Lisa Christen

21/01/2025

I’m honored to be speaking at the Loft of Shared Dreams in Davos during World Economic Forum 2025!

This platform brings together visionaries, changemakers, and leaders to shape a better future.

📅 Date: Thursday, January 23, 2025
🕒 Time: 10:10
💡 Topic: Entrepreneurship 3.0: Leading with Purpose in a Disrupted World
📍 Venue: Hotel Mountain Plaza, Davos
💌 And here’s the best part: I’d love for you to join me there!

This is your chance to be part of an exclusive event that promises to inspire and empower. Register fast as tickets are almost gone!

RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-loft-of-shared-dreams-davos-2025-tickets-1142979776279?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&keep_tld=1

I look forward to seeing you in Davos - let's dream big and make a difference together! 🌟

25/04/2024

The most important skill that got you to your success will eventually become your downfall.

"What!? No, no", they tell me, "Mental Strength is so important! I just need MORE mental strength."

But Mental Strength uses the Goldilocks Principle.

Too little has consequences.

Too much has consequences.

You want just the right amount.

One of the biggest blindspots I coach Executives on is how to have LESS mental strength.

(Executives seem to only have too much).

The skill that got you to your success will eventually become your downfall.

Unless...

Below is my latest article for Forbes 👇

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2024/04/23/ways-your-mental-strength-may-be-hurting-more-than-its-helping/

An over-reliance on "mental strength" can lead to many negative consequences, such as ineffective leadership, burnout and an overall decline in your personal well-being.

18/07/2023

I think the authenticity movement is hurting FAR more people than it's helping.

Under the guise of "being authentic", too many leaders are keeping themselves "stuck" in their comfort zone.

👉 You're an introvert so you don't go to many networking events?

❌ That's not authenticity.

👉 You're a data cruncher and not an inspirational speaker so you don't get your team excited about the org transformation?

❌ That's not authenticity.

👉 You're direct and it causes problems with others?

❌ That's not authenticity.

---

I'm not saying you need to be fake or pretend to be someone else.

I'm saying you need to be intentional.

💡 Choose to grow over choosing to stay stuck 💡

Just because something doesn't come naturally (yet) doesn't mean it can't become authentic to you.

1️⃣ Don't use "that's who I am" as an excuse to limit your growth.

2️⃣ Stay intentional and be flexible to meet the needs of the situation.

3️⃣ Allow yourself to grow into your full potential

THAT is where true leadership magic happens.

19/01/2023

Attending the World Economic Forum is one of the most inspiring parts of my year. 🙌

Meeting such brilliant 🧠 and powerful⚡️ change-makers ready to make a difference - and doing the work to get BIG things done.

👎 The media always tells you WEF is an elitist scam only serving the 1%.

👀 Don't believe everything you read!

---

It's not perfect, but nothing ever is.

Instead of complaining, the people who show up are those with energy, motivation, vision, influence, and the power to actually make the change happen!

I'm grateful for every discussion there that's moving us to a better global world 🌎

---

And some personal highlights for me:

✨️ Chatting with the legendary Diane von Furstenberg, iconic fashion designer and creator of the In Charge movement.

✨️ Hugging HRH Ambassador Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, the first female Ambassador from Saudi Arabia to the US

✨️ Joking around with Nuseir Yassin, legendary social media influencer and creator of the Nas Summit.

✨️ Visiting The Female Quotient Equality Lounge and being inspired by the phenomenal speakers curated by Shelley Zalis and Ronda Carnegie.

✨️ Learning the extraordinary details about NEOM, the future of planned cities, from a person who is already living there.

Energy is set for the next 6 months 🏃‍♀️

30/06/2022

There is one shortcut to solving literally EVERY SINGLE leadership problem. The only problem is... nobody likes the solution.

Why?

The solution involves counter-intuitive thinking and going against almost everything you learned in school, from your parents, from your bosses, etc.

The solution is extremely uncomfortable.

The solution involves looking deeply at yourself and seeing the parts of you that you may not like.

The solution involves facing your emotions (and your deepest fears).

The solution involves BEING instead of DOING / SLOWING instead of SPEEDING.

The solution involves continuous maintenance.

---

The above is all HARD.

Clients often come to me wanting a quick and EASY solution.

Just give me the morning routine that works best.

Just tell me the formula for prioritizing workloads.

Just tell me what I can say to convince others.

As a coach, of course, I can do that.

But it won't really solve your challenges.

---

The ONLY skill you need for success in leadership (and life)

is

Emotional regulation.

Don't run FROM your emotions, run TOWARDS them.

Face your emotion. Name your emotion. Get curious about your emotion. Make a CHOICE about what you want to do.

But do not GIVE IN to your emotions.

Don't let your emotions run you, YOU run your emotions

Everything else in life will follow.

18/06/2022

✅️ Check that off the bucket list!

What an enchanting experience at the Ladies Drive League of Leading Ladies "The Future Is Bright" conference this week.

----

We heard from incomparable speakers like:

✅️Swati Mandela, Nelson Mandela 's granddaughter speaking about honoring the activism legacy of BOTH her grandparents and not forgetting women's roles in creating history.

Swati has single-handedly confirmed what I have known for a few months now - Africa is calling me to come.

✅️Acclaimed Hollywood producer and investor Dame Didi Wong speaking her unexpected truth about unconscious bias in Hollywood

✅️ John Strelecky who asked us: if your life were a museum, what would it be like? Would only the last few photos be of friends and family, and 95% of the museum be you hunching over your computer?

✅️ Sasha (Alexandra) Lund who talked about the difficulties of succession planning in families (90% of family businesses fail in the 3rd generation!)

✅️ and unexpectedly Wies Bratby ! Winner of the Women Empowering Award 2022 for teaching women to powerfully negotiate for the pay they deserve.

----

Thank you to our incomparable host Sandra-Stella Triebl !

And a special shout out to Benjamin Bieber for the world-class Porsche 🚘 driving experience 🤩

08/06/2022

Apparently, my speech on Emotional Articulation at the Association for Talent Development - ATD 2021 global conference had so much interest that they asked me to write a featured article for TD magazine!

Emotional Intelligence is a great concept -- but people can rarely apply it in real life.

Why?

Because 99% of people approach their emotions the wrong way.

Most people either:

🏃‍♀️Run from emotions

or

🤬 Give into their emotions.

Either way, emotions are running your life.

---

Instead, learning how to take the power out of emotions is the key.

Let emotions be what they should be: data points.

And nothing more.

Emotional Articulation shows you how.

https://www.td.org/magazines/td-magazine/supercharge-your-eq-with-emotional-articulation

Learning to better define your emotions can help to pinpoint solutions.

07/06/2022

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." That's why today's Executive Coaching session with Georg Meyer (CIO of Bossard ) took place at the metal casting foundry Christenguss AG.

We need to stop *talking* about developing intuition.

We need to start truly *feeling* it instead.

Not thinking... doing.

Getting back in touch with our body. Using our hands. Producing something tangible.

Back to the basics. An ancient art, being done for thousands of years. Connecting across generations and time. A primal reconnection to elements of fire and metal.

Trying something completely out of the comfort zone. Feeling nervous and exhilarated and alive.

Out of the head, into the body.

That's what it means to experience being present.

---

This is the kind of coaching we offer to our clients - the memorable kind that creates a lasting impact.

Would you feel free enough to experiment and explore like this?

19/05/2022

Hilarious video 😅 Funny because it's true! How helpful are your wellbeing programs really if you're not ready to address the systemic causes?

Here's what helps:

✅️ Set fewer & clearer priorities

✅️ Set clear boundaries for home time & holidays

✅️ Role model a balanced, healthy lifestyle

✅️ Reduce the pressure to be perfect

✅️ Speak openly and honestly about the pressures faced

Here's what doesn't help:

❌️ Just give a discount to a fitness club or offer a yoga class

❌️ Write PR messaging about balance and then role model the opposite

❌️ Tell employees to "speak up when they need something"

❌️ Host a wellbeing webinar (usually during lunch!)

---

It's your job as a leader to set the environment that makes it okay for employees to prioritize wellbeing.

They actually couldn’t care less 😂

11/05/2022

It's okay to not be okay.

No more toxic positivity. No more grind until burnout. No more pretending you're coping just fine.

It's long past time to change the old mindset that mental health is a taboo topic.

Mental health should be a priority.

Join Ret Chairman of Microsoft Europe Jan Muehlfeit and me this Thursday as we share our personal journeys and provide tips for how to improve your mental health.

500 million+ members | Manage your professional identity. Build and engage with your professional network. Access knowledge, insights and opportunities.

09/05/2022

Today I experienced something truly and unbelievably magical in a corporate culture: the leadership actually role modeled caring about employees.

I don't mean they talked about it in theory.

I don't mean they said they should do it.

I don't mean they wrote down values to hang on a poster.

I mean they did it.

(Even when nobody else was looking).

---

During a nerve-wracking meeting where employees had to present case studies for why they should be promoted, the leadership team agreed: let's put them at ease.

Let's smile and nod and encourage them as they present, with no interruptions.

Let's give them a smile and a friendly question to bring down their nerves.

Let's ensure all questions are asked with respect and curiosity.

Let's bring them small gifts to show how much we appreciate them.

These are our future talents, after all.

We WANT them to succeed.

Let's find ways to make them shine.

----

If only every leader could show this much care.

If only every culture could show this much care.

But most companies do the opposite.

Most companies "test" employees to see if they are "good enough".

Leadership from a place of fear will ALWAYS lose in the future of work.