About
Hi, I’m Govert.
I’m an organizational psychologist. Since 2002 I’ve worked with leadership teams in more than 40 countries, from the Gulf to Latin America, in Dutch and English.
Since 2002
working with leadership teams
40+ countries
on six continents
NL · EN
working in Dutch or English
Zeist · Dubai
two bases, on site wherever you are
Why a psychologist?
I began my career in 1997, assessing suspects for the court system. I’d been trained to stay fully objective, but I soon found this made my work worse, not better. This realization is at the core of how I work: what I notice in a team, I put on the table. I wrote a book about it, The Power of Professional Closeness.
Have you worked with a team like mine?
Probably with one in the same spot: merging, changing owners, growing faster than its way of working, or stuck on a strategy. I’ve done that in more than 40 countries since 2002, from Guatemala and Kuwait to the Nordics. That includes six years designing and running the workshops in which IKEA rethought how it reaches its customers. They owned the strategy; I created the process that got them there.
Are you a process person or a strategy person?
Neither, on its own. In real life, strategy, leadership, and personal development happen at the same time. Things are also said out loud, and simultaneously left unspoken. A session can have an emphasis, but what happens during it often reveals important insights. We talk about whatever is relevant and useful. So don’t expect a facilitator who only focuses on watching the dynamics or moving through the content.
Who will actually show up?
Me. I built a consultancy firm, then chose to make it smaller again. I’d rather be facilitating than running a business.
Will you tell us what we want to hear?
No. I’ll name tension if I see it, carefully but out loud. And if the honest answer is that you don’t need me, I’ll tell you on our first call.
Can you assess our people too?
Yes. I’ve assessed leaders for almost 30 years. Because I also sit at the table with leadership teams, I know what a role asks of someone. Not just what their profile says.
Where are you based?
Zeist and Dubai. I come to your team, wherever you are.
The thinking behind my work
The Power of Professional Closeness
In 2019 I wrote about why professional distance often passes bias off as objectivity, and why closeness turns candor from a risk into an asset. It became an Amazon #1 bestseller. The work has been testing it ever since.