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Duty. Are you Mister or Mrs Responsibility?
Last week my six-year-old son received the 'Responsibility' spotlight award. Apparently, it is a big thing when you are a first grader at his elementary school. I was proud but also a little bit worried. Perhaps it is too soon to be responsible. The word that I...
Executive Presence…also for Women
As we are approaching the last quarter, the minds of corporate managers and executives start leaning in, with a mix of anticipation and dread, towards the end-of-year feedback. 'What should be my next year's development focus?' some wonder. Developing 'Executive...
It’s ok to feel alone, even when you are not alone
When someone tells you, 'I feel alone' , your heart breaks and every human bone in you wants to save him. Still, is that the right thing to do? Loneliness is one of the strongest emotions. It can be the cause of dangerous self-harm decisions or even depression but,...
The busy ‘hybrid’ life! What can you cut-back on?
Time management is the number one issue quoted in most of my coaching sessions. Moms are famous for 'to do lists' instead of 'cut-back' lists. The best lessons in prioritization I took during our move from Europe exactly a year ago - we had 30 days to use that...
Why do women trust men less and viceversa
There is a worldwide gap of trust at the moment and it is making me sad. It is not only the divide between Russia and the rest of the world, it’s not only the divide between the BlackLivesMatter and the whitesupremacy in the US , it’s not only the...
What have you learned in 2021?
As we come to the end of 2021, the optimist in me is somehow surprised that no miracle has happened. How come nobody came to save us from this new reality of living with the COVID pandemic. I belong to a generation that was brought up with numerous ‘end of the...
How do women and men define (fun) partnerships?
Women and men appreciate humour differently, we all intuitively know that, but what does it mean for doing business. What does it mean for building partnerships and preserving trust? In my experience the topic of trust and loyalty comes up after several rounds of team...
Wearing the same T-shirt doesn’t make you a team. But, what does?
The Tokyo Olympics finally brought some positive news to report on. After a year dominated by COVID country statistics, we are now talking about countries winning medals. Humanity and what is good in people shines when we cheer for each other. In this...
What would be hardest today? To be a good mum or to be a good leader?
On May 9th, I launched a video for all the working mums out there. You can now watch it on YouTube. On a usual day I would ask myself: What would be hardest today – to be a good mum or to be a good leader at work? Do you have that as well? The good news is you don’t...
Mothers and managers – AD Den Haag interview
This is the English translation of my profile interview written by the journalist Nicolette van der Werff for AD Den Haag newspaper on 21 Jan. 2021 Nine years ago, I stood in this big training room at the Shell training centre near London, telling the...
Should you dream of thriving? What’s wrong with surviving?
With all the events and restrictions of past year you might think: 'it's ok to feel a bit: 'meh...everybody does'. Someone once said that a problem shared is a problem doubled:). According to Yuval Noah Harari 's Homo sapiens human progress was...
The year I said ‘good-bye’ to my hyper-achiever
The year 2020 showed me the illusion of the hyper-achiever mindset and reminded me that people won’t follow me because of the job title I hold, but they will listen when I speak with humility straight from the heart. They will listen even if my voice is not...
Is self-confidence different for women comparing to men?
My grandma always used to say, Steliana, you can become anything you want, even a Prime-Minister if you like it. At the age of seven I thought Prime-Ministers were boring men with their grey and dark-blue suits. The only woman politician I saw on TV, Elena Ceausescu,...
TGIF: Say no to misery. Welcome sun.
Friday is again here. Hurray! I can see that smile emerging on your face😊 There is hope on the horizon that the weekend will liberate us. It will liberate us from our screens, the zoom calls and the invisible chain to our desk chair. Welcome outdoor activities,...
Can you have it all? Career, family and life?
I am sure you all heard the famous jokes, made mostly by men, about the perfect woman. I can’t stop thinking that there is a self-inflicted pain a woman experiences when aiming to become the ideal woman. It all starts in the teenage years when you discover you like a...