From colleague to manager: the first six months
Promoted within their own team, a new manager keeps the same colleagues and loses almost everything else. The most common mistakes, and what helps through the first months.
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Notes on managing in Switzerland
In-depth pieces on the management problems that keep coming up in Switzerland — written for practitioners, not for search engines.
Deciding by consensus without everything grinding to a halt
Consensus is what makes Swiss decisions solid, and sometimes slow. What separates a consultation that strengthens a decision from a discussion that postpones it indefinitely.
DISC or the Enneagram: which tool for which team?
The two tools are often presented as interchangeable. They are not: one describes what you can observe in a meeting, the other what drives each person to act.
Supervising an apprentice: a role often given without preparation
Apprenticeship holds a central place in Switzerland, and it is often experienced employees, not trainers, who support apprentices day to day. What makes the difference.
Feedback: too blunt for some, too cautious for others
The same comment can be received as harsh criticism by one person and as a vague compliment by another. The problem is not the dose of candour, it is the lack of facts.
Cross-border commuters and residents in the same team: managing perceived fairness
In a team that mixes cross-border commuters and residents, tensions rarely concern salaries. They concern hours, remote work and what each person believes the other gets.
Which language should you train a team in, in Switzerland?
The reflex is to choose the language everyone understands. The right criterion is different: a course works when participants can argue, not just follow.
Motivating when salary no longer makes the difference
In a market where salaries are already high, money retains people poorly and motivates only briefly. People leave for other reasons, and most depend directly on the manager.
French and German speakers in the same team: when language changes the meeting
Between Romands and Swiss Germans, the first obstacle is not each side's supposed character, but the language the meeting is held in, and what it takes from those less fluent in it.
Selling in Switzerland: a long cycle, several decision-makers, little room for approximation
A buyer who has not said no has not yet said yes. In B2B, decisions are often made collectively, on the basis of evidence, and pushy follow-ups cost more than they bring in.