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Real conversations for women who lead differently. Join Yvonne Heimann, Leadership & Efficiency Coach, for honest discussions with female leaders who are rewriting the rules on their own terms.
Every episode explores the challenges women face in leadership - from building effective teams to creating systems that grow your business without burning you out. We dive into what matters: balancing intuition with strategy, building sustainable success, and leading authentically.
Whether you're a digital entrepreneur, executive, or business owner, you'll discover practical strategies for team management, business automation, leadership development, and personal growth. No fluff, no cookie-cutter advice - just real conversations about what works when you're ready to step into bigger leadership while staying true to yourself.
This isn't about following someone else's blueprint. It's about finding your unique leadership style and building a business that supports the life you want. Join us to explore frameworks that help you evolve as a leader without losing what makes you, you.
Perfect for female executives, women entrepreneurs, business owners, and anyone ready to lead with both vision and heart. New episodes cover leadership strategies, business systems, team building, and the intersection of feminine wisdom and strategic action.
She Is A Leader is brought to you by AskYvi.com, where visionary leaders find personalized support to transform their leadership impact through people-centered systems that scale.
Yvonne Heimann [00:00:00]:
Have you ever wondered how entrepreneurs can stay positive and focused while paving their way through uncertainty, new environments, and overwhelming demands? Today, we’re uncovering the struggles digital business owners face when navigating big transitions and building sustainable success. There’s the pressure of juggling a new culture or country, the temptation to try doing everything at once, and the challenge of staying motivated when results aren’t instant. Enter Dr. Christiane Schroeter, a business and wellness coach, global podcast host, and author, who helps professionals unlock clarity through small, strategic steps. In this episode, we’ll dive into how Christiane’s curiosity-driven mindset and petite practice framework guide entrepreneurs to take manageable actions, avoid burnout, and discover their unique strengths. Get ready for personal stories, eye-opening tips, and practical ways to stay consistent and compassionate, even when the going gets tough. By the end, you’ll see how small changes can spark big, energizing results in your business journey.
Yvonne Heimann [00:01:19]:
With that, let me introduce you to Dr. Christiane Schroeder. Yes, I actually know how to pronounce that name. She is a business and wellness coach. You get to meet her today because we already had way too much fun in the green room. Talking German, talking English, switching between all kinds of languages and stories. You're also a professor and best selling author. You created Petite Practice, a clarity first framework designed to help promote professionals grow through small strategic actions.
There's the German coming through again. We love ourselves some frameworks. You are also the host of the globally ranked top 1% podcast, Happy Healthy Hustle. You share actionable insights on mindset marketing and aligned growth. Christiane holds a PhD in Health Economics and teaches marketing, innovation and entrepreneurship at California Polytechnic State University. Your work supports professionals in building sustainable success that feels clear, congruent and energizing without over complicating and overwhelm. And all of my audience already knows why I invited you because we are talking way too much the same language. We already had way many laughs this that are just for the green room.
So you guys now get to get to join in. Now let me help, let me help my set the stage a little bit for my audience. You, you ladies already got the idea. Christiane is German too. How did you make your way into the States? And interestingly enough, California too where I spent pretty much most of my time. But let's, let's set the stage a little bit. How did you make your way over here?
Christiane Schroeter [00:03:19]:
Well, California actually wasn't the first state where I lived in interestingly enough, and this is something we just figured out in the green room, the very first state that I lived in, dear audience was Kansas.
Yvonne Heimann [00:03:34]:
Where I'm currently residing while doing the digital nomading thing. So that was a good laugh.
Christiane Schroeter [00:03:41]:
Small story because I actually studied at Kansas State University, which is coincident coincidentally located in Manhattan, Kansas. So whenever I would say I'm going to the United States and I would say where are you going? And I would say I'm going to Manhattan. And they will be like oh my gosh, how cool is that? And then I'll be like it's not the Big Apple, it's the Little Apple. Because the nickname of Manhattan Kansas is the Little Apple. And people will be like where's that? Or like it's pretty much in the middle of the country.
Yeah, it's like it's a little apple. It's not a big Apple. On, on the coast. It's the little one in the middle. And then people would be like, oh, okay, that sounds cool. You know. Yeah, good. Love it.
And quite honestly, for my first experience coming from Germany, I think I couldn't have chosen a more perfect location because people were warm, welcoming. It was the best of the culture that I really met there. And I missed my best friend. My husband is from Kansas and actually he's born close to where you are right now, Yvonne, close to Wichita. And I think that that's really what I appreciated so much, that the culture was so warm and welcoming. Coming from Germany, that was a complete like 180. I felt so safe and. And embracing that culture.
And you're already laughing. This is laugh.
Yvonne Heimann [00:05:12]:
I'm laughing over here because it's like a total of 180. Because it's. I came to the States and it's this. You go grocery shopping and your teller is asking you, how are you? And they don't give a rats. Right. It's like we ask questions because we want to know. But we are also Germans where it's like, we don't have emotions. Yeah, we do, but we don't show them.
So it's just this. You having a similar experience where I'm like, yeah, yeah, I remember all of that. And I also see how much I have changed in certain areas.
Where it's like I was the first one in my family to say I love you. My family doesn't say that.
Christiane Schroeter [00:05:59]:
Oh, my gosh. I think same for me thinking about it.
Yvonne Heimann [00:06:04]:
They don't. I still have family members that just say you too. They don't say I love you, they just say you too.
Christiane Schroeter [00:06:12]:
Such a good episode audience, you're in for a real treat. This is gone to be heartwarming, emotional and revealing at the same time. I mean, woe.
Yvonne Heimann [00:06:25]:
And it's. I think where. Where we fit great in is having those different experiences, having those different. Growing up differently, dealing different with. With emotions, with systems, processes just being different and suddenly helping other people also see from a different point of view, which comes me. Which comes me. Which brings me to.
To your work. I'm like, you are really leading with your mindset with your work, doing this curiosity and consistent and compassion and really focusing on staying more of a resource of positivity than just doing. And I'm curious with who you are, how you work and in your business, how can digital entrepreneurs really cultivate a mindset of curiosity, consistency and compassion, especially in challenging times? I'm like going to a whole new country. That's a thing. Building a business, running a business, being out there, being an entrepreneur, showing up, that's like, it's a whole new thing. How. How can people stay in that mindset of just being curious, being consistent, and being compassionate?
Christiane Schroeter [00:08:04]:
Oh, it's such a great question. And there's actually a quite simple answer. It's that you start telling others. And given that you mentioned the word digital, I mean, you can start with, you know, telling your family, your neighbors, your friends, your acquaintances. And we're moving into the holiday season. Even more opportunities because you get together with people you usually don't see, and then you just tell them. So currently I am working on whatever, a podcast, writing a book, getting on the TEDx stage. Just tell them because most likely they don't know.
And if you are planning on doing this, it holds you also accountable because now you're sharing this, Right? Same with Instagram. When I got ready for the TEDx talk that I just gave two weeks ago, I didn't just, you know, hang out at home memorizing the talk, getting on the stage, giving the talk every single thing that I felt. Today I gotta share something. I did an Instagram story. And I think that people really appreciated the honesty, the intensity, and also the vulnerability of me sharing my experiences. Because this is tough work to be a TEDx speaker. And I don't think that people really know. They just see the final videos on YouTube and they're like, oh, my gosh, this is cool.
Christiane Schroeter [00:09:29]:
I want to do that too. Right? And it's kind of like the practice. Exactly. It's the same. Like when they look at us, it's like, oh, I wouldn't live in California or I wouldn't live in, you know, I should say Kansas now, right? So, like, going to the United States, that sounds really cool. Quite honestly, Yvonne, when I earned my PhD at some people in Germany will never forget this. They were like, oh, you know what? I should do that too. Can I call you, like, tomorrow night and you tell me a little bit about, like, how.
How to do that PhD thing? Yeah. And I was like, well, I don't think this is going to be a conversation we can have in an evening. I mean, I earned an advanced degree at.
In a foreign language. I mean, it's. There's a lot of work that went into it. Which brings me to when you introduced me to the Petite Practice. Every small step will chip away at your goal. No matter how big your goal, if you keep it up consistently. So all you digital entrepreneurs, if you have a goal in mind, an idea, a dream, start today before you change your mind. Small steps build momentum.
Christiane Schroeter [00:10:40]:
Tell others, chip away at it and just keep doing. Don't worry, don't second guess what you did yesterday. Just today. Do another post, another story, another share, whatever, like another template, whatever you're creating, because that will ultimately make you reach your goals. It's not going to be closing all the doors and shutting out the world and then coming up with a perfect product because everybody will like, when did you do that? I didn't even know you were writing this or you were working on this. You have to involve everybody else and you have to chip away at it. Small steps really. And I think that's really my momentum, my, my magic moment.
Yvonne Heimann [00:11:28]:
Because it's, it's not one of these. I jump between big picture, where I want to go and then the small steps taken and I jump for and back. If I get stuck too much in one or the other, I get completely overwhelmed. I will not do nothing. Any at all. Right, Exactly. And that's where, that's where it's just having a plan and sharing the plan and getting the account, external accountability and all the things. Yes, I completely, completely connect with that too.
And you, you also really, really emphasize the idea of building sustainable success that really is able to again energize you and, and feels clear because let's be honest, the whole US hustle culture, it's like it's not sustainable. It's simply not there. There's some alignment that has to happen. So some of the language I found on your website is like this, this idea of building sustainable success that feels clear, congruent and energizing without over complicating it or the overwhelm. So I was curious when I saw that. What is the biggest mistake you see entrepreneurs make when they are trying to scale, sustain sustainably. There's a mouthful in English language.
When they are trying to scale sustainably, what is one of those big mistakes that you see where you're like, oh my God, I wish I could tell everybody to not do this thing because you're not going to be able to. To sustain this.
Christiane Schroeter [00:13:20]:
It's trying to be everything and everywhere all at once. I think that's the biggest mistake really. I think in the long run, just choose your lane and just to try to be really comfortable in your lane. Right. It, it, I mean, it sounds really harsh, but I think sometimes you just can't worry about what others say or what others do because it will sometimes unfortunately defeat you and make you feel like you're not enough because they are doing so much and you are just doing this one thing, right? So if you want to write a book, just keep chipping away at that book, right? Don't worry, you know, whether others are laughing about it or, you know, the days when you don't know exactly, like, how to write, because there will be another day, and that day will build momentum again. I think that, to me, really, the biggest mistake is that we think we can only be successful if it's like this big thing and we share it with the world. And unfortunately, it's absolutely not true. I mean, I'm very intentional in saying no to things, and I'm also very polite about it.
I'm like, I wish I could help. I just. I'm just really not able. And this is just maybe not the very best timing and asking me. So maybe get back to me at some future point, because I still think you're doing something really amazing. I just can't do it right now. And I think that is honest. But if you constantly say yes to everything and be everywhere, you're never going to be able to reach your goals because you're just spreading yourself too thin.
And that's that hustle culture you just talked about. And. And as harsh as it sounds, you. You have to carve out time for yourself. And it only happens when you say no to all these other obligations, right?
Yvonne Heimann [00:15:22]:
And it's. It's. It's a focus, right? It's a. This is what I want to pay attention to. This is where I want to go. This is where I want to get better and better. Whatever it is, it's a focus. And if it's outside of that focus, there's no problem of saying no.
And it's like one thing I tell my clients all the time on my community. I will never fault you for asking, because if you don't ask, the answer is always no. It is my job to set the boundary. It is my job to, either way, give you resources, say yes, we can do this or say no or send you somewhere else. I will never fault anybody for asking.
Christiane Schroeter [00:16:05]:
In fact, to add on to this, I think the very best business coaches are the ones that will say, I wish I could take you on right now, but let me recommend you three coaches that will really help you and empower you, and they might just be an amazing fit. So let me help you and refer you. I'm not going to just say no and throw you out. But I'm going to help you and maybe find a different spot. It's kind of like when you go to a store and you look for something, you're like, no, we don't have it. It's like, well, great. But what they could say is, we don't have it. But there's actually a store down the street, and they do. Those are the best business people, because they will be still in my mind.
Even though I don't do business with them, I still remember them for how helpful they are. And I think that's how you need to set yourself up. You're not saying no and you're not helpful. You are actually helpful, but you're not spending your time on this. Right. You just helping somebody and referring them. And I think that's really what the magic is. So that's the number one thing when you can't scale successfully.
And it starts even with your environment. So let's just say you want to give that TEDx talk. Right. So I had a dedicated area in my house where I would go and I would practice my talk. Right?
It was my mind.
Yvonne Heimann [00:17:31]:
It takes a lot to show up. Right. For TEDx, there's a lot of work involved.
Christiane Schroeter [00:17:36]:
Yeah. So I had this. This little area right there in my house, and I knew when I practice, I'm in that area right there. I'm not in the kitchen or I'm not in the living room. I'm in that area. That's my practice stage. So my whole mindset, my body, I just felt, this is when I practice. I'm right here right now, and I'm going to practice.
And I think that is another reason when people can scale they out of this desk and it's like, full of stuff. And, you know, like, don't even get me started on emails that I like overloading inboxes. And that's okay. I mean, I'm quite honestly, my inbox is a nightmare mess, too, but I made peace with it. It's not really something that's important to me, you know, but I think you need to have a dedicated workspace where you feel this is your space where the book or the talk or the podcast will be created. Because if you don't have that, then everything else is just a domino effect. It's just going to topple down.
Yvonne Heimann [00:18:43]:
And the. The interesting thing is everybody that's been listening to my podcast knows this podcast somehow always aligns with what's happened in my life, too. And we, we've been here at Ask Yvi. We've been more and more also not just building that physical anchor that you have done for your TEDx practice. Where it's physically an anchor, there's a specific location where you're doing something. We've also started doing that digitally. So for example, we put out a job posting, right? And I had somebody that I know from social message me and I'm like, no, I don't do business slash literally business and talk with. With applicants in my social media comments and, and, and chat message. That is for me to be social, to meet people, to talk to chat, to do the thing, not to run my business client side.
A whole nother story. Yes, I'll take care of clients. We have conversations there. But there was literally an applicant popping into my, into my DMS in multiple different platforms. And I'm like, sorry, I don't do business here. I'm here to be social, to meet people, to have conversations. My assistant will follow up with you. That stuff is happening in email where it's like, that's the specific anchor of I'm being social on social media.
Yvonne Heimann [00:20:10]:
If you pop into my, into my DMs, you will get me. We business in a different area. And yes, nobody wants to see my desk right now. It looks like a shit show because when this looks like a mess, my brain is actually a mess. And I have the same connection as you do where it's like, yes, this is going to get a cleanup this afternoon. We just were from one podcast recording to the other. Now that leads for me perfectly and love the branding on this by the way to you've written a book called discover your superpower. So I found my kryptonite in my business.
You are helping people find their superpower. And yeah, we are on brand with this one. In that book, you help readers identify their strengths. So is there. Have you seen a common misconception about strengths that you wish more entrepreneurs understood? Is it maybe something where it's like you don't even see your strength or just a misconception that you have seen was like, why do you, have you, have you seen where people are like, yeah, but this is not a strength? Or how is that my superpower or just a misconception that comes up when people are working on discovering the superpower?
Christiane Schroeter [00:21:38]:
The most common misconception is that people think their strength is just this empty word. Let me give you an example. Given that you just talked about job applicants. I am hard working and I'm like, so what I mean, you tell me you're hard working. First of all, it's like you think.
Yvonne Heimann [00:22:06]:
That none of us, if that's a bad thing or is that a good thing or how.
Christiane Schroeter [00:22:11]:
It's such a, such a lofty thing. It's like, that's your superpower, that you're hard working. And I was like, super power means like, oh, it's like you're hard working. Meaning, like when you compare yourself to me or more hard working or, I don't know, this is not really like something I would consider a superpower. Note, if that's on your resume in your tagline, I'm hard working, please edit this because I personally really think this is very wishy washy, especially if you say this about yourself. I think that if you're hard working, somebody that scans through your resume should understand this themselves, that you're hard working just by the skills or the types of positions you held previously, that you're hard working. But aside from the point, the most common misperception is that people think that a superpower is always necessarily something that sounds super strong or like super powerful. When reality, a superpower might actually be that you are maybe more calm and grounded and quiet and that makes you a better listener.
Christiane Schroeter [00:23:30]:
And because you are a better listener, you may be able to work with certain populations that have trouble expressing themselves. And because you have that superpower, that empathy, that you can fine tune yourself for jobs that look for this certain superpower. The other way is that most of the time people, when I ask them, what is your superpower? They haven't even thought about this. So my whole podcast is anchored around the very first question, what is your superpower? And you'll be surprised that frequently while we do the podcast recording, my audience is actually just as delighted as I am because our guest discovers what his or her superpower is during that recording. It's quite eye opening where they are like, I haven't thought about this for a while, but when I prepared for this recording, I discovered that my superpower really came through. When I was a child and my brother kept on asking me, da, da, da, da, da. And it goes back to like this one event in your, in your life. And I think that's usually the life changing moment.
Yvonne Heimann [00:24:48]:
And that's thinking, thinking about it. When we, when we started talking about superpower, I always say, I'm like, I see systems where other people see chaos. And it goes back to literally childhood because it's, I always organized everything. It's the German, right? It's the German. It just, I'm like, hold On. I'm like that too. Look behind me, organizing everything, sorting everything. And it's like people look at.
And it took me forever to realize it because it's like, you don't see the world like I do. I'm like, this is completely inefficient. You are wasting resources there. You are wasting your people's time there. Why are you doing this? And it took me forever to be like, oh, you don't see the world like I do.
This is not your normal. This is just my normal.
That was interesting. So, yeah, it's. It's been a discovery phase. And it's been interesting how. Yeah, as you said, it comes back around to childhood stories, to childhood experiences where it's something. And I call it my passion too. It's like I love organizing things. When I started this nomading thing, first thing I did at my first friend's house is organize her whole kitchen within the first 48 hours.
Christiane Schroeter [00:26:05]:
Heaven. Alphabetized the spices, cleaning out the pantry.
Yvonne Heimann [00:26:11]:
Christiane, for everybody that wants to discover their superpower, that wants to learn more about you, where can they find you?
Christiane Schroeter [00:26:19]:
Well, go to my website, write out the word doctor just like you're going to see your doctor, and then put my beautiful German first name, Christiane, right with it. DrChristiane.com. it has a link to my podcast, my books, and of course, how to work with me. I'm currently writing two new books that will also launch my new programs. So one is how to reach the TEDX stage. I'm giving you the best tips, tricks, and of course, my very structured systems, how to get to a TEDX red dot. Then I'm writing a book into how to step into your voice.
That's a follow up to my discover your superpower book where we can learn how to become more confident with who we are. And I would love to. Yeah, maybe even share my discovery superpower quiz with the audience because I think we talked a lot about that. So plug that into the show notes and then we'll follow up the from there.
Yvonne Heimann [00:27:20]:
And the quiz that Christiane is talking about. Yes, as you always know, all of the links are easily in the comment section because I know a couple of you are Germans. However, the doctor is spelled in the English spelling, not with a K. And the quiz that Christiane just was talking about helps you and shows you how to align your strength, your systems and your strategy and what they really are and how, how you can stop spinning your wheels and start growing in a way that actually works. And with that, you know it. No matter where you're watching, listening, or reading, it's in the description, top, bottom left, right. Where wherever you're watching and listening, we have all of that for you in the description.
Girl, thanks for joining. Yes, I had to throw a little bit of German in there. Thanks so much for joining me. And thanks. It is so much fun. My mom would say I don't know how to speak German anymore. But you know what? I'm getting my practice back in. It's, it's we're get we're getting back to a clear German language.
Yvonne Heimann [00:28:25]:
Thanks so much for joining me. Thanks, everybody. Bye.