Sommerpause für die Seele, Klarheit für Führung

00:00:01: Karola Dear friends, we’re back, and today we’re talking about leadership and the good life, because it’s summer and in summer you’ve got to do one thing: live.

00:00:12: Eva-Maria In summer, you can do things that bring you joy, that are full of joy – consciously making time for yourself. Probably the greatest luxury in today’s world is simply taking the time to look closely at what’s there. To reflect on yourself and perhaps get to know yourself a little better.

00:00:33: – Karola I don’t know how you manage it. I do make the most of the summer breaks, but I also always love using the Christmas break to think about what’s going to happen over the next few months – or roughly the next six months – and I really do treat it as a light-hearted, enjoyable interlude, sort of a space between worlds, somehow. This year I’ve even actually put out invitations, saying that anyone who fancies taking some time out over the summer to reflect on themselves, on what they actually want to do for the rest of the year, and on any major plans they have in the pipeline, is welcome to do so – with support and in a joyful atmosphere. How do you go about it?

00:01:10: – Eva-Maria Yes, as you know, I’ve been in the retreat business for 10 years now. That means we offer yoga and mindfulness retreats – some lasting weeks, others weekends or just a few days – where we consistently provide the space and setting that give people the opportunity to bring forth new visions and develop them. And personally, of course, I do the same. For me, summer is simply always a time when I take two or three weeks off, during which I work less or not at all, spend plenty of time with my family, and consciously sit down to reflect on what has worked well, what hasn’t worked so well, what I’d like to bring more of into my life, what I’d like to let go of more, which people and project partners I’d like to work with more, and what brings me joy. What brings me joy? And for me, this joy – and this connection between joy and strategy – is always such an important point. And, of course, this self-reflection in a loving way – not in the sense of ‘none of this is working’, but rather: what is possible, what is good for me, where can I reconnect my heart, my mind, my body and my intellect more effectively, and where might there be moments where there are perhaps some shadows – where I may have left one thing or another out or overlooked it?

00:02:36: Eva-Maria But where is there also potential for miracles? And a miracle means nothing other than that something I didn’t think was possible at that moment has become possible.

00:02:48: Karola I like the idea of miracles. For me, as a storyteller and as someone who simply loves life and, at the same time, loves to bring great things into the world – well, that’s just what I enjoy doing. And for me, that pioneering spirit always goes hand in hand with having enough support. That would be the explanation for it. But what that means for me is that, for example, during my time on the ship with our entertainment team, when we had discussions, we didn’t sit down and hold a meeting in a meeting room; instead, we went out to the harbour – and I remember one time we were sitting by the water in Greece, eating a meal together and planning our strategy for the coming months. In that case, our strategy was clear: we knew exactly what needed to be done. There was, of course, a daily routine, but they’d had conflicts and had sorted them out. However, it wasn’t yet entirely clear how they would interact with one another over the coming weeks to ensure things didn’t fall apart again, so that they wouldn’t get on each other’s nerves, and so that they could speak up in good time. As we know, our society doesn’t find it easy to say things that might be just a bit of a nuisance.

00:04:01: Karola You only ever say that when you’re on the verge of exploding. And that’s what happened there. They were working a seven-day week; it was tough for them. But at the same time, they wanted to spend time together, so we simply had a meal together and then said to each other, ‘What if they made time regularly for a coffee at the harbour, where they could just enjoy each other’s company?’

00:04:23: Eva-Maria Exactly, that’s the point. It’s often simply a matter of putting that enjoyment – that shared experience of a meal, or a good glass of wine, or of course a glass of champagne at the harbour, or on a terrace, or in a café, or wherever the occasion calls for it – right at the forefront. That you don’t hold every strategy meeting at the conference table, but perhaps go for a walk in the park, or take a stroll round the block together, to come up with different ideas, to come up with new ideas. And that actually has an effect on our brains: when we’re in new and different surroundings, when we’re surrounded by nature, our brains are simply able to form new connections and rewire themselves; we’re better able to communicate with ourselves, we come up with more innovative ideas, come up with new ideas and also let go more easily of things that might be weighing us down; and that we naturally interact with people on a different level when we’re in a different environment and have that sort of setting around us. And that’s also one of the main reasons why I love retreats so much; after all, a retreat simply means stepping back – stepping back from your everyday life – so that you then have the opportunity to simply immerse yourself, for a short while, in a new and different world, to a certain extent.

00:05:35: Eva-Maria Which doesn’t mean that you don’t bring your own issues with you, because no matter where in the world you’re travelling, at some point your life and your issues will catch up with you again. It will happen one way or another – at least that’s been my personal experience, and that of many of my retreat participants. And simply creating a space where you can establish that ‘in-between space’, as you so beautifully put it – a space where things don’t have to be finished yet, where what came before may not yet have been fully processed and integrated – but where you simply give yourself the opportunity to create space once more, to allow something new to emerge and to let go of the old that no longer serves you.

00:06:15: – Karola It always reminds me of my childhood and teenage years. To be honest, we don’t actually do that very often. Well, quite often when I was a child, but it didn’t really affect me that much back then. But during my teenage years – during puberty, when I was about 14, 15, 16 – those holidays by the sea, where by the third day you’ve actually been lying on the beach for far too long. I was always someone who loved being active, and at the same time, it did me so much good to lie on the beach and read fascinating books. And then there was this moment when it was as if a switch had been flicked, and I put the book aside and started planning my life in my head. So it suddenly became clear: wow, these desires – I still have them, and that’s actually what I’d really like to do. And many of these desires then served as signposts for me to put things into practice. I know I wanted to go out into the big wide world – so that’s what I did. I know I wanted to learn languages so I could make myself understood – so that’s what I did. And I know I always wanted to be on big stages and be heard. And it took me a very long time to realise that it wasn’t about the theatre at all, but rather about what I’m doing now: standing up there giving talks and telling people how wonderful a life lived to the full can be, and how important it is to have these visions so that you can then put them into practice.

00:07:42: Eva-Maria I completely agree with you there. It’s just that—we need these spaces so that we can get clear again on what we really want in our lives, so that we can set ourselves, so to speak, some guidelines, or yes, what’s the word for that in German? I can’t quite think of the right word right now, simply so that we can set ourselves a sort of direction – not barriers, but a direction, so to speak – that we can immerse ourselves in, that we can follow, so that we can, as it were, realign our compass to show us which way we really want to go. Yes, I know that very well from my own life too. Yes. The best example of this is my new book, which has just been published: *Die Sinnsucherin*. Last October, I attended a creative writing workshop at RAX, and I actually did the workshop just for myself, because I simply wanted to write something again, without any particular intention or anything like that. And there, all of a sudden, the concept for this book emerged; the first lines were written, the first pieces of text took shape, the ideas came to me, and from that moment on it was clear: right, this is the path to take. And I always find it so wonderful when we allow ourselves these breaks, these retreats, so that we can gain so much clarity for ourselves.

00:08:54: Eva-Maria Clarity about where we’re heading, what matters to us, and who should be with us on this journey. And what I always really enjoy, to this extent, is exchanging ideas with other people who perhaps lead lives completely different to ours, who perhaps have very different ideas, and yet still drawing great inspiration from that about what’s possible and where the path might actually lead, so that we can then discover and realise for ourselves what’s really important to us.

00:09:26: – Karola That’s beautifully put, and for me, that includes good food, for example. To let you in on a secret, we’ve just come back from a session where we were thinking about what our visions are – including for the podcast. And we’re always saying, ‘There’s more to come,’ and we’ve now developed it. So, from August onwards, we’ll show you what’s in store, but there’ll definitely be a retreat, and there’ll definitely be an online community, and one more thing – yes, there might be a little surprise too.

00:09:59: – Eva-Maria We can promise you that there’ll be plenty of enjoyment and good food.

00:10:04: – Karola Absolutely. And the content will indeed be: leadership and the good life. And whilst you can, of course, cover a whole host of serious leadership topics, it’s much more about how, as a good leader, as a good manager, I can take the knowledge I’ve acquired in my profession and put it into practice in my life.

00:10:24: – Eva-Maria And to do so with joy, ease and pleasure.

00:10:28: – Karola And just imagine what sort of society we’d have if there were people who could handle themselves, who could deal with others – not by pointing a finger and saying ‘I know how it should be done’, but simply out of conviction, because life really is better when I can address issues, when I’m aware of my own shortcomings. But if I say, ‘OK, OK, today I’ve really put my foot in it; I’ve resorted to my oldest reaction patterns and, and, and, and.’ Maybe I won’t reward myself today, but perhaps I need to do something to sort the whole thing out. Who hasn’t been there? Well, it happens to me every now and then – thank goodness less and less often, I have to admit, because it’s a relief, as I have to be honest, it’s not always that easy for me when it happens. But this idea of sitting by the water – for me it’s the water, for me it’s also the sea, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s in the north or the south – with good food. When I can go ski fishing, I just feel absolutely brilliant.

00:11:24: Eva-Maria The sea simply has its own energy too. Yes, or I just enjoy gazing out into the distance. For me, it’s also the African savannah, for example, when I can sit there with a glass of wine or a gin and tonic in my hand and just watch nature. Often, that’s all it takes. It’s nice when an elephant walks past, of course. But basically, it’s enough for me just to watch a sunset or a sunrise, to look out at nature, to enjoy the view and to know that the world is simply a wonderful place, where there are many possibilities – where there are endless possibilities – and that what happened yesterday doesn’t determine who I’ll be tomorrow.

00:12:07: Karola And when I do get my body moving, it’s not about ‘heavy’ exercise – that sort of intense sport – but rather about getting everything moving. For me, it’s about moving all my joints, stretching all my muscles and somehow stimulating my fascia a little. It gives me such a deep sense of well-being. And I sometimes do that by strolling through a town, shall we say, taking time out for a coffee. Or, in summer, that bit where I say, ‘I’ll be working a bit less, but – funnily enough – I’ll be focusing on what really matters.’ And as I said, we’re simply inviting you to make the most of the summer, to take some time out and just see how you can slow down for a few days, and how that can bring more depth to what you do. And depth always means more joy, not more seriousness.

00:13:10: Eva-Maria No, definitely not. Of course, seriousness is part of life – we all know that. But it’s much more about bringing joy into what you do, and leading and enjoying yourself with joy.

00:13:24: Karola Imagine that role model who gets through a working day full of enthusiasm – in the sense of really making something happen. Just picture that.

00:13:37: – Eva-Maria And creating something through that very act of creation.

00:13:40: – Karola Lovely, isn’t it? Yes, it makes sense. You can see what’s coming up in our show notes. That goes without saying – it’s right there at the bottom. If you’d like some support, Eva-Maria and I will be available over the summer for things like that too. You’ll find that in the show notes as well. We hope you have a lovely time.

00:13:59: – Eva-Maria Make the most of it. Enjoy the sunshine. Enjoy your time off.

00:14:05: Karola We’ll also be releasing a few pre-recorded podcasts, but this one that’s coming up next will be followed by what we’ve got in store for you in August. Stay tuned and keep an eye out.

00:14:18: Eva-Maria Enjoy the summer to the full, and we look forward to our next episode.

00:14:24: Karola Bye for now!