All posts tagged: self leadership

Learning Serenity from the Stoics

Published by Marcus Raitner

The year is not yet a month old and my resolutions are waste paper. I wanted to handle my time more mindfully, focus better and prioritize more effectively. Like so many others, my schedule is crowded and the 5-hour rule, i.e. following the example of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet and to set aside five hours a week for reflection and learning, seems unattainable. I am neither proud of this nor do I want to brag about it. I prefer to take it as an occasion for a brief recollection of the insights of the Stoics and their proverbial serenity and peace of mind.

Leadership Is About Asking Questions Instead of Giving Answers

Published by Marcus Raitner

Leadership is about making others successful. This is the leadership philosophy of Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google. The founder of the drugstore chain dm, Götz W. Werner, gets even more to the point and states: “Leadership is nowadays only legitimate if it is aimed at the self-leadership of the people entrusted to it”. Leadership is therefore an equal function within and for a group of people and always an encounter of adults on par with each other. In contrast to Taylor’s management, which is still too deeply rooted in our hierarchical organizations, leadership means first and foremost asking (the right) questions rather than giving (the right) answers.

Only those who can lead themselves can lead others

Published by Marcus Raitner

Management deals with the inanimate. It deals with numbers, processes and structures – leadership with the living, with people in their diversity and uniqueness. It is often neglected that leadership always refers first and foremost to the leader himself. And this self-management begins with the journey to oneself and the clarification of such essential questions as “What is my talent?”,”What gives me joy?” or “What does the world need from me?”.