Career coaching

Dr. ir. Robert Hekkenberg

What do you do if your job suddenly becomes a burden and any joy you derived from it disappears? Taking on more responsibility usually means more problems will end up on your desk as well. Robert Hekkenberg found himself unable to keep a grip on all his different projects. ‘I’m a trouble shooter. I like nothing better than a challenge. Give me a problem and I will solve it. Everything went fine as long as I could see the wood for the trees but as my responsibilities grew I lost control.’Apart from his job as a senior lecturer Hekkenberg also heads the Marine Technology education department at TU Delft. Both roles are becoming increasingly extensive and complex. ‘The pitfall that presents itself is to fe...

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Prof. dr. Katinka Dijkstra

"The fulfillment of this new role of director comes with new challenges and ambitions. It is about balancing between different tasks, without losing your effectiveness. Coaching to fulfill this new role in a good way is a logical step. Almost 200 people belong to the Department, so it is important to create support for important decisions. I have a clear vision and course in mind, but it is important to determine with a coach how you can best navigate to that goal.The coaching sessions with Aletta are very pleasant and practical in nature. We go through what is going on in my organization at that moment. It is useful to reflect on your own pitfalls and to find a solution for them. Aletta can draw on a lot of pr...

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Prof. dr. Vincenzo Vitelli

Prof. dr. Vincenzo Vitelli is Professor theoretical physics at University Leiden “During my time as a tenure tracker, I was a participant in Aletta's custom-made coaching program focused on personal and professional development. I experienced these sessions as very valuable for both my career and my life. The philosophy behind this training was all about getting to understand yourself: your thoughts, emotions, and behavior. You can only be a good mentor or leader if you understand yourself and if you are able to reflect on your own behavior. Aletta is a fantastic person who has a real talent for understanding people. For example, she senses immediately when someone is being untruthful. That means we...

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Ing. René Overgauw

Ing. René Overgauw is Head of electronic service at Leiden University. “Within our department, there was a conflict between two employees. The conflict ran so deep that the two people concerned didn't even speak to each other anymore. Since we had never experienced a situation like that, I didn't know how to respond. That is why we asked Aletta for help. She sat us down at the table together, and during those sessions it became clear what the underlying problems were. Aletta gave us insight into the origins of the misunderstandings. It became apparent what we ourselves could do to address problems and to communicate better. So Aletta is more than just a mediator; she also gives concre...

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Mirjam Kleijweg

“When my department was disbanded, I lost the job that I liked so much. It was hard to get on with my life after that experience. As a former human resources adviser, I know everything about work and career, but I found it difficult to take an objective look at myself and see new opportunities. I worked with Aletta to find my own path, and what she offered me was more than straight, practical career coaching. What's typical of the way Aletta works is she takes the whole person into account. By doing that, our conversations got personal, and we delved into the essence of who I am and where I want to go in my working life. It is powerful to talk with someone who understands where you come from. Aletta ...

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Drs. Jacqueline van Duijn

Drs. Jacqueline Duijn is Head of HRM and health, safety and environment services at Leiden University. “We wanted to offer our tenure trackers a training program to guide them in their careers. These young scientists are our future professors so it's important to invest in their personal development. They will be working in a very complex environment and will have to depend not only on their academic expertise, but also on their skills, judgement, and ability to manage people. Aletta developed a custom-made coaching program especially focused on our tenure trackers. The program has three different modules: personal effectiveness, situational leadership, and acquisition and earning power. These abili...

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Prof. dr. Frans van der Helm

Prof. dr. Frans van der Helm is Professor in biomechatronics and bio-robotics at Delft University of Technology. Within my research area, I work with many different people. I am in charge of multilple research consortia which means I deal with a large team of scientists from different universities. But also within my own university, TU Delft, my attention goes to the various study groups. But there are only 24 hours in one day, which means 'my own' work sometimes falls through. That is why I decided to find out how I want to proceed my career and what I can do to make my daily work better. Together with Aletta, I went looking for my motives and values in both work and in life. By doing that, it a...

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Prof. dr. Han de Winde

Prof. dr. Han de Winde is Vice-dean and Professor of industrial biotechnology at Leiden University. “In my job as vice-dean, I deal with different aspects of our university, from education and quality to administrative processes, organization, supervision, and finance. In this complex environment I work with different people and opinions. Sometimes it's difficult to find peace in the midst of all of it and to play the right role at the right time. I knew Aletta from the time when I worked at Delft University of Technology, and I decided to work with her. I wanted to think about my future career, and also wanted to take some concrete steps to improve my leadership skills. The sessions with Alett...

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Prof. dr. Johan Ackaert

Prof. dr. Johan Ackaert is Dean of Law at University Hasselt.  “We had the feeling that we weren't acting professionally enough in the supervision of our PhD candidates. My colleagues and I each had our own way of working, and we used our own discretion. But trial and error just aren’t good enough. That's why we asked Aletta for help. Eight members of staff took the course on Situational Leadership together.  During the course, I learned how to get to the heart of the matter. Usually when there are issues with someone you work with, you can detect some subtle signs early on. There might be hiccups in your communication, it gets difficult to make appointments, ...

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Prof. dr. Isabel Arends

Prof. dr. Isabel Arends is Full Professor and group leader biocatalysis and organic chemistry at Delft University of Technology. “We asked Aletta to develop a personalized training program for a group of young scientists. We offer teachers who are ambitious and want to take the next step in their careers a program focused on personal development. It entails both group sessions and one-to-one coaching. A program of this kind is very valuable to young scientists who experience serious pressure every day. They're expected to strive for excellence when it comes to education and research, but they are also required to be good networkers and to reach out to companies and other organizations. These profess...

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Prof. dr. Thomas Schmidt

Prof. dr. Thomas Schmidt is Professor of structural dynamics of biomacromolecules in life processes at University Leiden. “I am the spokesperson within my research group, and I represent the viewpoint of the group. As a result, I deal with many different visions and opinions, and I have to pull them all together. If you work with people, it's very useful to reflect on what you do and equip yourself for leadership. To improve my skills, I decided to work with Aletta. When we began the one-to-one sessions, we defined specific goals. We also involved my scientific director at that stage, so that he knows what we are doing and why. One of the things that I started to work on was formulating my vision an...

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Michel Wesseling

Michel Wesseling is Director of operations at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) “As director of operations, it is my job to make sure everyone in the institute can do theirs. I manage different teams, and most of the time that works fine. But during the last reorganization of our institute, I stumbled upon some problems. With one particular team, I found it difficult to give them free rein when what that team really needed was autonomy. Prompted by this situation, I started working with Aletta. During the sessions I discovered that my fear of losing control actually reflected a lack of trust. Aletta taught me how to open up to others during conversations. It became clear that sometimes...

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Mark van den Brink

Mark van den Brink is Project manager Safety at TNO. TNO invests in personal development and intervision because we consider them very important. Therefore, we decided to start intervision training with Aletta Wubben's agency. As a group of project managers from different disciplines in our organization, we addressed the following question: how can we learn from each other the best way we can? During three sessions, we practiced conversation and giving feedback under the guidance of Aletta or one of the other coaches. During these sessions, we learned a ten-step method that each person can use to give feedback appropriately. First of all, it is crucial to create a level of trust and openness. And, ve...

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