Volkmar Völzke's BLOG

Here's a brutal truth: what you want is all already there.

You don't have to add or painstakingly create anything, just remove what gets in the way of what you want.

What do I mean by that?

Well, you may be familiar with Michelangelo's meaningful answer to the question of how he was able to create the statue of David that stands in Florence, which is so ingenious.

Michelangelo said: "The statue was always in the block of marble. The only thing I had to do was to remove the excess marble."

This shows a fundamentally different mindset than we are used to most of the time:

It's based on trusting that all the solutions we're looking for are, in principle, already there. We just can't see them yet.

I think that takes enormous pressure off our efforts. After all, if it already somehow exists around us, we "just" have to recognize it and remove what keeps us disconnected.

How can we apply this realization in a very concrete way? Here are three basics, all of which you will find in...

"Living in the gray zone": What do I mean by that?

Well, most of us like clear-cut conditions: "Which is better: A or B?" "What clearly definable options do we have?" And so on.

That still has its justification. The only thing is that the world is becoming increasingly uncertain.

And top leaders are characterized above all by the fact that they can deal not only with "black and white", but above all with the gray area in between.

It takes a lot more courage and forward thinking to be successful in uncertain decision-making situations in several dimensions.

And it is often not possible to achieve complete clarity in a reasonable amount of time, even with a great deal of effort. Because by the time you have the insights together, the situation may have changed again.

Therefore, my recommendation: You would do well to accept increasing uncertainties and a "life in the gray zone" and to take advantage of them.

The good news is that this can be trained. How? Here are three "exercises"...

There is a beautiful quote from the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher:

"Having power is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are one, you are not."

That translates beautifully to leadership:

"Being a leader is the same as being a lady. If you have to tell people you're one, you're not."

The point is this: You can learn all kinds of methods and tools it takes to be a good leader.

But if people don't perceive you as a leader, you're not one, even if you have a certificate from some leadership academy hanging on the wall behind you.

True leadership is not so much about methods, tools and position (the latter certainly not), but rather about certain characteristics.

Here are three characteristics that distinguish you as a true leader:

1. Leadership identity with high standards.
   The most important thing that distinguishes a true leader is his or her own self-image, that is, identity. Do I see myself as a leader or not?
   Of course, this includes high...

Will you be searching for Easter eggs? Or paint them? Or at least go on an Easter outing? Or ignore Easter? Either way, most of us have a few more days off than usual and are enjoying this time in some way.

Besides Easter, two other things have happened:

1. The days, by definition, got an extra hour of daylight in the evening a few days ago (called summertime).
2. More than a quarter of the year is already over.

In other words: What you haven't started seriously so far of your plans, wishes or resolutions for 2022, you will hardly realize this year.

Unless you start right now, and MASSIVELY!

I always find it amazing that most leadership teams in companies do a lot operationally, but too little strategically.

According to my guiding principle that you should not chase success, but attract it by what you become, you should have already become much more attractive. And that means for your employees, your customers, your market and - yes! - also for money.

So my question is: Are you looking...

Perhaps you are surprised that such a headline comes from me of all people.

Don't I preach again and again the statement that everyone can in principle achieve everything? And that anyone can therefore also change anything?

Yes, exactly, and that is the important difference: You can change everything about yourself, but you cannot change other people.

At least not directly.

But you can initiate and support the changes that others make in themselves.

That's obvious, because otherwise there would be no need for leadership.

After all, your people (and you yourself) must continue to develop if you want your team or company to be successful in the future.

By the way, anyone with teenage children knows this: you will find it very difficult to " command" change in young people. The only thing that works is to inspire them to change themselves.

Now, of course, comes the question, "How do I get others to change?" Here are three tips from my practice on this:

1. Clarity about beliefs.
   The...

Good leadership is even challenging when you officially are the boss.

After all, even your "position power" doesn't do you much good if people are reluctant to follow you. At best, you can force results in the short term. In the medium and long term, that never works.

And you certainly can't form a winning team with this approach. You need other levers for that ( get in touch with me if you want to know what these levers are).

On the other hand, how much more difficult is it when you have to lead others but you have no formal authority to direct them?

From my observation, such positions are becoming more common:

Whether it's the product portfolio manager across multiple divisions, the global sales head who relies on local subsidiaries, or the project manager with twenty project team members from a wide variety of divisions.

In these cases, how can you achieve maximum results with your virtual team?

Well, the answer lies in the fact that top leadership has always meant top influence...

Our language is an interesting tool: we use it to influence not only others, but also ourselves.

"How am I supposed to know what I think before I hear what I say?" is a well-known and true saying.

If you keep saying the same thing about yourself, whether positive or negative, you will end up believing it. You can't help it. Therefore, be careful how you talk about yourself.

But another aspect of language is just as important: others connect us to what we say, not just the content, but the way we say something and how often we say it.

This becomes especially clear in presentations and video recordings (which I regularly recommend to all leaders): your messages consist of much more than your content.

You could even say that your content conveys the least amount of influencing energy.

So how can you improve your language to become more persuasive and influential?

Here are three concrete tips with immediate effect from the multitude of possibilities:

1. Delete words of doubt.
   Words like...

Life as a leader is not always easy. There are not only times when you celebrate great successes with your team, but also frustration and difficulties.

The higher your own expectations, the more likely you are to experience frustration - if you don't install certain routines.

What I encounter as difficulties when coaching with my clients are various typical issues:

People not keeping their promises and timelines, coming to meetings unprepared, and so on. You just can't fully rely on others.

Another typical frustration generator is drama between people and departments, sometimes like in kindergarten (which is why parenting and leadership have a lot in common).

Many leaders also complain about "getting nowhere." The days go by with all sorts of things, but not the really important ones. Then in the evening you ask yourself, "What did I even get done today?"

So how can you minimize this difficulty and frustration? Here are three ideas:

1. Clarity about goals.
   The most important point is...

Your morning sets the tone for your day. This is an old adage. If you create your morning by yourself and consciously, you dramatically increase your chances of ending the entire day successful and fulfilled.

A very important correlation is this: if you already start your morning reactively, you will most likely continue to do so.

"Reactive" means activities like checking emails, social media, news channels, newspaper, and so on.

My point is this: You can do all of that. But please don't do it as your first thing. Make the first hour of each day completely self-directed.

That always works. You may have to get up earlier to do it (and go to bed earlier accordingly). That's what most top performers do.

Here are three things you should be sure to incorporate in the morning, and do so without external interference:

1. Increase physical energy.
   For your entire day, it's important to have some kind of physical routine first thing in the morning, whether it's stretching, yoga, cardio, or...