“Coaching is about exploring, mirroring, experimenting, and reflecting.
Through increased self-knowledge you can develop and grow in self-confidence and authenticity, strengthening your self-empowerment in a world that is continuously changing”
Great that you invest in your high educated employees. My coaching experience ranges from personal leadership, communication, collaboration, assertiveness, stress, personal development, career coaching and work-life balance. Having worked in healthcare, consultancy and in the business, I have developed a special affinity for those sectors next to science and technology. In practice however, I coach people from all sectors, ranging from management to young professionals. I have specific in-depth knowledge of and experience with young professionals and highly educated women.
“I have gained deeper insights into myself. By talking openly about things that normally remain in my thoughts, it has become clear who I really am. I have learned to recognize my thought patterns. I have made, and executed an action plan, and I have realized that not to choose, is also a choice ”
It is a challenge to attract and retain talented young professionals. You want to be an attractive employer, appealing to highly educated graduates. Your company wants dedicated and talented young professionals to enjoy their work and grow professionally. The continuous attraction, development and optimisation of your talented employees are both a necessity and an art/ skill.
Coaching is a commonly applied intervention for developing talented employees. Its efficacy has been proven on an executive management level (Jones et al, 2016), whereas coaching at an earlier stage in a career also has significant added value – as shown in my own research into the added value of high potential coaching in a Dutch multinational. High potential participants indicated they had an increased insight into their strengths, their impact on others, but also in their growth limiting beliefs. As a result of coaching, they had become more effective professionals, who had accelerated their growth, leading to a significant number of promotions across the organisation in the coached group.
As a result of my personal experience and based on my research on high potential coaching, I strongly believe in the added value of young professional coaching. I have seen how young professionals benefit from coaching, early on in their careers. Coaching facilitates them not only to discover but -more importantly- to realise their full potential. Through enhanced self-knowledge they can develop from a basis of self-confidence and authenticity. Without burning out. The result is a more effective and motivated professional, with a clear sense of direction and motivation. Gaining such important self-insights at an early stage in their career is beneficial for both the organisation and the professional!
I am convinced that diversity leads to better decision-making and more balanced leadership. However, diversity does not end with a diverse team or a few female role models. This is where it begins.
Having women in a team does not immediately imply that the workplace is diverse. Many professional environments have an atmosphere, where there is (unconsciously) more appreciation for masculine traits and qualities. Fortunately, the tide is changing in our society, with more attention and appreciation for the development of feminine leaderships skills. But this transition will not occur without effort.
Therefore, it is important to create a context in which everyone’s potential can be truly fulfilled. The type of leadership and professional environment in which women find confidence to use their full potential may be different compared to men. Women often approach problems differently to men; they deal with stress in a different manner and face other issues at work. In addition, there may (unconsciously) be different expectations for women in professional surroundings.
I admit this is generalizing. And of course, there is a great variability between individual women and between different workplaces. Every woman must find her unique way to deal with this (just like every man). I use my personal work experience and my knowledge of the things women can face to coach and empower women on female leadership and career coaching questions.
I have coached people from all over the world, working at universities, hospitals, consultancy firms, law firms, multinationals, and government. From young professional to managers.
Would you like to know whether your employees would benefit from coaching? Please contact me for more information.
“ Maaike is a great professional, a wonderful and thorough coach. With profound questions and her observative and analytical nature, she offered her reflections without judgement. This trajectory has given me the insights and the courage to further develop myself ”
My background is international and diverse. After graduating in Chemistry (MSc), I have worked in several industries: from a business analyst in the chemical industry to a manager at a (big four) management consultancy firm. I have worked in the U.S.A., Australia, Germany, Great Britain, and Belgium. Currently, I live and work in Delft, the Netherlands.
As healthcare consultant I have been involved in many change projects within healthcare. An important reason for me to improve my coaching skills, is that I have realised the importance of ‘the personal side’ of organisational change and how crucial it is to involve employees when successfully implementing change. I developed a special interest in this relatively small part of my consultancy practice.
As it was specifically this aspect of my work that fascinated me, I decided to increase my expertise by undertaking an MA in Coaching and Mentoring Practice at Oxford Brookes University. My scientific foundation forms the basis of my coaching models and mode of practice. My coaching philosophy is based on psychological theories, such as existentialism and person-centred psychology, and on adult learning theories, such as experiential learning, transformative learning, and andragogy (the art and science of helping adults learn). Additionally, I base my philosophy on theories of adult development across the lifespan as shaped in developmental coaching.
Your employee and I will first have an introductory session. The objective of this session is to exchange our expectations of coaching and verify whether we have a match and would like to work together. This session is free of charge, without any obligation.
When we decide to work together, the coach trajectory usually (but not necessarily) starts with a meeting between the (HR) manager, the coachee and myself. During this meeting we discuss the goal and mode of practice and communication. A coach trajectory usually comprises of five to eight coaching sessions, after which we can end the trajectory with a tripartite meeting with the (HR) manager.
A trajectory usually comprises of five to eight sessions.
It is also possible to agree to a price per trajectory
I coach both in English and Dutch.
Coaching takes place face-to-face, online, while walking outside or in a blended form.
I am a PCC certified senior coach with the ICF, recognised as career coach professional with the Noloc and a member of EMCC and Nobco, which are (inter)national associations for professional coaches.
