Meet our newest WOL Coach: David Hillmer
David is kind, creative, and funny. I also learned he is a big thinker.
It was Michael Trautmann, another WOL Coach, who first connected us. And in one of our first calls David asked me:
“Why isn’t WOL bigger? Why don’t we have 10,000 WOL Coaches? Or 100,000?”
I mumbled something about not knowing. But he persisted. He had been in different kinds of WOL Circles over the years and is convinced that WOL “has far more potential” to reach more people and make a much bigger difference in the workplace and in the world.
“Working Out Loud has changed a lot for me. I've met people who've become part of my life, and I've achieved goals I wouldn't have reached without it.”
In our ensuing conversations he laid out a bold vision I had never even considered before. And he did so with such intelligence and charm and humility that, whatever the outcome, I knew I wanted to work with him.
I’m excited about the possibility of working with David, his partner (and new WOL Coach) Christian Böhmer, and his professional training and consulting company, HelloAgile. I am convinced they will take WOL to new heights!
Note: For each new WOL Coach, I ask three questions so you can get to know them and what drives them.You can also visit David’s WOL Coach profile on workingoutloud.com. Or connect with him on LinkedIn or at david@helloagile.de.
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1. Please share 5 facts about you so people get to know you.
I spent 4 years as a tank driver in the German military - a place where command-and-control was the only mode. That friction sparked my obsession with finding a better way to work, which eventually became my career.
I love change and new challenges. I used to drop things too quickly; today I've built the discipline to stick with them - and genuinely enjoy that.
I've started over 10 ventures from a board game to an event company to a BBQ sauce brand. All of it gives me hard-won gut instinct about building things from zero.
I'm a music lover. I paid for university by DJing and still sing in the shower every morning. Life got busy, so music became a hobby again but I fully intend to reclaim it.
I once outran the police in a chase fortunately, the statute of limitations has long expired. Long story..
2. What positive difference do you aspire to make?
I believe work can be meaningful and fun at the same time. My goal is to push the transformation of the working world in that direction. Inspiring people to question their relationship with work and imagine something better.
3. Why WOL?
Working Out Loud has changed a lot for me. I've met people who've become part of my life, and I've achieved goals I wouldn't have reached without it. I believe deeply in the power of peer coaching and I think WOL has far more potential than it's currently showing. I want to help unlock that, together with the community.
