From personal development to leadership and international growth

A programme that focuses on talents by concentrating on personal leadership, cooperation and the business of Van den Bosch. With those words, the talent development programme was launched over a year ago. It has been completed since then, and not only have certificates been issued, but new roles have also been taken up and even an emigration is planned.

Four female participants in the talent development programme discuss and share their experiences regarding the impact of the programme on their personal growth and development. This turned out to be not only instructive, but also occasionally confrontational. Jasmijn Ritter, team leader for the Dry Bulk division since September: "It got quite lively at times. I learned a lot about myself. I used to be afraid of appearing dominant. But now I dare to give my opinion while remaining approachable."

Perfectionism and modesty
A common learning point that emerges in the conversation is self-confidence. Or perhaps more accurately: perfectionism and modesty. "The process showed us mainly how other people were growing, and we were proud of them," agrees Lian Staadegaard. She is now a team leader in the Invoicing department. "The programme showed us that we can be proud of ourselves, and should reflect on the growth that we ourselves are experiencing."

"I wanted to work on my self-confidence and hoped eventually to grow into a managerial position," says Loekie van Dam. "Fortunately I succeeded, and since November I’ve held the position of Customer Service team leader. The programme gave me the right tools for this. But it's a new role with a lot of unknowns, so there’s still some uncertainty at times. It’s actually a process in which the programme provides a very good kickstart."

Challenges
On top of taking steps to becoming a team leader, Country Planner Lobke Langenhoff is also taking the step to temporarily move to Austria. "I’m taking part of the planning and some of the Customer Service tasks with me to work on there. It’s an opportunity I would never have taken a year ago – I would have stayed here, safe in my bubble. I mainly looked up to others, while now I realise that my opinion matters too. I’m now seeing this step as a challenge: new environment, new people."

However, the steps weren’t taken without ups and downs. "Although looking back I experience it as a unique opportunity, there were days in between when I thought differently," Ritter says with a laugh. Van Dam: "They often pushed us into the deep end, especially during the business case." And Staadegaard agrees with her: "At the time, we thought: "Please get us out of the water." But in hindsight, it was fine and we learned so much from it."

Group dynamics
Van Dam: "At the end of the business case, we were proud and pleased to have delivered good results. I think we have grown not only as individuals but also as a group. Even though it took us a while to get used to each other." "But it was that group dynamic that I enjoyed the most," says Staadegaard. "Because you go quite deep with each other at times, the bond you build is quite special."

In short, when asked if they are happy with their participation, everyone answers resounding "yes". "I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't taken part," Langenhoff says. The other three agree emphatically.

The talent development programme was created in collaboration with The Headroom.