The understanding that the leader in me was also playing a coaching role, happened at a well defined moment in my professional life, even though it surely grew over time.
It happened back in 2007 during the transformation of Euroclear Bank – the entity I was in charge of – towards the adoption of Lean Management, a highly empowering management system very close to today’s Agile. As their CEO, I was leading the change and witnessed how empowerment positively influenced engagement, business effectiveness and efficiency. I also saw the power of active listening, constructive feedback and open discussions. At the same time, I noted the need to evolve our leadership styles towards more coaching-based ones. I found this very powerful, both at my own level as a leader and at the level of other managers who adopted this approach. Having external coaches to accompany leaders through change delivered clear benefits. I remember that it then crossed my mind it could be wonderful to become a coach myself at a later stage in my professional career.
I continued my journey as a C-level executive, and coaching became increasingly present in my leadership style. It consistently proved to be very useful to lead major transformations. I was a passionate advocate for the development of employees, including the management teams I was leading, and was involved in many group-level leadership development initiatives. I enjoyed helping colleagues reflect on their next steps or development needs. I also introduced innovative (at that time!) people development initiatives such as a broader access to personality-type trainings, mindfulness at work, and a network of internal coaches. I also trained myself and got particularly interested by the topic of leadership, as witnessed by my participation to the executive programme in Management & Philosophy at the Brussels’ Solvay Business School.
The big switch came when I decided to leave Euroclear in 2018: a bold move from top executive to top executive coach! Despite the vast coaching experience acquired as an executive, I felt the need to refine and certify my coaching skills. Hence the idea to follow the HEC, Paris certification in Executive Coaching (Expertise et Perfectionnement) in 2019. I can tell you that it was a phenomenal journey considering the diverse coaching approaches (including less conventional ones), the level and diversity of the intervening teacher-coaches, my fellow participants as well as the set-up of the programme, in line with HEC, Paris’ great reputation.
My signature is a human, inclusive approach: all along my professional live, I have been fascinated by what people achieve when trusted in their ways of doing. I also believe more sustainable and engaged results are achieved when people are involved and listened to, leading to better decisions and execution. The power of diversity and inclusion is not just a concept: it is an evidence. Last, I have this – one would say naïve – belief that deep down in everyone, there is a capacity and often a desire to develop, do better and contribute to a better world – whatever shape this takes.
With 15 years of C-level experience in a demanding business, I have lived many complex and diverse situations, and had a number of satisfying successes as well as some frustrating failures. My hope is that all these learning opportunities, together with my coaching skills and active listening – which I always considered as my strongest leadership skill – will help me to help you, the executive leaders and board directors of the future, reach the next level of leadership you are seeking, to leave your positive legacy.