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Just a few more minutes and she will be gone: Angela Merkel. Who would have thought that a smart girl from a simple family in the GDR would become Chancellor of Germany? That by staying very close to herself she would last so long? To put it in a nutshell: This is authentic leadership. Actually, I wanted to write something about female leadership. But what nonsense. It is not about whether she is a woman or a man. It is about whether she is doing the right things for the country, whether she is able to bind people to her and gather the right people around her. The latter makes or breaks you. And apparently she is doing that well. Because when it comes to exploiting the fact that she is a woman in this job (which is still special these days), Angela Merkel will undoubtedly have managed to convince the PR people, stylists and you name it, that her work suit is just black trousers with a colourful half-length jacket. And that her hair should be well-groomed, but not overly coiffed. That she is not going to spend too much time on this because there are more important things. The glamour that comes with this job is foreign to her and that is just as fine as female leaders exploiting their femininity. If something suits you and helps you achieve your goals: Go!

Without communication, everything stands still. Perhaps that is why we communicate all day long. Often it goes well, but very often it does not. How often do you experience miscommunication? I recently saw a short film that explained exactly the core of miscommunication. Words that pass from one to the other in the form of a piece of clay. At the end of the conversation, the clay is totally deformed. And this deformation of the piece of clay is something we do ourselves. We all have prejudices, opinions, you name it, with the result that the message is always interpreted or received differently. With all the consequences this entails: arguments, disappointments, wrong decisions, clients who walk away. How would it be if you had more insight in how to prevent this? That you know how to make the message land? You would be a lot more effective, you would score better with your team, your employees and your customers. And to be quite honest: it is not very complicated, but you do need to pay attention to it. Think of a media training course or executive coaching. If you want to know more about how to improve your communication, please contact me.