Credentials

What my clients say about me

Axel Posthumus is managing director of Windunie, a cooperative of 223 wind turbines and wind farms that jointly produce 20% of all wind energy in the Netherlands. Windunie is active in the development of wind projects, supports the operation and maintenance of turbines, and sells the energy generated by its members. 

“It was clearly noticeable at our office in Utrecht, where everybody was given all possible opportunities, that people were leaving, and especially young, highly educated women. Why was this? I asked an objective outsider, ITIP, to investigate. ITIP consultants Bertram Lammers and Tsjitske Dijkstra held interviews and then presented their report. This report had far-reaching consequences. Its contents were true and personal. Initially, it seemed to be only about the top management, but after two weeks the middle management realized that the report was also about them. ‘What a dreadful outcome!’, one of the middle managers said, as there was no denying what had been written. As a result, both in the top and in the middle management people started to draw their own conclusions. They chose either to stay and completely engage with the challenges that were there, or to leave.

Examining our blind spots

Supported by ITIP, the teams then started to talk to one another, and it amazed me how open people dared to be. We wouldn’t have reached that depth and openness without help. As the top management, we started. Everyone in the office was allowed to read the report and we were prepared to look for our own blind spots and to receive feedback. This openness gave others in the organization the confidence to do the same. Examining the blind spots was one of the reasons I followed the ITIP training. I was looking for something deep and substantial. I had seen too many managing directors around me, in second marriages to much younger women, whose lives had gone off the rails. I saw the lack of balance in them; but what about myself? 

Special Forces

As a young man I was an officer in the Special Forces. Pushing my limits at that age has had a strong influence on my life. In this organizational programme, I found out that this influence had continued on in my work at the Windunie. Our team is made up of the very best, who are willing to give their utmost and go for gold, and if you can't compete, you’re out. I set that tone when the company started, and the middle management simply adopted this mindset. Now this is changing. We have become aware of this tendency and we now ask ourselves: How can we help people to put all their knowledge and skills into their work? You will be amazed at how much more people can then contribute. The ITIP programme helps people to experience that their attitude towards doing things really matters, and that it is important to express what they experience. It has consequences not only for them individually, but also for the team as a whole.

At war, the best soldiers are the ones who fully accept that they might die. In ordinary life the same is true. If you can muster the strength to really accept what is there, if you are fully prepared to face the truth, then the situation will change. Something that is not working will start running again.

Facilitating role

The project leaders have become the carriers; the management has become a group of people who facilitate. We can also see it in the way our clients react: they now feel that they are being heard by our people. And now when employees leave, it happens in harmony: people reach the conclusion themselves that their job no longer suits them. I still have to get used to this facilitating role, and the fact that I don’t close any sales myself anymore still sometimes keeps me awake at night. Yet, it is clear to me that this is the best way forward, both for me personally and for the company. The company is increasingly standing on its own two feet, and I am developing from sovereign to servant.

 1. What was your question?

The life I was living did not feel right, but I was unable to find out on my own why that was or what I would like instead. I needed help in this. Then you asked me after the intake interview, ‘So this is not how you want to be when you die?’ And that question struck exactly the right chord because if that had happened at that moment, it would have meant that I hadn’t lived enough.

 2. What characterizes me and my way of working?

You are clear and critical, asking questions that make me recognize what is going on within myself. You challenge me in a caring way. I trust you and know that I can always come back to you.

3. What was the result for you?

I have been able to change my life a great deal and in several areas. I feel that my life has started again and in a way that suits me perfectly. I have much more to offer now, both to myself and to the people around me.

1. What was your question?

I had a burnout because I had lost control over ‘my own excitement and commotion’. This led to physical complaints.

2. What characterizes me/my way of working?

Your actions are characterized by mirroring me, based on my own everyday activities and thinking. You do so in a calm, direct and involved manner.

3. What was the result for you?

You made me consider my own thinking and my own actions, and how I have become who I am now. You have given me a great deal of knowledge, thus raising my awareness of my own pitfalls. As a result, I now notice sooner how I am, and I hope this will help me avoid running into trouble again.

From client point of view, is great fun to collaborate with Tsjitske. There is a good reason why we keep returning to her to help us on training and development issues. She can be characterized by a combination of expertise, creativity, professionalism and a passion for learning and development. She quickly understands what our question is really about, and she is able to respond well to that. I always get a great deal of energy from the way shethinks along with us and from all the ideas that she generates. People in my organization tell me the same positive things when she has given another training course or when she has coached someone. I hope to work with her for many years to come.

1. What was your question?

My employer had less and less work for me, and the little work that was on offer was no longer challenging or inspiring. My creative flame had become very weak and small. This had a terrible impact on my self-image. Something had to be done!

2. What characterizes me/my way of working?

Tsjitske, from the first time we met, everything felt familiar and safe. You radiate calm, show empathy and you inspire me. You helped me to get going again, by taking the right steps in the right order. First leaving the situation I was in, then using self-reflection and self-research to look for peace and tranquillity, and finally exploring my environment and possibilities. Our conversations were sometimes quite intense, but when I left our sessions I was always full of dynamic energy.

3. What was the result for you?

I finally managed to leave that dead-end street. Then I seriously examined other new routes, and in the end I chose – with new energy and a fresh outlook – a new path as a self-employed person.

Thank you so much!

1. What was your question?

I had become personally and professionally stuck in an increasingly difficult situation at work. As a result, we started with the following two questions. 1) How can I, both personally and as a manager, deal effectively with the changes that are going on? 2) When do I feel strong and autonomous? What do I need to make me feel like this?

2. What characterizes me/my way of working?

You have an open, personal, warm, involved and inviting way of working. You remain close to yourself. You are clear, set boundaries and ask questions that encourage soul-searching, thinking, deepening and feeling. You do not judge what is shared with you. Sometimes you (suddenly) tell me to stand up, or to do experiential exercises, which gives us new insights and brings us closer to my core, my feeling and what lives within me. You give back what you notice in what you are told, and you do so in a direct, caring way and with compassion. You won't let me off the hook with just a simple answer, and you share your own experiences and insights. All of this makes you a great coach for me. Thanks to you I now dare to open up more.

3. What was the result for you?

I have been able to deal successfully with a painful process that has brought up a lot of emotional stuff. I have gained many insights and learned a great deal about myself. I have found beautiful things on my route. There is more room for myself now. I am more in touch with my feelings and with what lives within me. I now also dare to listen to this and to express and acknowledge this in a way that suits me.