Hi Reader, Three weeks ago I started preparing my first ever keynote on Unprofessionalism. By "preparing" I mean: almost no mental capacity for anything else. I have never worked harder on anything. The irony is not lost on me. Over the three weeks, I had many plans. A theatre play, costumes for showing the masks of unprofessionalism, turn-to-your-neighbour conversations for reflection. The closer the date approached, the more I found clarity that the tools and costumes I planned were more of...
8 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Twenty episodes into "Unprofessionalism" and I still cannot even grasp the edges of the topic! It's privilege, it's self-expression, self-permission, ownership, corporate rebellion. There is no real subject matter expertise to explore on Unprofessionalism. The guest and their personal story are the focus, although each one brings expertise that we explore through the lens of unprofessionalism. As the podcast host, I am continuously making decisions whether to dive deeper into the...
15 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, I spent my weekend with a group of strangers to whom I told the most personal story - one that not even my closest friends would be aware of. The shaking of my hands stopped as soon as I started. I didn't need notes because this was my story. While I am used to speaking to groups of strangers, I usually stand there with a specific role: the facilitator. This time, nobody knew about what I was doing from nine to five. All they knew about me was this one story. And wow, that felt...
22 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Last weekend, I went back to my hometown for the 25th anniversary of high school graduation. I prepared by reading old letters I found in a dusty box, handwritten by friends in 1995. I was terrified. Thrown back to an old version of myself: Puberty-me, who was definitely not too cool for school, who wanted to impress others by smoking too young and drinking too much. Nothing to be proud of, really. But when we finally met and hugged and chatted and laughed, I noticed that the...
29 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, While cycling in the sun, enjoying my free Wednesday, it suddenly hit me like a sharp stone: Over the past five months I’ve been splitting my identity into tidy boxes that wouldn't overlap. Displaying old Facilitator-me on Substack, while the other part of me hatched a new narrative around Unprofessionalism. Unprofessionalism-me tries to write a book and challenges her own professionalism. And suddenly, I look at myself and think how damn professional of me! Isn't it the most...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Yesterday was Tuesday, but it felt like a Friday. I am about to wrap things up, clear the decks and get everything in order before shutting the computer. The only reason I am doing this is the fact that tomorrow is Wednesday, and I've decided that Wednesday is now retirement day. Yes! I'm retiring. Not entirely, but for 20%, one day per week. For the next few weeks I'm prototyping what it might feel like to have one full day a week that belongs to no client, no deliverable,...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, In German, there’s a saying about our eyes sometimes being bigger than our stomach. I’ve been wondering if the same can happen with creative ideas. For almost a year, I’ve been working on my book. I chose a Choose Your Own Adventure format. A business novel where you, the reader, make decisions for the main character. Learning leadership not through frameworks, but through lived consequences. I still think the idea is… quite brilliant. But somewhere along the way, I realised...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, I'm just returning from a retreat with Paula Short, who has been on the workshops work podcast. A facilitator I deeply respect. By the end of day two, a sudden insight made me almost laugh out loud. I am actually here. In the past — at workshops, retreats, anything that overlapped with my professional world — I would have had my facilitator hat glued on. I'd be observing the design, taking notes on the process, reading the room at the meta level. From a safe distance, carefully...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Do you speak to yourself as you speak to your best friend? I often don't. I noticed how I would get upset with myself when I don't perform as I want to, when tasks take longer or when I don't show up as the person I want to be. I call myself names that I wouldn't use for my friend. You might recognise it: pondering over something we said, an email we maybe shouldn't have sent, a moment we keep replaying. Voices debating in our heads. It's no news. But this week, I am trying...
2 months ago • 2 min read