Portrait of Michal, UBS Country Head Poland, Kraków

Getting to know Michal

For most people, Michal (UBS Country Head Poland) could be described as a successful guy. But what does he himself think about how far he’s come, and what does he think "success" means in the modern world?

Recently I was asked if I felt that I was a successful man. The question seemed easy at first, but it made me think what success actually is, how I define it, and, finally, if I had achieved it.

For me, life is about who you are and what values you represent. And when it comes to success, I don't treat it as a criterion to measure my life. What's important to me is who I am, my goals, expectations and dreams, and also how and if I achieve them.

When I look at myself, I think it has always been like that. I was challenging myself, wanting to give my best at whatever I got engaged in, be it classes or sports. It was always also about the fair play; taking full responsibility for my actions and realizing my goals with integrity. Those goals of course developed over time, leading me to become a lawyer, working in different roles and different companies in different countries.

When I started working as a legal counsel at UBS in 2008 I felt that I could give more and go beyond my current role. Watching the organization from the inside, I found out that the responsibility for myself and others that I was keen to take on was linked to managing the whole organization, focusing on people, teams and business.

For me life is about who you are and what values you represent.

I did achieve this goal and today I feel in the right place but not complacent. The challenge continues and I still look for opportunities to contribute more. I'm happy with what I do, how my work environment looks, and with the fact that my private life doesn't suffer because of my professional duties. I'm also happy to see my daughter achieving her own goals and becoming more and more independent.

To stay successful, I will need to see further change: maturing of our organization where everyone has a role to play and understands its importance; my daughter learning responsibility and appreciating solving issues independently; for myself, experiencing various cultures from different corners of the world, embarking on new ventures.

Is there any risk that I won't achieve my goals? Well, the risk is always there and it may take different forms. This is also true for you. You may not get far enough to meet your ambitions, you may turn on the way in a direction you don't want to or you may even go too far. What's important is to be self-aware, know what you want, where you want to go and how you want to get there. Simply be yourself and be honest with yourself. Self-awareness is the key, as I can't imagine becoming successful by accident. If people say you're successful but it's not how you feel, it seems you achieved their goals, not yours. And if you like the place you're in but you didn't plan to go there, it's just a nice coincidence.

So, my questions to you would be: what are your goals? What does your success look like?

Michal in a nutshell

Michal is UBS Country Head Poland, based in Kraków.

He joined UBS in 2008 as Legal Counsel for Poland and has since then taken on various managerial roles within UBS.

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