not necessarily when in a meeting or negotiation. Here’s a way to return to or stay COOL. Catch the […]
In his book “The Way We’re Working, Isn’t Working” Tony Schwartz talks about the four zones we spend our time in (see image). Leaders often aim to stay consistently in the performance zone. But that’s not possible. At some point they slide into the survival zone, characterised by emotions like anger and impatience. And when […]
Berlin audiences can be analytical, cool and hard to seduce. On this particular evening, an earnest looking host introduces the first speaker. He begins: “It’s Friday evening. I’m supposed to talk about A.I and Blockchain.You probably know more about that than I do. So I’m not going to talk about that. Instead, I’m going to […]
One reason could be your Immunity to Change, a concept based on the work of Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahay. They describe it as having one foot on the gas pedal (your goal) and one foot on the brake pedal (what gets in the way of the goal). The brake pedal is your immune system ‘protecting’ […]