Wikipedia says: The term "personality" refers to the individuality of each person and usually describes an experienced, mature person with distinct character traits.

From this we can recognize something interesting.
It is more about qualities than about doing and ability! This also corresponds to the result reported by Zig Ziglar. In a workshop, he asked what makes a good leader. A total of 107 criteria were compiled. He then had these criteria broken down into characteristics and professional skills. The result surprised everyone, because it was very stark. Only 5 criteria related to professional skills (being able to do things). 102!!! criteria were characteristics that every person can live. For criteria such as honesty, openness, commitment, diligence, listening, integrity, etc., no special professional training is required.

Benjamin Franklin knew this and considered 13 character traits to be important for his being. He then consciously adopted and lived these 13 little by little. He did this by taking on one characteristic at a time for a certain period of time until he had absorbed it and lived it unconsciously. He did this with all 13 in succession. It is well known that Benjamin Franklin was a respected man even many generations later.

Let's return to the three initial topics.

Did you know that there is a structure in German-speaking countries that determines the fees you normally receive as a trainer, consultant and speaker?

Well, there are always exceptions to the rule, but the majority of trainers, coaches and experts' fees range from under € 1,000 to € 3,500 and only a few manage to break through € 5,000.

 

Self-employment therefore really means always and constantly exchanging time for money in order to achieve an acceptable annual income.

Then there is the category of advisors. They don't train so much as give advice, they have knowledge and experience that they pass on. It's more about supporting self-empowerment. Their fees range from € 5,000 to € 10,000 or even higher. Advisors can come from different professions. They have usually achieved above-average results themselves. Not just read. Trainers and advisors also earn different fees as speakers.

 

And now to personality. When someone is booked because of their personality, it's not about "training". It's not just about knowledge and experience, but about something much more: BEING! Even in Germany, fees are often € 25,000 and higher. Barak Obama today receives up to one million US dollars for an appearance. Of course he has become known as president, but it is his personality that is paid so highly. After all, the audience doesn't want to learn how to become president, they want to experience him in order to learn from his personality.

To make the importance of personality even more visible, I like to show the 5 stages of leadership by John Maxwell.

What follows is important, increasingly important for current managers and those who want to become one.

And at the fifth and highest level, we are back to personality:

They follow because the person represents something that they themselves also aspire to or consider good, or they follow in times of uncertainty because they trust deeply.

• What does a leader look like who radiates sufficient wisdom, conveys security and is willingly followed?
• Did you know that personalities receive significantly higher fees than trainers, experts and advisors?
• Why do personalities rest so much in themselves?

 

It is now clear who people follow more easily. And this becomes particularly clear in times of upheaval, because even managers do not have a crystal ball to predict everything, and it is precisely then that those who are deeply trusted are followed.