Inspirational Quotes From European Workplace Leaders

Sometimes we need a little inspiration when things aren’t going our way, or we’re feeling overwhelmed. Direct from some of the most brilliant European minds in the world of work, here are a few quotes to help keep you motivated to power you through your day – whatever it brings your way. 

5 Inspirational Quotes From Workplace Leaders

1. On inspiring innovation in the workplace: 

“Try to live in a perpetual state of testing one’s assumptions. Never believing that you know everything, or that you have everything figured out. Always be testing what it is you think you know. The knowledge is out there. The support is out there. I think that we just have to get innovating.”

– Adi Gaskell  from The Horizons Tracker

Being an effective innovator in the workplace requires the realization that there is more out there to learn from continuing to test and experiment until we find what works. 
 

2. On staying ahead of the curve:

“If [the] workplace is to remain important, and [the] workplace itself is not just to be regarded as a fad, our thinking has to advance and our practice has to advance. Some of these things have to solidify into givens from which we can then build.”

– Neil Usher, Author of “The Elemental Workplace” 

The traditional office building’s definition might be changing, but as long as we continue to adapt to people’s needs it will never become obsolete, even in the digital world we live in. 

3. On the importance of the human connection: 

“I think there is no doubt, and I think everybody in facilities management knows that it is the personal interface that counts. It is the human contact that creates the excitement, the loyalty, the connections, the engagement – and we can facilitate that.”

– Peter Ankerstjerne, Workplace Experience at WeWork, Vice Chair IFMA Board of Directors

The workplace first should exist to serve the people, and should facilitate how they interact and collaborate to support the best environment possible. 

4. On the shift in focus towards workplace culture: 

“I think what we’re seeing at the moment is a crystallization of all the things they were talking about 25 years ago. And in particular the fact that the workplace is no longer just physical, so you have a cultural and a digital space as well.”

– Mark Eltringham, Author and Publisher of Workplace Insight

The physical space is only one part of what makes up the workplace experience, technology, culture and the people give a building its true shape. 

5. On never becoming complacent in your work:

“When you don’t see that there is room for improvement anymore, it’s not that there isn’t any room for improvement, it’s just that you’ve become blind. What I often see if that if you work for a long time with the same things or in the same role, after a while you become quite blind and numb, and you need to have different views from other angles to be able to see the improvement possibilities again. I think that all of us should vary what we do and our roles much more often to develop more.”

– Kati Barklund, WE Member & Senior Solution Specialist for Modern Workplace at Microsoft Sweden

When we become comfortable in our roles we often forget to keep learning and expanding our skillset. It’s important to always be asking what could be done better. 

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