November and I have never been great friends. It tends to arrive wearing its grey coat, dragging shorter days behind it and revealing the early signs of Christmas, the lights, the markets, the familiar sparkle that Germany is so fond of. And if I were to reach for one of my favourite tools – a metaphor – November this year felt more like a landscape shifting seasons. There’s a quiet rhythm to it, a kind of natural choreography where everything moves at its own pace, and somehow it all fits.
My First Book Research Project
On the symbolic for me date of 14.11, I launched something that has been quietly growing inside me since more than a year: my first book research project. I’m speaking with over 30 people across cultures, backgrounds, and life paths – each of them navigating significant transitions now or in the past. These people are what I call leaders beyond titles. Not because they hold fancy roles (although some do), but because they show up courageously, honestly, and wish for their lived experience to serve others.
No, I’m not writing a literary masterpiece (my first master’s degree university professors may take a collective sigh of relief). This book will be something different: a grounded, practical companion for people going and leading through change who want to navigate it with more clarity, courage, purpose and more ease. And that’s precisely why this project is so dear to my heart. Because change in life is rarely tidy. It’s layered, inconvenient, beautifully human, and we don’t split ourselves into “personal me” and “professional me” when life shakes us. We carry all of it, everywhere.
Learning to Stay with the Unknown
November also brought me something precious: the new insights from ORSC® (Organization & Relationship Systems Coaching Intermediate Course – Intelligence. Those three days in Zurich were a powerful reminder of what it means to show up as we are – uncertainty, edges, emotions and all. The two co-leaders, Yvet and Duncan, held space with such mastery that it felt like a live demonstration of grace in the unknown. To witness every voice, every tension, every emerging truth welcomed… that was real system intelligence in action. I returned to Germany with a new sense of awareness, and the big question: How do we create safety inside when the world outside feels chaotic?
This is not a one-million-dollar question. It’s a priceless one.
Through coaching, learning, and the work with my clients, one truth keeps resurfacing: we can strengthen the inner muscles of “I am safe“, “I belong“, “I am enough“. They’re not always intuitive, but they change everything – how we meet ourselves and how we meet others. Slowly, my questions shifted:
Instead of “Why is there so much chaos?” I ask: “Where is my edge, and what helps me stay in harmony?” Instead of “Why so much violence and injustice?” it’s more about “How can I contribute to positive impact?”
Some questions close doors. These ones open them.
Making Ideas Happen – Together
At Heimathafen, the coworking space I often work from, there’s a sentence on the fridge in the kitchen:
“It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” I’d add one more step: together.
An idea comes alive when we speak it out loud, feel how it wants to serve, and invite others to build it with us. That’s exactly what happened on 27 November, when, together with Iris and Paula, dear fellow enthusiasts of positive impact, we launched a new initiative: Intercultural Dialogue at Heimathafen Wiesbaden to connect international minds and hearts locally. It also happened to be Thanksgiving in the US. One of the participants mentioned it during the event, and I couldn’t help but smile. Gratitude has its own perfect timing.
This month reminded me that:
⭐️ Transition can be tender. Just like trees letting go of their leaves, not out of loss, but to prepare for what’s next.
⭐️ Connection heals. We grow stronger when we stand together.
⭐️ Gratitude expands what we already have. It turns ordinary moments into meaning.
⭐️ And Leadership lives in how we show up in uncertainty. Not in our job titles, but in our presence.
As I close this article, my heart carries sadness too. On 27 November, Agnieszka Maciąg – one of my favourite Polish authors, journalist and amazing human being – passed away. Her book Pełnia życia (The Fullness of Life) has been with me since 2016, a farewell gift from a dear friend from Warsaw when I was moving to Zurich, and a gentle companion on my nightstand. Yesterday, when I opened it, as I often do at random, it spoke about healing.
Sometimes the universe writes its own metaphors…
To the memory of Agnieszka Maciąg – your light continues in many hearts.
