Meet our newest WOL Coach: Katja Keufner
Some Coaches I’ve known for years and some, like Katja Keufner, I’ve known for only a few days. And yet, as she writes:
“Our actual meeting felt less like meeting someone new and more like reconnecting with a person I had known for long.”
I felt the same way. Our conversation flowed easily and naturally. We moved almost immediately from small talk to deep talk, something typically only friends can do.
That wasn’t luck. It came about because of Katja’s curiosity and charm. She asked questions and listened to the answers. Talking to her, you feel she’s genuinely interested in you and cares about you. It feels good. :-)
This good feeling also made our conversation especially productive. We built on each other’s ideas and explored possibilities together. We talked about detailed use cases for WOL Strengths (the new method for bringing your CliftonStrengths to life), and we talked more broadly about our personal worldviews and how WOL embodies them. We learned we have similar missions: creating “a space where people genuinely support, inspire, and learn from one another while caring for each other.” To help people develop themselves while they also connect with others.
When Katja said she wanted to become a WOL Coach, I encouraged her to wait and think about it. But we both felt the same way: this is exactly the right thing, at exactly the right time
I am thrilled Katja will bring her Strengths experience to our Coach community. I can’t wait to see what she does with WOL!
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 Katja’s WOL Coach profile on workingoutloud.com. Or connect with her on LinkedIn or at katja@aidstaerkencoaching.de.
1. Please share 5 facts about you so people get to know you.
Every stranger is a potential future friend. One of my greatest joys in life is connecting with people I’ve never met before and discovering their stories — their WHY, their journey, and what shaped them into who they are today.
I care deeply about genuine connection. I’m not interested in “collecting” people just to have a large network or circle of friends. What truly matters to me is creating meaningful, authentic relationships where energy, trust, and inspiration can naturally flow between us.
Helping others grow brings me immense joy. I naturally focus on what people are already good at and love reflecting those strengths back to them. When people become aware of their talents and start building on them, something magical happens — they grow, gain confidence, and thrive. Witnessing that process is just as fulfilling for me as it is for them.
I love asking questions. I’ve always been fascinated by the real story behind each person. The older I get, the more curious I become. One of my favorite moments is when someone says, “I can’t believe time flew by and I didn’t ask you a single question yet.” To me, that simply means: this conversation is only the beginning — we’ll continue it another time.
“Me, myself, and I”? Boring. I’d much rather create something meaningful together. When I was five years old, my parents moved with me to the countryside, where almost every child had siblings — except me. Early on, I was confronted with stereotypes about being an only child and supposedly “pampered.” More than anything, I wanted to belong, so I learned how important inclusion and connection truly are. Looking back, I believe this experience shaped my strong integrative mindset: making people feel included, valued, and part of something bigger — without them having to prove themselves first.
2. What positive difference do you aspire to make?
I want individual strengths to no longer be seen as “nice-to-haves” in personal or career development, but as meaningful indicators of how people can work smarter, grow with more confidence, and experience greater ease and fulfillment in what they do. When people truly understand their natural talents and learn how to turn them into strengths, they unlock a unique kind of potential — one that feels both authentic and sustainable.
Working Out Loud® reflects everything I have always believed in: supporting others without expecting anything in return, openly sharing knowledge, and combining perspectives and wisdom to create something far greater than any one person could achieve alone.
I see myself as a positive, integrative, and curious enabler for people who want to better understand themselves, grow through their strengths, and experience well-framed and guided collaboration as something energizing, meaningful, and deeply human.
3. Why WOL?
Because of… people.
My greatest interest in this colorful world has always been people — and it was special people who truly ignited my passion for Working Out Loud®.
First, there was Michael Trautmann, who deeply impressed me with his unique life and career journey across so many different fields, adventures, and passions. After I “randomly” reached out to him on LinkedIn (welcome to my Woo – Winning Others Over talent), he generously offered me an initial 1:1 conversation. During that exchange, he encouraged me to connect with John and discover the powerful link between Working Out Loud® and strengths-based development.
What happened next felt almost magical. Even before my first 1:1 with John, we had already built such a warm, open, and deeply connected exchange through email — partly because we had shared our Gallup CliftonStrengths profiles beforehand and had many talents in common, even one oft he most rare ones which is #connectedness— that our actual meeting felt less like meeting someone new and more like reconnecting with a person I had known for long. In that moment, I knew: this is exactly the right thing, at exactly the right time. John invited me to “think about it,” while I was thinking: What is there to think about? It already feels absolutely right.
Working Out Loud® creates a structured space where curiosity about one another, generosity, accountability, learning, and visible progress in a trusting environment coexist. As a Working Out Loud® coach, I create an atmosphere of trust, belonging, psychological safety, and rhythm — a space where people genuinely support, inspire, and learn from one another while caring for each other.
Because in the end, I truly believe:
Sharing is caring.
