She is change personified. Musician. Lawyer. Team builder. Trainer. Consultant. Solopreneur. Ski instructor. And bringing all of that vast expertise and experience into her current work as award-winning, internationally certified High Performance and Leadership Coach. One of her favourite topics: change as a catalyst to own your power.
Passionate about humans and their great brain, mind and potential, Brigitte Münch helps Leaders and Executives embrace and navigate change by taking back control, realizing their potential, and owning their power over their careers and lives. She also works with professionals transitioning from the corporate world into their own business, and helps them start and grow.
Brigitte's own journey through numerous transformations has taught her that every change can be turned into a positive reinvention of yourself, and that it is on each and every one of us to take ownership of our future. Her excitement about empowering individuals and teams to be the leaders of their life is palpable.
She is recognized as one of the “Top 15 coaches in Zurich” in 2023, and we are glad that she shares more about her unique blend of experience from the worlds of corporate, music and mountaineering in this interview.
Brigitte Münch, Leadership, Business & Management Coach
Let’s start with a bit more background of your own story: you have started your career in classical music, became a lawyer in private practice and in multi-national corporate environments, and eventually started your solopreneurial adventure as consultant, coach and ski instructor. How does that all come together?
You are right, it might not be obvious that all of these areas are linked to each other. However, what I love most in my work is that everything flows together in my today’s work as coach and consultant for leaders in transition. Whatever it is my clients need on their journey through change, I have tools which help them, and they benefit from this broad range of expertise and experience. The connecting element here is leadership – and I mean that in different directions: leading yourself, leading others and being able to be led.
Can you explain that a bit further?
Sure! I’ve started as a musician, which also means that I have been on stage with other musicians. Performing a concert means you have to master your instrument, but also be in constant communication with other musicians and the conductor, be aware of the role you’re playing in the performance (e.g., the soloist or a player in the orchestra), you have to play, to listen and to pause. You are in permanent leadership. If I think of my work as a lawyer, I’ve led hundreds of complex negotiations with various stakeholders. This means you have to lead the negotiation, own the legal part, be an interface when it comes to non-legal aspects in the contract, understand the perspective of others and find a solution. – And finally, when you are somewhere in the wild and want to reach a mountain peak, you are responsible for your own performance, safety and health, but you build a rope team with other alpinists and might follow a mountain guide. Or you teach others how to become better skiers, being responsible for helping them reach their goals.
It is incredibly rewarding that I can draw on all these long-term experiences in my work with my clients!
That sounds indeed like a unique combination of skills and experience. When we talk about leadership in change, what are the main topics you are working on with your clients?
Given my background, I work a lot with leaders and executives in the corporate world, who are working in change environments or change roles or go through a transition themselves. Many of them feel overwhelmed and stressed, under constant pressure to deliver, perform, juggle huge workloads, demands and expectations. They often feel a lack of presence and rarely have the time and space to think important things through. The pace is high, which is stimulating and exhausting at the same time. Quite often, they feel they’ve lost connection with themselves and their own needs as well as their social environment, their families and friends. The higher you go in the hierarchy of a corporation, the lonelier it becomes, and when we think of executives, they often miss a sounding board to address concerns, worries or doubts – in addition to the responsibilities on their shoulders.
So, the common thread is the question: How can I take back control? And even if total control is simply not possible in the corporate world or in our lives (especially in our times), you want to have a sense of being in your power, of having clarity and direction, being in charge and able to make an impact. Amongst these, clarity is a big part of the work. Once you have clarity about your place, your role and the structures around you, but most of all clarity about your own foundations and the things which anchor you, you start to feel much more ease, you can focus much better and become more resilient.
Can you share one thing, which helps your clients take back control and navigate change in an easier way?
Absolutely! There is one question, which completely changed my perspective on my own career and life when I went through a time of major change a couple of years back. And it did not only change my perspective, it also changed my whole attitude and approach to life. It was the simple, not easy question “What do you want?”. The lady who asked me was my first coach – and I could only stare at her in total shock, because I had no answer to that question. I realized that I had never asked myself what it was I really wanted myself. That pushed me from acting as an “opportunity taker” and following other people’s agendas and terms to taking on responsibility and ownership for my own career and life. As simple as the question may sound, so many don’t know what it is they really want, what really matters to them. When I use a version of this question in my work, I can literally see the shift in people’s minds. Many of them realize it is the key to taking back control and owning their power.
Thank you for sharing this, that’s really powerful and inspiring! How do you work with your clients?
Given that each situation, goal and personality is different, I offer a variety of formats to work with me. Many leaders and executives start with 1:1 coaching, but I also offer small group programmes, where I combine group calls and private sessions. I’ve seen that many – even those who are very sceptical before – benefit from the group dynamics and community, but I still want to give them the opportunity to have private sessions. The most intense (and perhaps most effective) way to work with me is in my personal retreats in the Swiss Alps. Being away from your daily work, your desk and office environment and instead being surrounded by majestic mountain peaks gives you the opportunity to pause for a moment, ground yourself and re-calibrate your direction.
That sounds awesome! Do you have any final message for our readers?
Well, I actually have two…
The first one: Always remember that you have incredible power and potential inside of you. Don’t give that away – and when you feel it dwindling, or you feel like someone else’s plaything, connect with yourself. There are numerous ways to train that, please find the one that works for you.
Which leads me to the second point: Please get help. There is no reason to suffer and try to figure it out on your own. Getting help is a sign of strength, not weakness. You will be back in your power so much faster, and it is not worth to sacrifice yourself, your health, wellbeing, relationships or joy! If there is one thing I would do differently today, then it is to ask for help much earlier.
