When the World Speeds Up, Slow Down
There’s a growing sense of unrest. I hear it in my conversations with leaders. The pace of change, the constant stream of new developments they’re expected to have an opinion…
Liesbeth van der Linden
Liesbeth van der Linden is an executive coach, author, speaker, and authority on Leadership issues. Her Amazon-bestselling book, Connect, Inspire, Grow – The Executive Framework for the First 100 Days, is a guide for senior leaders in global companies who step into a new role and help them build the trust that’s required to make the changes necessary to create success.
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Blog posts by Liesbeth van der Linden
The Four Blocks to Better Decisions
The Quality of Your Leadership is Measured by the Quality of Your Decisions One of the toughest truths of leadership is this: A few poor decisions that adversely affect your…
When It’s Time to Rethink Your Career
I’ve just returned from holidays. You know the feeling — a few days to gently find your rhythm again… catching up on emails, reconnecting with colleagues, and, if you’ve travelled…
When Collaboration Feels Like a One-Way Street
How to Lead When Others Don’t Want to Follow Let’s face it—collaboration doesn’t always come naturally. You may be clear, committed, and eager to build something great together… but your…
When Everything Is Urgent: Reclaim Your Space Before Burnout Does
Have you ever felt like work was tossing tasks at you from every direction—each one labeled urgent, important, and do it now? Lately, many of my conversations have circled around one question: “How…
Leading Through the Noise
Over the past few months, the world has felt… noisy. Headlines shouting uncertainty. Financial Markets are shaking. Technology is developing faster than many can absorb. In times like these, it’s…
Leadership is Lonely
In the past week alone, three different clients have shared something deeply personal with me. They feel lonely in their leadership roles. A General Manager of a subsidiary of a…
How Self-Awareness Sets You Apart as a Leader
In business school, I was taught that leadership is about vision, strategy, and decision-making. And while these are crucial, one skill forms the foundation for all of them: self-awareness. Here’s the…
Why Would You Hire an Executive Coach?
When people think about coaching, they often confuse it with therapy or mentoring. While both have their value, they are fundamentally different from coaching. A therapist helps you address unresolved…
You can only ACT where you are now.
When I work with leaders to optimize their PERFORMANCE, one thing we practice is getting rid of ‘distractions’. High performance can only happen when you are 100% focused on what…
Who do you need to BE to be SUCCESSFUL?
At some point in your career, it’s no longer about developing your know-how and skills, it’s all about developing YOURSELF. Who do you need to BE in order to be…
What makes you an Effective Leader?
The answer can be found in the ENERGY you bring to your team, the boardroom, and the entire organization. Your ENERGY is based on how well you understand WHO you…
What does trust look like in your work place?
“TRUST IS THE GLUE OF LIFE. IT’S THE MOST ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT IN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. IT’S THE FOUNDATION PRINCIPLE THAT HOLDS ALL RELATIONSHIPS.” -Stephen Covey- We probably all know what trust…
What are your 3 Big Rocks?
In the past week I spoke with two leaders who were completely overwhelmed and stressed about the amount of work they had on their plates. They felt so mentally exhausted…
Thinking About Becoming A Conscious Leader? This is how to start!
Lately there has been a growing interest in the idea of Conscious Leadership and more focus on Conscious Companies, led by people looking at different ways to live and run…
The Pink Elephant
I spoke with (let’s call her) Sandra this morning. Sandra is a VP in a marketing agency. I asked her how her week had gone, and she said: “Not great.…
The Goal or the Growth mindset?
Who does NOT like winning? At work, in sports, in life, we feel great when we’re winning. We set ourselves a goal, we work hard, focus on the results, the…
What to do with the high-performing bully on my team?
It was all over the news in the Netherlands last weekend. Another case of alleged workplace bullying and sexual harassment. This time in the Sports News part of the Dutch…
Misuse of Imagination
Yesterday I received an email from one of my clients, let’s call him Tom, who was excited to share what had happened in a meeting he’d had with his senior…
Uncover the Masterpiece
I’ve played small for most of my life. I was a very shy girl. Actually, I’ve been afraid to speak up for years. I remember the many times the teacher…
5 Steps for a Leader who’s a Fixer
Ben sought my help as he was on the brink of burnout. He had set up the Dubai office for a renowned European tech firm and had grown the team…
The Danger of False Humility
While preparing for an interview for a podcast by a leadership network community here in Hong Kong, one of the questions I was sent beforehand was the following: As a…
If you don’t know HOW to?
People will tell you all the time: “I know what I HAVE to do, but I don’t know HOW to”: “I HAVE to grow my business, but I don’t know…
If life takes over…
Sometimes you meet people in your life that tell you a story that keeps lingering in your head for a while. I met Katrina (not her real name) in my…
How to Win from Imposter Syndrome
Most successful leaders will have felt like an imposter at some point. The fear that people will one day find out the truth about you. That the outside world will…
What makes some entrepreneurs more successful in handling the pandemic than others?
Recently, I went to a very nice networking dinner. It was a lovely intimate setting: a private dinner with a French chef, fine wines and a relatively small group of…
How a tiny shift in communication can improve the most difficult relationship
The way we communicate defines every relationship we have in life. In fact, it determines everything we DO in life. Are you up for a little experiment? I would like…
Happiness is our baseline
When we are born, all we do is breathe and enjoy life. We look at the world with wonder and we are happy. Everything happens naturally, we move, we grow,…
How to fix something that doesn’t exist.
Yesterday I received an email from one of my clients Tom (not his real name), who was excited to share what had happened in a meeting he’d had with his…
Getting what you want…
Every night when I walk my dog, we play his favorite game of ‘fetch’. He’s really good at it. I throw a tennis ball, he takes off with tremendous speed,…
Everything happens for a reason
I just got back from Dubai, where I set up a sister company for my practice GLTD in Hong Kong. The agency that helped me with the arrangements was very…
Every business is a relationship business.
It is shocking! I just read Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 report. In 2021, only 21% of the world’s employees were engaged at work. 21%!!! What about the…
Why self-awareness is key for leaders and how to develop it.
A few years ago, I facilitated workshops and seminars on the topic: “Being a Leader”. Participants were experienced managers working for a large multinational biotech company. One of my first…
When you think you FAILED…
I saw it the moment she walked into my office. Energetically, she was not in good shape. On a self-leadership scale of 1-7, Anna was at 2, meaning she was…
Do you focus on PROCESS or OUTCOME?
When you are in any management or leadership position, you often focus on very specific outcomes. Much of our effort and energy goes into achieving results that are measured against…
How to Get Rich
Many of my clients are very successful people. Some of them would be considered rich or wealthy. But here’s the thing: Most people think that when you’re rich and have…
Dealing with people who resist change
To successfully guide teams through a change, two things are needed: 1. Clear Vision – A shared outlook on the future you want to create with your team. 2. Buy-in…
Challenge your Fears head-on!
All of us have a fundamental, built-in safety system, called FEAR. It’s there to protect us against perceived threats and to keep us safe. Very useful in ancient history when…
How to get a Master in Performance
Today I want to share with you one of the strongest leadership concepts I’ve ever come across. I learned it from one of my fellow leadership coaches Walter Aguilar, who…
5 Leadership Lessons of Moving Abroad
Next week we’re moving! We wrap up our lives, pack our things in Hong Kong, and head to Dubai to start a new chapter in a different part of the…
7 Questions Successful Leaders Ask Themselves
Research has shown that successful leaders have the ability to reflect on their own behaviour, are self-aware and continuously work towards personal development. So, what is going on inside their…
9 Books on How to become the Best Version of Yourself
Following on from my previous list of recommended books on “Creating Success as a Leader,” here are my favourites in the “Strengthening Personal Leadership” category. My reading experience varied from…
7 Books that Will Change Your Approach to Creating Success as a Leader
If you’re anything like me, there are two things I hope you enjoy as much as I do. It’s reading new books and getting great tips on good books –…
Anti-fragility: A Survival Skill in Chaos
We know what FRAGILITY means. After having moved across continents a few times, I know what it’s like to unpack the boxes that read FRAGILE on the outside only to…
Why time is ALWAYS on your side!
How often do you ‘blame’ time, for not getting what you want? I hear it all the time: – “There’s not enough time in a day” – “Time is working…
3 Ways To Create A Productive Day
How do you set yourself up for a PRODUCTIVE day? You may have a morning ritual; You exercise, meditate, have breakfast, or drink a freshly brewed coffee to start your…
Let me tell you a story…
One thing I’ve learned from the leaders I interviewed for my upcoming book, CONNECT, INSPIRE, GROW, is the power of storytelling. They shared with me the great challenges they faced…
Typhoon Alert for Entrepreneurs
In Hong Kong, where I live, I woke up in the middle of the night as a typhoon 9 was raging outside. I listened to the heavy rains and winds…