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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...
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...
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...
The power of language for breaking barriers
'In good times, but especially in bad times we discover over and over again how powerful language can be. Words can heal or they can hurt, they can unite or they can divide nations.' No matter where you are in the world, you have...
Mothers as leaders learning across borders – Families as Teams
We spent the last two weeks homeworking, homeschooling, feeding our families and meanwhile trying to keep fit with our workouts. We are almost all turning into the Wonder women, but wait...how sustainable is this situation on long term? How can we replenish our...
Some anxiety is normal but how can we avoid becoming victims of group panic
How do we protect our brain and our heart from group panic? I view myself as a relatively calm person, but even I struggled to sleep well the last few nights. Considering that the number of Corona related deaths in Europe is increasing significantly, it is not...
Equality starts at home
Tomorrow is the 8th of March, the International Women Day, #eachforequal, but... What does equality really mean for us? I grew up in a traditional family where the role of the woman and the man was set many years ago. My mother was a girl with ambitions and my dad was...