Business Sparring - training with your your individual sparring partner
Your sparring partner prepares you perfectly
There are these moments that decide a lot.
You are the focus of attention, presenting a project idea or a concept for a far-reaching change. The outcome depends on your performance - on how well you convince other people of your message.
How can you prepare yourself optimally for these decisive moments?
A case for a sparring partner, a case for Business Sparring.
What is a sparring partner?
In Business Sparring, your sparring partner helps you to be in the right frame of mind at the crucial moments.
Therefore, what is a sparring partner? Your active coach and companion in a confidential and protected area before you make your big entrance.
You are in focus with your topic and receive individual and precise support.
What does a sparring partner do?
Your business sparring partner does not go easy on you - you
- receive direct and sometimes harsh feedback
- learn about the strengths and weaknesses of your concept and
- develop new perspectives, ideas and arguments.
Your sparring partner ensures that you come out of the joint preparation well prepared, strengthened and more confident.
Business sparring is by no means one-dimensional - it offers suitable formats for individuals as well as teams and organisations.
Let's talk about your specific training for your decisive moment!
When does a sparring partner help you?
You are familiar with statements or thoughts like:
- I have a leadership position in the company - many no longer tell me what they really think.
- I am not sure if my idea is good enough to continue working on it
- I don't have a discussion partner I can really trust
- I am afraid that I am not well enough prepared for my board presentation
- Our decision meetings are flooded with issues - we need more time to discuss the important things
- We need to get better at asking the right questions at the right time
- I want to improve my standing in the company and demonstrate my competencies
Business sparring can add value to you or your organisation with these signs - how does it work and what formats are available?
Business Sparring - from sport to a business context
The term sparring comes from martial arts - the athlete's skills are improved through targeted training.
The sparring partner ensures that this intense and tough training is fair, positive and without injury.
These principles translate well to the business arena. In business sparring you get exactly the space you need to prepare.
As your sparring partner, I prepare you professionally and specifically, always with your goal in mind. You benefit from my many years of corporate experience in management meetings and decision-making bodies - I ask you the questions you need to prepare!
In top-class sport, no one enters the decisive competition without perfect preparation - increase your success in the business sector by applying the same principles!
Business Sparring for individuals - your personal sparring partner
Classic format - step into the limelight well prepared
Your use cases:
- You have to deliver something important (e.g. concept or important presentation).
- You feel stuck, are insecure or are afraid of overlooking something
- You lack a trustworthy person to support you in your preparations
We go into the confidential "infight" - you come out strengthened, with additional perspectives.
Freestyle Format - more than brainstorming for new ideas
Your use cases:
- You don't know if your idea is good enough to pursue it further
- You don't have a neutral space where you can easily share your ideas
- You lack the broad perspective to think through everything from start to finish
We enter into a dialogue without prior preparation - you get direct feedback and questions that help you.
Markus was of great support to me as business sparring partner when I was in charge of logistics operations at one of our largest production locations. We had several large investment and tendering projects ongoing.
His excellent financial and business expertise helped a lot in weighing the various options against each other and in achieving top management approval.
Moreover it was a great pleasure to work with Markus due to his highly cooperative and team focussed working style.
Veronika Ettinger, Head of Marketing
Your questions about Business Sparring
Perhaps you have never worked with a sparring partner before, have questions about practical issues or want to know more about the formats?
Find out details, background and benefits in this Business Sparring overview.
Feel free to contact me for suggestions, questions or for a concrete offer for your personal Business Sparring!
You will find the most important questions and answers below.
Business Sparring for teams and organisations - your sparring partner accompanies you
In-house format - a new quality for your decision-making meetings
Your context:
- Your overloaded decision meetings do not allow for important discussions
- You see content-related discussions or challenges coming up short
- You are riskening to lose valuable time or significantly wrong decisions
We establish a business sparring format in your organisation that gradually raises the quality of decisions.
Challenger format - adding value to existing meetings.
Your context:
- Your meetings or decision-making formats lack effectiveness
- Your team lacks the competence or courage to ask the right questions
- You have too much internal focus instead of a holistic perspective
You get an external, critical voice that quickly enriches your existing meetings with new perspectives.
Peer format - enhancing cooperation across functional boundaries
Your context:
- You notice silo thinking instead of cooperation between different areas
- Your emerging talents lack the possibility of an internal network
- Your teams are too caught up in day-to-day business, lacking perspective
We establish peer groups across the organisation and develop important competences with a new format.
Your sparring partner with many years of experience.
Business sparring works.
When it comes to important issues, you need someone who asks the questions that many others shy away from. This can make the difference between success and defeat - I have learned this in my corporate career.
You also need experience in a variety of functions, situations and projects and the ability to quickly understand the context of your counterpart.
These skills have been confirmed to me by board members, division heads and senior managers from a wide range of functions in the course of my professional career.
Business sparring works in a short time.
You often need no more than an hour of joint work for initial impulses and the development of new perspectives. In over two decades I have helped many people to prepare perfectly for the decisive moments.
In addition, I have successfully set up and led all formats for teams and organisations myself.
Benefit from my experience and contact me for a free initial conversation - I would also like to work successfully with you as a sparring partner!
Our dialogues brought me inspiring and refreshing lines of thinking and at the same time concrete ideas how to implement. He is a highly valued sparring partner who can extend my perspective and resolve potential blockades with just a few questions.
Olivia Pfeiler, Teamleader Controlling
Business Sparring - a differentiation from Business Coaching and Consulting.
The terms and offers on the market easily become blurred - Business Sparring deserves its place as an independent and unique format.
Business Coaching and Consulting are also valuable services in the Mind your business portfolio - it is necessary to clearly distinguish between them.
Business Coaching
- The focus is on the person and the increase of personal competences
- Empathy and time for reflection are important for your development process
- The coach is seen as a personal companion who guides you to trigger ideas to develop new solutions
Business Sparring
- The focus is on the content and the training on the business theme.
- Challenge and positive confrontation are essential
- The sparring partner is active as a companion for intensive training, gives feedback and challenges your ideas
Business Consulting
- The focus is on the process as well as content input.
- Understanding and structure development are important
- The consultant is seen as a holistic business partner who develops & implements content together with you