Marie Wetterstrand says she’s working with people who would like to be the best version of themselves. Her work through her own company covers areas like coaching, mentoring and leadership development. We talked with her about her insights into personal development.
Marie explains she can for example help people with questions like I am not happy in my current relationship. Or How will I ever get to my goal?
Leaders might have questions concerning specific employee issues or work group targets etc. She has more than twenty years of experience as a leader in both national and international companies and she is also an internationally certified coach via ICF, the International Coach Federation.
What made you become and entrepreneur and how did you get started with it?
I have dreamed about following my values for a very long time. I should probably say that these thoughts came around about ten years ago. As I have been a manager for more than 20 years I have learned that I need to plan and organize the things in details in order to fulfil my dreams.
I followed my dream is the short version of the story. The long version is more that I felt the need to be my own boss to follow my own values. Even as a manager you are following the values of the company that you are working for, and it was time for me to let go and be my own boss. I didn’t want to look back 10-20 years from now, asking how it would have been.
Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Maybe someone who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life?
The first person that comes into my mind is a manager that I had when I was in my late 20s, because he really believed in me in the beginning of my career as a manager. As an adult I got influenced by a lot of people and someone that I really liked because of her great career and her personality is Oprah Winfrey. For me she is a very strong woman who has not just walked the path, she has made THE path. She followed her dream and ambition took her where she is today.
What do you do that makes it better than the rest? In other words: what is your competitive advantage?
I should say that I have become a very good listener and have a great deal of patience and I am very goal oriented. It means that the persons I am working with as coach or mentor are taken towards the target to fulfil their dreams and solve their problems. I should also say that I have the experience and knowledge and I am still hungry to help more persons who would like to accomplish their dreams and would like to become a better version of themselves. As for me I am also focusing on my on personal development by reading books in the area I am working in and also taking training every year to develop my skills, to become better and better.
When times get tough, what would you say motivates you to keep going?
I reflect on my progress, where I started and where I am now! That is motivation: to continue my journey to where I want to be. I evaluate my options: what I have tried and didn’t work and what I can do instead. Basically trying to think outside the box a little. Most importantly I want to be the best version of myself so I continue to move.
What are the top 3 success tips that you would give anyone for becoming a good leader?
- Be a good listener, listen to what your employees and others in the company are saying and what they are not saying.
- Don’t think that you can do everything by yourself, don’t be afraid to ask for help, communicate.
- Believe in yourself.
What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?
The biggest challenge is to have the time to be able to reflect on the leadership. Today you need to be extremely effective in order to get everything done. You have to manage, help, coach your group of employees, have time for questions and feedback, do administrative tasks, plan for the next quarter etc. Reflection is extremely important for leaders today to be able to maintain a good leadership and also achieve personal growth.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
What I do is to set up time to reflect on my leadership and my targeted goals. I also develop myself by updating myself, by going to workshops, seminars and courses, as well as developing my network in my field.
My best tip to managers is to get a coach and/or a mentor, because this person you can rely upon with 100% integrity and this person will help you to find the answers to your questions and also help you to get from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow. It might be challenging, but it will help you develop.
Any last thoughts for those who are reading the article?
Thank you Hedir for interviewing me and as a treat to the readers I will ask them some questions that they can think about:
What are you grateful for everyday? To think about this on a daily basis will keep you positive and help you see things in a positive way.
What are your goals? Write them down and then ask yourself why each of them is your goal; When you have the answer, ask why over and over again so you can truly be able to understand what makes this so important to you.
Third and last question is: What prevents you from doing the things that you should do and what can you do about it?
Sadly my homepage is only in Swedish but for those who want to know more the address is www.way2grow.se
If you would like to know about coaching and what coaching can do for you, get in touch and the first session is for free.
