Are you shy, like to avoid a conflict and buy rotten strawberries at the weekly market?

Then the ZEIT Online interview with Geraldine Schroeder is exactly the right reading material for you!

Geraldine Schroeder is a successful business woman. In 2020 she took over the management of the communications agency Grayling Germany. She used to be very shy and didn’t want to mess with anyone. In the article she reveals how she managed to become a successful business woman by constantly working on herself.

„Finally start making fuss!“

Geraldine Schroeder , CEO Grayling Germany

Her tips

Leave your comfort zone.

Practice leaving your comfort zone in everyday situations. Negotiate at flea markets, ask for another table in the restaurant.

Make yourself visible.

Make yourself visible to others. Register in class, speak to meetings, register for tasks or projects.

Learn to deal with conflict.

Conflicts are not nice, but they are normal. Points of friction arise. See conflict as an opportunity to learn.

Get a 'thick skin.

(Self-) doubts slow you down, steal your energy and take up unnecessary space. In small crises, you can be very relaxed and that also prepares you for the big ones.

See it as a game!

Success has to be understood as a game. For example, men are much more relaxed in salary negotiations. They test their limits. This lightness and carefree attitude can be easily adopted. You have to understand that something can also not work. But maybe next time you try again. Try and Error.

Personality cannot be changed, but self-confidence can.

Geraldine Schroeder knows that you can’t change your personality, but you can change your self-confidence. Therefore, she advises to practice in small everyday situations and at your own pace. Be it asking for a different table in the restaurant or negotiating the price at the flea market. Every little sense of achievement makes you grow.

„I am always happy when someone tells me about a supposedly stressful woman. I think then she is on the right path:

She is not satisfied because she knows she can do more.“

Geraldine Schroeder , CEO Grayling Germany

More Information

The interview was hold in German. If you are interested, you can find the article here.

Source:

  • Zeit Online. 2019. Fangen Sie endlich an, Umstände zu machen! https://www.zeit.de/amp/arbeit/2019-07/geraldine-schroeder-frauen-fuehrungspositionen-bescheidenheit-karriere