And I…
… am there for you – as a sparring partner and „case manager“, whenever you would like to solve problematic situations in your organization that are challenging in terms of content or on a methodological or personal level.
For this task, I see methodological expertise as part of the necessary equipment as a consultant for companies and organizations and as a coach. For our joint excursion to find the route to your solution, I also bring along the inquiring mind of a scientist and perspectives gained working as a corporate executive for many years and as a passionate startup entrepreneur. These diverse areas of experience shape my perspective and profiles, which allow me to offer a multifaceted view of complex and critical situations. I would like to make these inherent opportunities and possibilities available and accessible to managers and their challenges.
The equipment for our expedition
In the section below, you will find a selection of individual methodological elements – grouped in classic contexts – which I include in my consulting processes, coaching, workshop presentation and training activities. In addition to this, I draw on the methodological know-how of my network of partners where needed on a case-by-case basis.
Structural work in an organization
Change management
Cultural change
Changing leadership culture
Strategic work
Complex issues
Analysis of power structures and influence networks
Conflict counselling and mediation
Ethics
Professional Orientation
Presentation
Keynote speeches and training
My triangle of your possibilities
I unite three perspectives and approaches within myself: the professional world of consulting, the structure- and process-oriented systemic view of organizations and the eye of the systemic coach in the context of a given situation. I view the three worlds as complementing each other and apply the respective mindsets and methods to my client’s mission as necessary.
It is this variety of perspectives that allows me to understand whether your concern can be most effectively addressed at the entrepreneurial, the organizational or the personal level. The perspective may well change during a process, and a solution can be approached from different angles by arrangement.
My view of people
My coaching work begins with a face-to-face conversation focusing on you as a person as well as your role in the context of your concern. In addition to this, the formal structure in which you move through your day-to-day professional life – the team, your integration in the circle of your immediate co-workers and in the organization as a whole, are of key importance.
As I see it, considering these relationships is unavoidable for professional issues, and its independent treatment of you as a person allows an unobstructed view of the relevant issues in these areas. Two important views and insights at this point: You are not your role, and an organizational structure can limit, but also provide stability.
However, you may want to first look inwards in the current situation. In that case, I will take a look at the emotional and physical manifestations of your concern with you. Together, we will work on your perceptions in this area and on comprehending the signals that your body and emotions are sending. This is the key to accessing your personal resources and sources of energy, but also to blocks and limitations. The important thing for me here is the assumption that you already have all the resources you need to address your concern, even if it remains true that you can do what you want, but may not always be able to immediately want what you want.
My understanding of organizations
Organizations are social systems first and foremost and must be understood as such. They become manifest through the communication structures of their members or stakeholders and represent supra-personal phenomena. In order to better understand organizations, it is helpful to take a look at how decisions are made in an organization (premises and programs for making decisions), where they are made (hierarchies, committees), who is making them or who they are attributed to (staff, management, committees) and which decisions are made on a daily basis, without the organization even being aware of it anymore (culture). These structural elements can be found in every type of organization, profit-based and non-profit alike.
In my experience, typical problems of organizations manifest as a small – or large – decision that cannot be made in the organization, because there is no place, no decision-maker or simply no justification to be found for it.
Typische Organisationsprobleme zeigen sich meiner Erfahrung nach immer daran, dass eine kleine oder auch große Entscheidung in einer Organisation nicht getroffen werden kann, da sie keinen Ort, keine Entscheider oder einfach auch keine Begründung findet.
My view of companies
As I see it, companies are organizations with economic goals. They must act in a market environment and must typically meet the needs of shareholders, stakeholders and employees. In keeping with this, an entrepreneurial view of an organization means taking this specific perspective into account and guiding the development of a company using clearly defined goals and performance indicators, as well as being familiar with and applying established tools for corporate management within this framework.
My background and experience are predominately in the following areas of business: Identifying strategies and analyzing markets, structural work in an organization (governance), product and service management, business partnering approaches, personnel capacity planning and controlling (strategic to operational), analysis of processes and interfaces, project management, communication and change management.
Get to know me
Trusting and positive cooperation is the basis for any intense and constructive collaboration. Which is why I always begin with a personal encounter. However, if you like, you can already get to know a couple of the personal opinions and thoughts of Alexander Zock.
Answers to questions you didn’t ask:
(taken from “Fragebogen” by Max Frisch; Suhrkamp 1992)
Who do you wish you had never met?
I actually think there is not a single encounter I regret.
Have you wronged a person, who may or may not know of it, and would you say you hate yourself or the other person for it?
Yes, not just one person, and yes, I regret not having been able to deal with these people more confidently, openly and wisely.
Would you like to have total recall?
Absolutely not.
What dead person would you like to meet again?
My grandparents and my ancestors. I would love to hear more about their perspectives and experiences in what I can only access as abstract history.
Would you have preferred to belong to a different culture, and if so: which one?
No, because I do not feel that any nation or culture is better than any other.
How old would you like to become?
That isn’t up to me.
If you had the power to decree what you, today, feel is right, would you order it, against the will of the majority? Yes or no.
No. Because if I cannot convince others, my own ideas are probably flawed. I am always reminded of the aphorism: „The road to hell is paved with good intentions.“
Is it easier for you to hate a collective or an individual, and do you prefer to hate alone or in a collective?
I see feelings of hate as a personal failing and am not inclined to cultivate them. My feelings of hatred show me more about me than they reveal about others.
When did you stop thinking you were getting wiser, or do you think you still are?
I assume that I am still learning and, in a way, becoming wiser than previous versions of myself in the process. However, I do not feel that the word „wisdom“ is one that is appropriate when comparing yourself to others.
Do you find your self-criticism convincing?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
What do you think others hold against you and what do you hold against yourself, and, if those are two different things: which are you more likely to apologize for?
Different people are offended by different things. I personally apologize for carelessness. It is never intentional, and I regret it.
If you casually consider never having been born: do you find the thought unsettling?
Mmmh, one of the questions that make my head spin. But, yes – because where would I be now if not?
Do you love someone? And if so, how do you know?
Oh yes! – Because this person, these people are important to me and I am concerned with their wellbeing. They also fill my life with joy and happiness.
What would make you even happier?
Having to do fewer things that have little meaning for me.
What are you grateful for?
For the happy, healthy and privileged life I have enjoyed with my family and my friends so far.
Do you know of reconciliations that don't leave scars on one side or the other, or on both?
Yes, those are reconciliations in which I learn something about myself.
What would you call masculine?
My image of masculinity is centered on the concepts of imagination, a spirit of discovery, courage and gentleness.
What do you admire in women?
Without comment and in no particular order: Humor, grace and sensuality
Can you think without hope?
I believe that the very moment I stop hoping, I will also stop thinking.
What is the difference between wit and humor?
Wit is sharp and cutting; humor is light and relieves tension.
Do you know animals with a sense of humor?
If I think of my dog, Sam, I cannot say anything other than „yes“.
Why do revolutionaries shy away from humor?
Humor requires a certain distance from oneself. And in revolutionaries, this appears to me to be a contradiction in terms. Only someone who blocks out everything else can dedicate themself to a cause without compromise. The price is living without a sense of humor.
Would you like to get to know me personally or find answers to your questions? I look forward to a conversation with you!
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