Speaker Monika Sattler

Monika Sattler: "For me, failure is when you give up on yourself. For big dreams, you need someone who has your back."

Monika Sattler had her professional career under control: after graduating, a well-paid job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and then at the World Bank in Washington DC, followed by a position as a top management consultant at IBM, first in Zurich and then in Melbourne, Australia.

But it didn't make her happy. Her big dream of becoming a professional athlete would not let her go. Until she simply turned her life around. Not dreaming your life, but living your dreams. Monika Sattler does it. And talks about it. Motivating and life-affirming. It's fun, fascinating and brings your own dreams back to life.

Border crosser Monika Sattler: 26 days - 124 passes - 1,368 kilometers - 56,380 vertical meters.

Neither family nor friends agreed with her decision to quit her career at the World Bank, as they had a different idea of Monika's life goals to her own. That's life.

As Confucius said: If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life!

As an executive coach for goal setting and two-time record holder in the women's cycling race, she helps individuals and managers to set big goals and achieve them successfully. This involves a mindset strategy that she calls RAD Mindset. Her cycling records illustrate what it means to face big challenges and have the courage to pursue them. Her coaching sessions, workshops and keynotes are all about finding out what you are really passionate about and finding a realistic way to achieve it.

Monika Sattler Lecture topics

- Leading successfully in challenging times - insights from the cycling record

26 days, 24 hours. Goal: A cycling record. How do you manage to form a team that is 100% behind the mission and gives everything to achieve this goal? How do they keep not only their own motivation high, but also that of their team, when failure is possible and unforeseeable challenges determine the path?

Be inspired by the two-time cycling record holder, who conquered all 124 Swiss passes in 26 days with her team of five - despite enormous pressure and constantly changing conditions. Find out how Monika motivated her crew to perform at their best and what principles and methods she used to ensure success under extreme circumstances.

- Leadership, discipline & motivation: The 124 Swiss pass record by bike.

124 Swiss passes in 26 days, 1368 km, 56380 vertical meters and 110 hours on the bike. This was not only a physical challenge, the organizational side was even greater. Within a few months, Monika Sattler turned an idea into a project. She built up a team of 5 people in which she had to have 100% confidence from day 1 in order to achieve this major goal. What does a cycling record have to do with change management and how important is mindset for the courage to get out of your comfort zone? Mindset is the key factor in successfully implementing major projects and goals. There are also leadership qualities that are indispensable for mastering seemingly unattainable goals. Her mission with the challenge is to inspire other people, especially women, to take on challenges and step out of their comfort zone.

- How to succeed as a woman in a male-dominated environment.

Although there are great efforts towards gender balance, there are still industries that are heavily dominated by men. Just to be clear, this is not an "anti-male" talk, but sometimes this gender imbalance makes women feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. Cycling and the IT industry are heavily male-dominated environments, as Monika has experienced first-hand. Monika Sattler feels comfortable in both fields, even though she is usually the only woman in her group. She explains the five key points that help her succeed in male-dominated environments and how other women can apply them in their own lives, be it in sport, work or life in general.

- Nothing is impossible: How to go after the big goals.

Monika Sattler wanted to set a seemingly impossible 3000 km cycling record. 80% of people didn't think it was possible. In addition to the doubts of others, she was confronted with her own. Why would she be the person capable of completing such a seemingly impossible challenge? Is she setting herself up for failure while everyone looks on? It was a defining moment whether she should stay in her comfort zone or take a big leap out of it and face her fears of failure and pursue something that seemed beyond her limits. Most people would have given up before they even started. But she didn't. In her talk, Monika Sattler uses her RAD method to explain how she overcame fear and rose to the challenge, persevered and successfully pursued a seemingly impossible cycling challenge. Listeners will be able to apply these keys to their own goals, whether in sport, work or life.

- Redefining Success - What's stopping you from taking the first step?

When we strive for a goal, we see the end goal in the distance. And then we see the way there: a black box full of fear, the unknown and uncertainty. The bigger and more distant the goal, the bigger and darker the box. What are we going to do? Nothing. Because we are afraid of failing. Monika Sattler explains how to get away from black box thinking and find an attitude that inspires you to pursue your goals - even the big ones.

Monika Sattler and her dream: professional cyclist.

She realized that professional cycling was not what she wanted after all. What's more, she had problems finding a suitable career in the sport. She felt like a failure for not being able to pursue her passion and doubted Confucius' statement. Perhaps it was simply not possible to find the job that would fulfill her. To get back on the "right track", she applied for all kinds of jobs and became an IT management consultant at IBM, one of the most renowned global consulting companies. First in Switzerland, then later in Australia.

Although she was now financially secure and on the "right" career path, she felt the same urge as two years earlier: she wanted more out of life. Suddenly she was sitting in the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, Australia, with no job and no plans for the future. What would she do now? She asked herself: "Have I failed completely or is this the start of a new life?"

Finding meaning in life

As Monika Sattler had nothing to lose, she looked for a place on the world map where she would like to live. She packed her bike and flew to Malaga, Spain, on a one-way ticket. She had never been there before, didn't know anyone and didn't speak a word of Spanish. Her planning only went as far as a one-night hotel stay and a six-week car rental. She knew that this point in time was absolutely critical for the rest of her life. She had to figure out what her place in the world was. She needed to find the meaning of her life. As she searched, she shared her life story with others, inspiring courage in them that it is indeed possible to follow your own path. Even if this path is different. Her goal now is to help people do what they love by building self-confidence, overcoming fears and creating their own path.

The cycling record

To show what it means to achieve goals that seem out of the norm and impossible, she decided to become the first woman in history to set a cycling record: She wanted to ride the 3000 km Tour of Spain, one of cycling's toughest challenges. The same stages on the same day as the professionals. Just a few hours beforehand. 80% of people didn't think this was possible.

In addition to the doubts of the others, she had her own concerns. Why should she be the person capable of overcoming such a seemingly impossible challenge? Was she setting herself up for failure while everyone was watching?

Monika Sattler: It was a defining moment: "Do I stay in my comfort zone or do I face my fears of failure and pursue something that seems beyond my limits?"

Book female speaker Monika Sattler for presentations and in-depth workshops at WOMEN SPEAKER Agency.