Highly driven but not having the impact you want? If you are in mid-career, but you’re not coming into your own while the clock is ticking, let me help you set yourself up for success. Let’s change the world together. 

I mentor and coach high performers to unlock their pent-up potential and design a business or career that is both rewarding and rewarded. I’ve been privileged to work with countless clients who have been promoted, successfully pivoted or rekindled their career, found their true calling, started their own business, all while feel accomplished and valued. 

My book We-Mind vs. Me-Mind:  A New Vision for Success in Leadership and Life is the result of seven years of research in different strands of science. I wanted to answer the question how it’s possible that  the number of women in leadership remains low despite the mountains of money and efforts being invested, and despite the vast number of highly driven and motivated candidates. 

While I acknowledge that sexism can be a serious obstacle, my research made me understand that the key to solving this problem is to stop making it about gender. My book offers new a framework by which to redefine  success and what we value. This is what has to happen for frustrated female high-performers to stop feeling held back and be able to contribute their true potential, and for frustrated leaders in general to recognise and retain the talent that’s in front of them, hiding in plain sight.

My mission is to better the world by supporting people who are driven by a purpose beyond profit, power and status,  to make a real difference.

I can help you:

  • Discover what your ‘unique selling point’ is
  • Overcome what blocks you from sharing what you have to offer
  • Position and present yourself with maximum impact 

True leadership is not a skill-set, but a mind- and ‘heart-set’.

Ik werk ook in het Nederlands. Türkçe de konuşabiliriz.

Background

My life changed forever when I gave up my job in the Dutch foreign service and walked straight into a war. As a young diplomat I was posted in Istanbul. I had an interesting, prestigious job. But I wanted to have more impact. 

I felt terrible about telling my boss that this life was not for me. But I jumped. I knew I could write. And a war had just broken out. So even though I had no experience as a reporter, and only one newspaper promised to take one story from me, I made my way to Iraq. It turned out to be the first of many times. 

Working as a news correspondent in the Middle East I was driven by the belief that my reporting made a difference for the people whose suffering I was witnessing. In some cases it clearly did. But rather than acknowledging that all these problems were too big for me to tackle on my own and that I was doing my fair share, I was getting more and more frustrated about the lack of impact I thought I had. 

I sought fault inside myself. Was I not doing enough? Was I not fit for the job? Was I not getting it right? I pushed and pushed myself, until I pushed myself over the edge. All of a sudden, everything that had been giving meaning to my life seemed pointless. I felt totally numb and stuck. 

My journey out of that dark, unhappy place taught me a lot. Not only about myself and the mysterious ways of the subconscious. I started recognising certain patterns in others too. Soon, I felt called to start helping people who want to add value, but feel they’re not coming into their own. Eventually I left the profession I had loved so much to follow this new calling.

What I bring to the table:

  • 2 decades as a news-correspondent in a region where people can’t speak their mind taught me to ask the right questions and listen for what’s not being said
  • 20 years on radio and T.V. taught me how to present with authority, brevity and clarity 
  • 2 years recovering from PTSD & burning out taught me what resilience really is and how to  easily set boundaries 
  • 6 years of being bullied at my primary school impacted me deeply for life. Overcoming that trauma gave me the expertise to help others heal
  • 12 years working with changemakers who feel held back taught me the easiest way to get into focused action mode 
  • 100’s of clients who trusted me have taught me how to uncover hidden qualities and talents
  • 3 years as director of PWI’s Mentoring Program have taught me to recognise and develop leadership qualities 
  • life-long studying of the brain, mind & body taught me what the one issue is that’s at the core of most of our troubles 
  • 19 years being a mother may have stretched my work-life balance, but taught me unconditional love 
  • 5 books published taught me the importance of finding your true voice 
  • 1 book in the making is teaching me the surprising reason that so many women with leadership ambitions don’t make it to the top, and how to change that

Let’s explore how I can help you aim high, break through and make that difference. 

Please find my terms and conditions here.

During this introductory consultation we will explore your personal path to being on top of your life, and achieving your full potential. Click here to go for it!

Book Jessica for two hours of inspiration about

  • The miscommunication between women and men
  • What the glass ceiling really is
  • The secret ingredient to reaching your full potential

For (aspiring) leaders to explore the ins and outs of the subconscious, which drives 90% of our behavior. A full day, at the end of which you will master what motivates you and those around you.  Click here to discuss the possibilities.