In guiding and developing teams and organizations, leadership is undeniably important. As a motivational speaker in the field of leadership, Michael has already helped many different management (MT) and leadership teams with their vision and approach in the areas of agility, vitality, and sustainability.
keynote speaker leadership
โYour first and foremost job as a leader is to...!'
What can you expect from Michael as a leadership speaker?
- Together on the path to sustainable High Performance. Because anyone can go ‘hard’ (for a while)…
- Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills and the importance of psychological safety
- The importance of humor, especially in less pleasant – stressful situations
Collaborations as a Speaker
These Organizations have gone before you
Michael as a leadership speaker
‘The importance of humor is still underestimated, especially in adversity and stressful situations’
Michael has extensive experience and has provided training in ‘practical’ operational leadership, is a motivational leadership speaker, and has guided various MTs and organizations in creating a new vision and approach to agility, vitality, and sustainability.
Take me to the Big 5
”People often overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can achieve in a lifetime.
Keynote Speaker Michael Kortekaas
Big 5 as a leadership speaker
1. Hard skills vs. soft skills
In my career within the Police (Academy) and Defense, I quickly learned that the so-called soft skills are at least as important as hard skills. And that perhaps ‘essential skills’ is even a better expression than soft skills.
The difference:
Hard skills often refer to the knowledge and expertise that someone has. What competencies are needed to practice a profession?
Here, I’m talking about the legal knowledge that a police officer, soldier, lawyer, or accountant needs to perform their duties.
Of course, also the knowledge and expertise of systems (Word, Excel, AutoCAD, etc.) and skills such as bricklaying, carpentry, planning, and organizing.
Soft skills are about the extent to which a person can regulate their emotions, handle feedback, have self-reflection, and position themselves or open up to others and have a (courageous) conversation.
It’s also about how we collaborate. For example, how we communicate, make decisions, and structure things together.
Two examples from my background:
- An officer who has the knowledge of how to conduct a bad news conversation (step-by-step plan, i.e., a hard skill) will need to keep their own emotions in check to have this conversation in practice (soft skill).
- A soldier who receives ‘rules of engagement’ about whether or not to fire in a certain situation (hard skills) will, in reality, need to control themselves by using breathing techniques and focusing attention to perceive the situation correctly, then make decisions and execute them.
Moral of the story:
The leader must be convinced that a team needs this.
In my 12.5 years of experience within the Police (Academy) and defense and over 10 years as a trainer and educator for many different companies and government organizations, I can tell you that not every leader finds this important enough yet.
30
Years of experience
250
Companies inspired
1400
Inspirationals
7500
Workshops & classes
Culture in leadership
2. Different cultures
Over the past 25 years, I have been able to train many teams in the field of leadership and seen the differences per culture. By far, most leaders or managers I work with want to be (more of) a ‘High Performer’ or lead a ‘High Performing’ team.
To be able to do that, we first need to know a bit more about the different cultures within a team. Here’s a model:
Different leadership styles:
- Fear culture: -> few compliments, much criticism
- Avoidance culture: -> few compliments, little criticism
- Care culture: -> many compliments, little criticism
- Performance culture: -> many compliments, much criticism
For the leader, it requires awareness and reflection of their attitude towards themselves and, of course, the team members. Do you give compliments? How do you provide feedback? What is the balance in this, and how is this embedded in the team or organization?
Photo by ยฉ Bas van Leerdam – Sprekershuys
Culture Where You’re Allowed to Make Mistakes
3. Error Management Culture
Develop a culture where you’re allowed to make mistakes! Both the culture and performance will improve because of it.
If you, like Google, Facebook, and Tata, are convinced that failing is good, how do you develop a culture where team members dare to make mistakes and can be open about them?
People get the feeling that they are allowed to make mistakes, won’t be ‘punished’ (immediately) for them, and feel the space to commit themselves more, think outside the box, take on different roles, and step out of their comfort zone for the benefit of the team and/or the organization.
A shift then occurs from an error-avoiding culture to an error management culture:
- What can we learn when something doesn’t work?
- Where did it go wrong?
- Do you need help (beforehand)?
Not desirable, but of course, a shift can also occur in the opposite direction. By constantly focusing on results; for example, unmet targets or deadlines, and steering based on mistakes, team members will become tense and operate more within the boundaries, working safer to avoid making mistakes.
Inclusive Leadership Is a Hot Topic
4. Lead by Example
Show personally that it’s good to make mistakes.
Everyone makes them, including you. The difference lies in how you deal with them! (link to Mental (Resilience) Strength โ dealing with disappointment and setbacks).
Do you hide it… conceal it, even from yourself? Or are you open about it and learn from it together? The best way is to ‘lead by example’.
So, openly tell what went wrong and approach it as a learning process, not as failure or shortcoming. This way, your team members get a good example and are more likely to take risks, make mistakes, and discuss them with each other.
Steve Jobs as a Magnificent Example
In 2005, Steve Jobs gave one of his most legendary speeches to graduating students at Stanford University. It wasn’t about innovation, the latest iPhone, or anything else fancy. It was about how he had failed and what he learned from it.
Follow Steve Jobs’ example, and the team will follow yours! Below is the 22-minute video. It’s highly recommended!
As a speaker, I notice that Inclusive Leadership is a hot topic and an area where there’s still much to learn, and thus many mistakes are allowed to be made.
It stimulates the appreciation and exchange of different backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas that team members have. The leader can only do this if there’s a safe environment within a team where everyone can bring forward ideas and every team member is listened to.
Learning is making mistakes; without making mistakes, we don’t learn or innovate.
Knowledge and Skills of Different Leadership Styles Is Necessary
5. Situational Leadership Styles?
One situation is not the same as another. You have your own preference in terms of leadership (in stressful situations), and employees can also differ considerably in the guidance that is desirable or that they need at that moment.
Knowledge and skills in the area of different leadership styles are therefore necessary. It’s about the difference in supporting and directing your team members, and we come to the following leadership styles: delegating, supporting, coaching, or directing.
Do you want to know more about this topic or do you want to Book Michael as an motivational leadership speaker? Contact us
About Speaker Michael Kortekaas
‘Just’ doing is the key to change
As a leadership speaker, workplace happiness speaker and mental resilience speaker, it’s one of his frequently used expressions; ‘what you do is what you become good at’ encapsulates the essence of a session. If you complain and grumble a lot, you’ll become good at that! But if you learn to deal with fear, disappointment or setbacks, for example, you develop willpower and perseverance.
It’s paradoxical, but ‘just’ doing is one of the great keys to real change. The trick is simply to start…
Curious how Michael as a speaker or coach can contribute within your team or at an event?
Curious about what Michael can do for you as a speaker?
On stage as
As a speaker on leadership, work happiness, and mental resilience, Michael is evaluated as energetic, authentic, refreshing, but above all as someone who can put people in a learning mode and activate them.
Keynote speaker mental resilience
Performing under pressure, dealing with change, disappointment and setbacks, and behavioral change.
About Mental Resilience
Keynote speaker work happiness
Focus on personal energy management, as energy is the foundation of performance and work happiness.
About Work Happiness
Keynote speaker leadership
Together on the path to sustainable High Performance. Because anyone can go ‘hard’ (for a while)…
About Leadership
Teambuilder
Insights and competencies that lead to team building and (improved) team performance.
Team Building
Blogs on resilience, leadership and job satisfaction
Michael inspires
Good is perfect, perfect is often not good!
Good is perfect, perfect is often not good!
Good is perfect, perfect is often not good!
