Leadership isn't something you learn from a book
Coaching for professionals making the step into leadership. Honest, direct, and grounded in real experience.
Get in touchHow I got here
I was 25, fresh out of university, when I became a manager at Knab. At the time, the youngest person in that role within Aegon Global.
It was a great opportunity. It was also genuinely hard.
I was responsible for people, for results, for change, while still figuring out a lot myself. I quickly learned that people have expectations you cannot always meet. That you sometimes don't know what the right call is. That building trust takes time. That you need to find your own voice while also listening to others.
Nobody had really prepared me for that part. That experience is the foundation of my coaching. Not theory, but the things that actually matter in practice, including the moments where I just had to figure it out as I went.
My view on leadership
Who you are as a person largely determines how you lead. That sounds simple. The implication is that self-awareness is not a luxury but a basic requirement.
Young leaders often underestimate that. They want to perform, deliver, prove themselves. Understandable. But the best leaders I know are not the ones who work the hardest. They are the ones who know themselves best.
Leadership is not a position you hold. It is a choice you make every day: giving direction and bringing people along.
My coaching style
I am direct. If I see something, I name it. Even when it is uncomfortable. That is not always pleasant, but it is honest. And in my experience, honesty is the only path to real development.
I also do not come with ready-made answers. The questions that matter to you are your questions. I help you formulate them more sharply and answer them more honestly.
Reflection and self-awareness
Who are you as a leader, and who do you want to be? Not always an easy question, but the most relevant one.
Strategic thinking
How do you give direction even when things are unclear? And how do you make decisions when you don't have all the answers?
Carrying responsibility
Even when it is heavy, or when things go wrong. That demands something of character, not just skill.
Difficult conversations
Direct, clear, and respectful. The conversations you prefer to postpone are often the ones you need most.
Your own leadership style
Not copying, but building. Your style, fitting who you are and the context you work in.
Who this is for
This coaching is for professionals who are making the step into leadership, or who have already made it and find there is more to it than expected. You do not need to have an urgent question to get started. A sense that you want to grow is enough.
High potentials
Preparing for the next step and wanting to understand what will actually be expected of them.
Young managers
Responsible for a team for the first time and finding it different from what they anticipated.
Professionals growing into leadership
Looking for more confidence in their role and wanting to develop their own way of leading.
What you can expect
No standard programme and no step-by-step plan.
Conversations that go beyond the surface. Sometimes confronting, always constructive. An approach that fits your situation, not a model.
I deliberately work with a limited number of people at a time, so I can be fully present.
Interested?