New to leading a team, with no one to spar with who isn't in your team or above you?
I am a mentor and sparring partner for young managers and young professionals. Someone outside your organisation, who started leading people at 25 and now sits on a management board.
What young managers run into
- You manage people who were your colleagues until recently, or who have more experience than you.
- Your team knows more about the work than you do, and you are figuring out how to give direction anyway.
- Leadership wants something different from your people, and you are stuck in between.
- You do everything yourself, because delegating feels slower.
- You wonder whether you can do this, but you would rather not ask anyone inside your organisation.
How I got here
I had just turned 25 when I became a manager at Knab. It was my first job. At the time, one of the youngest in that role within Aegon Global.
That is hard. You are still very much developing yourself, and you have to lead people straight away. How do you address your team when performance falls short? What do you do when unrest builds because the whole organisation is missing its targets? And what if there is friction within your own team? There is no onboarding period for leadership: it just starts on Monday.
My team called me ‘de moederspin’ back then, Dutch for the mother spider, because I held the team together, in the storm and in calmer times. I still look back on that with pride.
In every role after that, my people were the experts in their field. At NIBC Bank I led a team through a transition and built up a new department. At the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital I led the IT infrastructure and datacenter department, and at Intellify I built my own team from scratch. Today, at HappyNurse, I am responsible for product, IT, data, AI and platform. There too, my people are the experts. I quickly let go of wanting to be the best at what they do. I want to bring out the best in them, so they grow into even stronger professionals in their field.
That is also what I believe about leadership: who you are as a person largely determines how you lead. The best leaders I know don't work the hardest. They know themselves best.
How I work
I am not a coach by profession. As CTO and management board member at HappyNurse, I sit at the table every week where the hard decisions are made. That is why I am a mentor and sparring partner at once. I ask the questions that help you get clear on what you want. And when it helps, I tell you what I did in a similar situation, including what went wrong. You decide what to do with it.
I believe most young managers can do more than they think. Bringing that out is what I do with my own teams, and what I will do with you.
It starts with confidence. When you have just started, you mostly see what isn't working yet. I also show you what you are already doing well. In our first session we capture where you stand now. Halfway and at the end we look back at concrete moments. Once you see how far you have come, you dare to take the next step.
If something is in your way, I will tell you honestly. Always to help you move forward, never to judge you.
You don't need to work in tech. Whether you lead a team at a foundation, in healthcare or at a scale-up: leading people is the same craft everywhere.
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 when things are unclear? And how do you make decisions without all the answers?
Confidence in your role
Seeing what you can already do, so you dare to make choices and stand by your decisions, even when things get tough.
Difficult conversations
Direct, clear and respectful. The conversations you would rather put off 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.
What to expect
Mainly for young managers in their first years, in any sector. And for young professionals and high potentials heading that way.
Introduction
A free 30-minute call, online. You tell me what you are running into, I tell you how I work. Then we both decide whether it clicks.
6 sessions of 75 minutes
Roughly every two weeks, by agreement, over about three months. In the evening, online or in Hoofddorp. You decide what we talk about.
Small assignments
Between sessions you sometimes get a short reflection or practice assignment. Not extensive homework, but a way to put what we discuss to work straight away.
A quick call in between
If you run into something between two sessions, send me a message or give me a call. We spar briefly, without waiting for the next session.
Fixed price
One price for the whole engagement, known upfront. If your employer pays, I invoice your employer. If you pay yourself, a lower price applies.
Confidential
What you share stays between us, even if your employer pays. After the last session you write a short look-back, which you can share with your employer. I only take on a few people at a time, so I can be fully present.
Frequently asked questions about coaching
Who is this coaching for?
For young professionals, young managers, high potentials and professionals growing into leadership. Usually people who have just started leading a team and notice there is more to it than they expected. Your sector does not matter. You do not need an urgent question to get started.
How is this different from a career coach?
A career coach mainly helps you choose which direction to take. I help you in the role you are in or growing into: leading people, making decisions, having difficult conversations. I am not a coach by profession but CTO and management board member at HappyNurse. I am a mentor and sparring partner at once: I ask questions, and if you want, I tell you what I did myself.
What does an engagement look like?
We start with a free 30-minute introduction. If it clicks, 6 sessions of 75 minutes follow, every two weeks, over about three months. Sessions are in the evening, online or in Hoofddorp. You decide what we talk about. Between sessions you sometimes get a small assignment, and if you run into something, you can send me a message or give me a call.
What does coaching cost?
You pay one fixed price for the whole engagement, not an hourly rate, and you know it upfront. If your employer pays, I invoice your employer; many organisations cover coaching from a training or development budget. If you pay yourself, a lower price applies. Send me an email and you will hear back within a day.
Is what I share confidential, even if my employer pays?
Yes. What you share in our conversations stays between us. If your employer pays, you send them your goals at the start yourself. After the last session you write a short look-back, which you can share with your employer. That is all they hear. A conversation with your manager present is possible, but only if you want it.
When is this not the right fit?
When the real issue is overload, burnout or personal problems that need more than sparring. I will tell you that honestly and help you find someone who specialises in it.
Who is Simon Janssen?
Simon Janssen is CTO and management board member at HappyNurse. He became a manager at Knab at 25 and later worked at Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Quint, NIBC Bank and Intellify. He speaks regularly about AI and work and appeared on Nieuwsuur. He coaches from that experience, not from theory.
How do I get in touch?
Email hello@simondjanssen.nl or send a message on LinkedIn. You will hear back within 24 hours, from me personally.
Interested?