Imagine a job interview. You are sitting with a candidate who is excellent at presenting herself.  Time passes. You start to wonder: is she truly this confident, or is she just trying to appear flawless? How self-reflective is she? Is there a gap between her self-perception and how others perceive her?  How do you find out?  The current trend in recruitment is to maintain a positive atmosphere at all times. The motto seems to be: think positive, stay positive, talk positive. 

Is this a harsh truth or just an exaggeration?   Many supervisors fool themselves when they send their employees to trainings and believe that is enough. They think that simply selecting a course completes their leadership duty.   Moreover, I have met many employees who are convinced that attending around two external trainings per year is—or should be—the standard. Regardless of the actual need: two trainings. And if Colleague X got two, I should also have the right to enjoy

While sitting in a lengthy meeting recently, I found myself reflecting on the age and seniority of the attendees.   In HR, we often teach that younger, inexperienced employees require more guidance and a hands-on leadership style than seasoned professionals. (While we could argue that this isn't true for everyone, let’s shift our perspective for a moment.)   What about truly senior people? Those who have accumulated decades of experience and know their roles—and the company—i

"People usually judge you based on where you are at currently, not what you could become eventually. Don’t let one comment stop you from trying. File it away or use it as fuel. Focus on getting better. Someone else’s analysis of your current position doesn’t tell you anything about your current potential." I love this quote by James Clear (taken from his inspirational newsletter). It is so relevant for leadership or when hiring someone. We often get fooled by looking at the c

I’m currently in many sessions discussing individual employees and their performance in 2025.   Some of the people managers—some of them new to their leadership roles—don’t really know what to say, how to assess, or how to start difficult conversations. That’s normal. It takes some reflection and practice to give meaningful feedback.   Today, I would like to share some thoughts on the purpose of giving feedback.   We are all adults. We are responsible for our own lives.   Yet

You are looking for an HR Manager or Specialist to help you develop a great company culture? Great. You do it because someone told you that you need HR? Okay. You think that this HR person will solve your problems and change your culture? Sorry, nope. You can hire the best HR person (which is a good decision), but he or she won’t change much alone. They can be the best individual fighter and they might succeed in reaching other open-minded individuals, but the problem is ALON

First of all, let me tell you that you might get to know your best friend ever at work. If that happens, forget this article and celebrate your friendship!   For the rest … let me give you some examples of consequences when being too close at work.   What means being too close? How can you be too close with someone?   It depends on the culture and business environment you live in. Some countries, in general, tend to be very close and relaxed at work. There might be no clear l

Human conflicts and disagreements are natural. As long as human beings work together, there will be those who work well together while others feel strong dislike.   And each individual would be convinced that their view of the situation is right. Worse, many feel that their perception is the only possible way of seeing it and, therefore, they must be right.   Since there is often not one single solution which helps to decide who is wrong and who is right, managers – even when

You have a business problem and cannot solve it over a longer period of time?   Let me tell you a secret:   Most of the time, it is not about the problem itself.  You think it is about the problem, but it is not.    Most problems don’t get solved or very slowly solved because it is a relationship problem.    There is some form of mistrust or underlying conflict or opposing interests. And that leads to destructive behavior, instead of getting to a solution quickly.    Most peo

Communication hack of the day: Instead of telling someone “Don’t forget to XYZ!”, try this instead: “I know that you’re already focused on XYZ … I just wanted to let you know that it is such an important part of that presentation/meeting/negotiation.” What might seem like just a different wording can be a game changer. Why? You don’t sound like a parent reminding their child. Instead you communicate on eye level and reduce the sense of hierarchy. You communicate with trust an

“I trust that you do your best.” This is a mindset and it includes an important message: YOUR best. Not my best. Or someone else’s best, that is their expectation. It includes another - equally important - baseline to start with: I trust myself. I know that I will do my best. And from this understanding, I realize that your best might be very different from mine. I will be there to support you and try to create an environment where you are capable of growing into your best ve

Some days ago, I first heard about the term "microscopic truth". Microscopic truth means telling the truth in a very specific situation,...

Sometimes I have the answer in my head. I can answer immediately.  Yet, it can be better to take the question or the topic with me and...

When working in Human Resources or as a people manager, we always have the duty to find solutions for human beings and achieve the best...

I‘m a big fan of communication. Oftentimes, I rather notice to little communication than too much of it.    And I don’t mean that...

My short answer to that question is: nothing special! Just real interest in human beings and their different personalities.   Does this...

I love how the English language differentiates between the two words “responsibility” and “ownership”.    We are all responsible for...

I often meet managers or employees who assume that I would know everything my team knows, plus more.    Sometimes, they don’t even have a...

This week I got inspired by the following thoughts of a leader I work with and I’m using my own words to explain his message.   When...

There are many instructions on how to conduct structured interviews. There are thousands of good questions you can ask a candidate and –...