Debby Spaltmann ─ the ultimate multi-cultural executive coach!
December 15, 2020 • 3 Minute Read
Debby Spaltmann
Founder, Executive Coach
I4I-Influence-for-Impact
Are you looking for a multi-cultural executive coach working with corporations with a global workforce, multicultural management, diverse cultures, dispersed teams, and customers and stakeholders in more than 50 countries? We know one—Deborah (Debby) Spaltmann.
Debby is a DFC certified and Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder-Centered Executive Coach. She has more than 35 years of experience as a marketer and communications specialist in the engineering, IT, telecoms and medical technology sectors. She uses her extensive experience to coach leaders towards excellence with courage, humility, and discipline.
In her personal life, Debby loves spending time in nature with her husband and pets (horses, dog and cat). She can be found on the weekends hiking the alps, mountains or hills close to her home in Grassau, Germany, southeast of Munich on the way to Salzberg.
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman™, Debby Spaltmann!
Our 10 Questions for this IT Wondrous Woman.
Fun Facts
1. What’s the one thing about you that your business colleagues don’t know about you?
I used to teach German to refugees. As a born-and-raised American who learned how to speak German as an adult, I know how frustrating it can be to learn how to speak German, so I volunteered to help our local community’s refugee-integration efforts. German really is a beautiful language, but the grammar is a nightmare!
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
Back in the day, it was somewhere between 100k and 200k each - on multiple airlines.
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
I am vegetarian since birth, so the most adventurous thing I have ever eaten is meat – pork, to be exact. It was at a company dinner once, and I think I turned as green as the meat sauce.
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
The most challenging experience was at the beginning of my career – I was promoted to Head of Customer Service and my peers were now reporting to me. The change in the dynamics of our relationship was challenging for me. It was this experience that taught me how to stay friendly but not friends. In the cases where I forgot this lesson, the pain was inevitable.
Launching my own business and all the various aspects of being an entrepreneur was a big lesson in time management, resource management and self-leadership.
5. Did you have a mentor in the early part of your career and, if so, what is the biggest lesson you learned from your mentor or influencer?
I learned from many, and had many influencers at various stages of my career. The most important lesson I learned was to step back and take in the big picture. If you can’t see the forest for the trees, you are going to get bogged down and stuck.
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
No advice, just encouragement!
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I share, share, share: information, knowledge, tools, techniques, time and energy. The only caveat is that I make the offer, but they have to take the initiative.
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
Founding, building and managing an academy that teaches coaching using modern, applied psychology tools.
9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?
I am refining how I can document and transfer the experience and knowledge I have gained as working in a 99,9% online team as the leader and manager.
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
The biggest challenge I see is helping people learn how to cope with the distractions that are constantly in our lives right now. The challenges of combining family life with working from home are creating a change in our society and requires adapting to the “new normal of Covid-19 restrictions”.
