Was willst du wirklich, so richtig?

00:00:05: Karola Here we are again. Have a lovely day!

00:00:09: Eva Maria We wish you all a wonderful day full of joy. We’re not quite at the end of summer yet, mind you, but we’re slowly moving into autumn. And I’m a big fan of the four seasons – as I think I’ve mentioned before – because we have these transitions. And I always find it so fascinating – from around 15 August, you really start to notice that the weather is gradually changing, that people are slowly but surely returning from their holidays and asking themselves all sorts of questions as they settle back into their daily routines. And here in Styria, autumn is one of the most beautiful seasons – at least for me – when the leaves start to change colour, when all the fruit is ready to be harvested, and when you can reap a little of what you’ve built up over the last few months. And there’s also the theory – I believe Tony Robbins advocates it, as do others – that the economy can be divided into seasonal cycles, as it were, and that there are years of spring, years of summer, years of autumn and years of winter. And depending on which cycle you founded your business in, the business may perform better or not so well, and there are things you can do to ensure it runs smoothly.

00:01:28: Karola So, I set up a company in the spring – in the spring, that’s right. I think I’ve left the winter months behind me and am now really looking forward to a new spring, or to new growth. Or perhaps, in my case, it’s more about reaping the rewards, but that might also have something to do with the stage of life I’m at – though you can do that too, of course. But what we want to do today is to spark your curiosity. Because we’ve got quite a few things planned. On the one hand, starting in January, we’re launching a community focused on leadership – specifically, this form of joyful leadership that engages all the senses, with champagne for the soul and clarity for the mind.

00:02:07: Eva Maria Then, before that, in December, there’ll be a leadership retreat that we’ve designed especially for you. It’ll take place in Styria, near Bad Gleichenberg, at a very special venue. And of course, you’ll all receive all the details soon so that you can sign up. We’ve been thinking about what we can actually offer you at this leadership retreat, or rather, what it should be all about. It’s also planned that we’ll launch our community in January, where you’ll have the opportunity for us to guide you, so to speak, throughout the year on the topics that affect you and are on your mind, and where we’ll provide you with a whole range of tools so that you can then put your leadership into practice in a way that suits you best.

00:03:00: Karola And by the way, if you’re interested in finding out about upcoming events, when the next podcasts will be released and so on, we have a WhatsApp channel – we’ll include the link in the show notes. Sign up there; we won’t spam you, but we’ll simply send you an interesting topic once a month, along with the podcast and the various event dates. But now let’s move on to what we’d actually like to offer you. And the funny thing is, during our preliminary chat we also asked: ‘Right, what are we going to do together? Where, where, where, where and where do we differ greatly?’ You see us as we are, and it’s so funny – there are so many things we absolutely have in common, and yet our ultimate goals are a bit different. Does that have to do with our professional backgrounds and the like?

00:03:40: Eva Maria Yes, and during our preliminary discussion we found it incredibly fascinating just how many parallels we share, but also how there are such subtle differences between us – and we’d like to go into those a bit more detail today, so that you know exactly what you’re getting into, or rather, what you’d be getting yourself into if you were to work with both of us. And we’ve decided to provide you with a sort of ‘roadmap’, as they say. A roadmap is simply a road map – just to avoid using English terms all the time, although we do appreciate the English language very much. It’s very, very important to us that, right at the start of our work together – or whenever we collaborate – we simply take the time to explore this insight and ask ourselves some questions: Who am I? What actually defines me? What lies behind it all? And we really do want to take the time for you to get to know yourself a bit better, to see what’s there.

00:04:43: Karola And what always emerges from this is what is called a ‘threshold’ in English – the threshold or the space in between. And because questions always arise when you look deep within yourself. And if you’re lucky enough to have someone to guide you, or if you’re lucky enough to have picked it up from home, then curiosity is there. Curiosity and always a new beginning. And that’s the second part. What is it that I’d actually like to achieve in this life? Not just achieve, but bring into the world. What is it that defines me? And what is it that I have to offer the world, the community, my job?

00:05:23: Eva Maria Yes, simply this too: what contribution do I want to make right now, in this role, in this environment, and bring into the world? What new things might I also want to bring into the world? For me, ‘curiosity’ is a marvellous word. I mean, I’m always there; I always use the term ‘explorer’, or I often tell my child that they’re a ‘world explorer’. It’s simply impossible not to have that curiosity, that sense of anticipation in the positive sense, but also to feel that excitement to a certain extent – that sheer thrill, that tingle – when you have something new, when you can bring something new into being. And to accompany you on this journey and give you the opportunity to bring this curiosity, this spirit of adventure and also this inner tingle and excitement back into the world, and to experience it fully for yourselves.

00:06:18: Karola And once you’re right in the thick of it, something else always crops up – something that holds you back. In English, ‘shadow’; in German, ‘der Schatten’. And ultimately, these are the stories I tell myself – from the outside, but also about myself. And very often, they hold me back. These are usually stories that protected me for a very long time; they were incredibly valuable, they suited the situation, I’ve carried them with me. But now they no longer ring true.

00:06:44: Eva Maria Yes, and I think shadow work is simply one of the most valuable things we can do for ourselves, as well as for those around us, for our teams and for our organisations. Because there’s nothing as valuable as consciously acknowledging a shadow, recognising it and actually shining a light on that blind spot. I quite like the image of a torch here – where you take the torch and shine it on everything to have a proper look at why that shadow is there in the first place. Why haven’t I even noticed it until now? And it’s usually these very things that hold us back and keep us stuck where we are, preventing us from taking that next step forward.

00:07:25: Karola And once all that’s in place, you’re relatively complex yet conceptually compact – in other words, complete. But then the question is: what do you do with it? What do you do with it? What impact do you have? How do you put it into practice?

00:07:41: Eva Maria So how can I put all this into practice in my everyday life? It’s all well and good knowing all this and knowing myself very well, but how do I channel what I know back out into the world at full throttle, so that I end up with the result I want – one that moves me forward – and so that I can, as the saying goes, put that power to good use?

00:08:03: Karola And if you look at it now, we’re in agreement – yes, that’s quite clear to both of us – and then we asked ourselves: what’s the difference between what interests Eva-Maria and what interests me? And so we’ve now come up with a different approach – let’s say we’ve developed a model. And the model is very clear: first of all, there’s myself – that is, myself – self-leadership. We’re both clear on that; it’s the basis of everything.

00:08:27: Eva Maria We need this self-leadership; we need this foundation and the stability provided by all these insights so that we can then draw upon what we need to bring something new into the world.

00:08:39: Karola And then there’s step 2: bringing something new into the world requires a vision. Because when I bring something new into the world, I have to imagine – not just what it is, which is the final step – but first and foremost, what is the question I’m asking? What is it that I want to do? And from that – from imagination, intuition and a sense of energy – visions emerge.

00:09:02: Eva Maria And this vision is, so to speak, our North Star – as the saying so beautifully puts it – and, of course, our inner compass, where we can constantly ask ourselves: where should this inner compass actually be pointing? How do I want to align this inner compass? Where should my North Star be? And what exactly should this vision look like, so that, filled with joy, curiosity and a spirit of discovery, I can move step by step – courageously, with human courage – towards this goal or this vision?

00:09:33: Karola And then came step 3, because that’s when we said, ‘Right, so what’s your passion now? What is it that you’d like to discover, Eva-Maria or Karola?’ And that’s when we noticed a difference, which is really fascinating. You see, Eva-Maria is interested in—

00:09:48: Eva Maria So, for me, it’s incredibly important to remind people just what an incredibly precious miracle they are, how many talents and strengths they possess, and how many resources they have; and to support them in bringing these resources, strengths and talents into the world in the best possible way, so that something new and great can emerge.

00:10:11: Karola And I’m fascinated by people who take this miracle for granted within themselves. They may not have developed it yet. But, funnily enough, it’s so clear to me that every human being is this miracle, and hopefully they can see that too. And I’m much more interested in how this miracle that is the human being shapes the world and makes it worth living in. I’m passionate about using the professional sphere for this, because it’s such a powerful arena. We spend so much time indoors. Naturally, there’s a great deal of real power to be found in this sphere. And I always imagine: what if people consciously used that power for good? That’s something that absolutely fascinates me.

00:10:55: Eva Maria Well, I also find this a very fascinating phenomenon, but for me, it’s always important to recognise this power within myself, to be able to channel it, to discover my own resources and use them in such a way that I can bring the very best version of myself into the world, so that – together with many others, together with the world and with all those people who want to make a big difference – we can create something even greater: a better world.

00:11:27: Karola That’s where we’ll meet up again, by the way. And for me, it’s like this: I say, ‘Yes, of course’, so that in a professional context and in positions of power, this whole issue – how can I shape things, how can I, how can I mould them – requires me to discover and utilise my own resources. At the same time, however, I also get to know my own mechanisms, how I react under pressure. And then I learn how to steer things. That’s what happens when I can discover and utilise my own resources. And for me, the ‘why’ – namely the path towards a better world – is different. Because the people I work with use this, on the one hand, to lead staff more effectively, and on the other, to shape business areas – new business areas – which is particularly important right now given all this upheaval. To help shape the future – specifically, to envisage the future from within the value creation process, for the sake of a healthy planet. And this is the most pragmatic – and, in my view, the most fascinating – way to develop innovations. In other words, discovering and utilising one’s own resources, whilst being able to manage one’s own mechanisms for reacting under pressure, in order to develop innovations and shape a greater whole: namely, a vibrant, better world. Not one where we simply hold hands and love one another, but one where we actively engage with one another every single day.

00:12:56: Karola This wonderful coming together of people, this shared endeavour to create something new and great. Life in all its vibrancy, with all its friction, but without wars – rather, through that very friction.

00:13:09: Eva Maria I’m right there with you on that. It really resonates with me. I’m actually using your phrase now – ‘being human with courage’. I’ve really taken that on board over the last few months because I just think it’s such a lovely play on words, I find it easy to have the courage to be fully human, to perceive simply being human, entrepreneurship and leadership as a holistic whole – not just to be one role, but also to be the other; not just to hold one opinion, but also to tolerate this ambivalence: that there are many correct opinions, that there are many correct paths, and that we decide on a path bit by bit, yes, yet that we can still accept that there is a great deal out there, that there is friction, and that friction generates energy, which in turn leads to pressure. And as we know, pressure gives rise to diamonds on the other side. And simply allowing new and exciting things to emerge, shaping them together, stepping out into the world together, to make the world, bit by bit, a planet worth living on – one that brings us joy, that allows us to grow, and that gives us the opportunity to realise our potential.

00:14:23: Karola And by the way, if any of you are wondering what it’s like when a Chief Creative Officer like that is actually around, I have a fictional character in my talks – she’s called Grandma. And Grandma lives 40 years in the future. I always hope that she’s my alter ego – that in 40 years’ time, when I’m 100, I’ll actually be able to look back with that same nonchalance and wisdom. But she’s written summer letters, for example – she also features in my talks, as I said – and she always says, ‘Goodness me, you lot back then, you simply worried about the wrong things.’ One of her favourite topics, for instance, is AI. That’s a huge topic, isn’t it? People talk about self-leadership and AI – how do you deal with that? We’ll tell you all about that in the next podcast, by the way. And my grandmother says, ‘Well, the mistake back then was quite simple: you didn’t think about what AI should be capable of, but were fascinated by what it could do.’ And unfortunately, you sometimes got things mixed up, because you used it like those cooking machines that were all the rage back then, whilst hoping that AI wouldn’t just be able to cook – in other words, not only help with texts and administrative tasks – but that it would also provide psychological support and make the pizza at the same time.

00:15:45: Karola Of course, that won’t work. And once you’ve realised that you need to ask yourselves what you actually want from AI, and then develop AI based on that, positive things will follow, says Grandma.

00:15:58: Eva Maria Right, yes, I think, all in all, it’s simply always about asking yourself: what do I really, really want? What do I really, really want? What do I really, really want for my business? What do I want for my team? And what is really, really important to me? And where is all this heading? Or rather, what positive vision do I want to bring into the world for my business, for my team and for myself?

00:16:28: Karola And we’re talking about, about the ‘I’ and about the self, yes. And you know full well that this only makes sense if it’s connected to everything else and everyone else, because we, as human beings, on our own… And my wealth alone has never made me content or happy.

00:16:44: Eva Maria It’s always about relationships, no matter what area of our lives we’re talking about. Everything stands or falls on the genuine, authentic and real relationships we have with ourselves and with the people around us – our colleagues, our bosses, and our children and families.

00:17:05: Karola And if you fancy experiencing this for yourself before Christmas, come along to our retreat. Have a look at the show notes. It’s in mid-December. If you fancy joining us for a year – and let’s say we’ll probably meet twice a month, something like that, as it stands, both online and in person – from January 2027, do come along. Stay tuned, so to speak. And if you want to keep up to date with dates and get regular updates, simply join the WhatsApp group. Absolutely.

00:17:35: Eva Maria And we promise you, exciting things are in store. You’ll have fascinating ‘aha’ moments that you’d never have imagined were possible. And you’ll come away with lots and lots of tools that you can apply and put into practice in your day-to-day life, enabling you to achieve much better results and perform well even under pressure.

00:17:58: Karola The way things are looking, the way everything’s developing at the moment, this is going to be a really, really, really, really important tool. See you next time, bye!

00:18:05: Eva Maria See you next time, ciao ciao!