From employee to leader with a clear compass: 3 questions for Tobias Ott

Tobias Ott: In the past, I had taken several personality tests using the blue-red-green-yellow model, such as Myers-Briggs. They always gave me the feeling that I knew myself quite well. But in September 2019, I took on a new team — and that brought up new questions for me: What defines me as a leader? What is my leadership style? I wanted to find out what makes me unique as a person and as a leader.

However, none of those personality tests could really provide an answer. And after all, it doesn’t help to fit myself into a predefined framework. So, I spoke with my manager about it. He told me about the opportunity to work on my identity development with Spall Identity. After learning more about it, I knew immediately — this was exactly what I needed to do.

Tobias Ott: What I try to put into practice every day is to stop following predefined patterns or chasing after principles that some expert says I should apply. Instead, I focus on what truly defines me — and on using those qualities deliberately, to be more effective where my real strengths lie. In general, I pay more attention to the areas where I can make an impact.

By defining my own principles, I’ve created something that’s truly mine — something that fits me and reflects who I am. It’s become a real compass for my leadership: being authentic and bringing that authenticity into how I interact with my team. In other words, really being myself.

I also pay more attention to conversations and feedback from my team and try to adjust based on that. After we defined my perspectives and guiding principles as a leader, I can now consciously live by them every day — modeling the positive aspects and dialing back the ones that I shouldn’t exemplify.

Tobias Ott: What surprised me the most — and what I still say today was absolutely worth it — was realizing how powerful it can be to take the time to be truly open and honest with yourself. It’s both exhausting and deeply instructive at the same time. I was amazed at the progress I made, the things I learned, and the insights I gained about myself. I hadn’t expected it to go that deep. But the key word throughout the process was honesty. If you’re not genuinely honest with yourself and willing to face that, I don’t think you can get as far as I did. And that really surprised me.

Working out aspects of myself that I would never have recognized otherwise — discovering that these could actually be strengths or even core elements of who I am — that was a real revelation. And all of that happened within just a few live sessions we had together.

Tobias Ott: To me, personal branding is an almost perfect way to discover what you stand for, how you can act with purpose, and to uncover your own unmistakable, authentic style.