Forente
 

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Background

I started out as a social scientist. I spent many years gaining experience as a manager in education and international cooperation, and in 2002 I started working independently as a consultant, interim manager and coach. I am a certified management consultant (CMC). I have also been a member of the board of trustees of various organisations in the care sector.

I am active at the intersection of people, changing, learning and organizing. Over the years, my work has come to focus on a number of lines of approach.

Diversity

Everyone is different. And that difference can have a very enriching effect in groups. Diversity is definitely an important key to new connections and successful renewal in change processes. In my approach, I get people to experience how all the individual colours together form a coherent spectrum. I tackle differences and contradictions creatively, and use dialogue to explore differences and arrive at connection. In the first place I am inspired by the huge diversity of the people I meet. Another source of inspiration for me comes from the endless diversity and the many forms of connection in nature.


Dialogue

I endeavour to work through dialogue. Everybody’s contribution to a discussion must be seen to be essential: for me, that is the core of dialogue. The key elements are mutual respect, listening and authentic speaking. They are the cornerstones of the collective thinking of a group or an organization. Something new is created jointly through this thinking. My inspiration comes from the work of Adam Kahane, Otto Scharmer, David Bohm and Martin Buber.


Using possibilities as a starting point

My work is based on an appreciative perspective and focus on what does work and what is possible, and not on problems. I take the things that work well and are valued by the people involved, their strong sides, experience and expertise as the starting point for change. Sources of inspiration are Appreciative Inquiry and the solution-oriented approach to working.


Learning and developing

I am really passionate about learning and developing. Learning is a source for growth, change, improvement and innovation. Sometimes learning goes gradually, but other times you need to drastically overhaul opinions and ways of behaving. I carve my own way through the many theories and notions about learning. I believe that people create their own knowledge through experiences, through what they are offered and through what they combine and infer. The same thus applies to myself.


Beyond the boundaries

‘Beyond the boundaries’ means many things to me. I am happy to cross geographical boundaries and often work in different countries and with people from other cultures. I come back every time full of energy, ideas and inspiration. In my approach, I also concentrate on breaking through boundaries: stimulating people to look at things differently, to think differently and act differently.

Naar boven

‘The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but seeing with new eyes.’
Marcel Proust