Berend Smeets
Leadership & team coaching
For leaders and teams who want to grow in trust, direction, and impact.
– Intro
“Rest and reflection open the way to growth.”
Leadership requires more than giving direction. It demands a calm mind, clarity about what is really going on, and the courage to look honestly at yourself and your environment. In practice, that’s not always easy. Pressure is high, expectations pile up, and before you know it you’re caught in a rhythm of rushing, fixing, and carrying a lot of responsibility.
Many leaders notice the same thing: you want time for reflection, but your schedule won’t allow it. You want to give trust, but control feels safer. You want connection, but the hectic pace makes truly listening difficult. These are often signals that it’s time to pause.
I help leaders and teams slow down, look more sharply, and understand what is happening beneath the surface. Not only in behaviour, but also in the patterns, beliefs, and emotions underneath. By naming what often remains unspoken, calm and clarity emerge. Leadership then feels lighter and more effective—without working harder.
With twenty years of leadership experience in large organisations and a background in coaching, behavioural dynamics, and systemic work (Hult Ashridge Executive Education, Hogan Assessments, Coach College de Baak), I bring calm, clarity, and humanity to my coaching.
My work revolves around one thing: helping leaders return to themselves, so they can lead with greater confidence, wisdom, and impact.
BEHAVIOUR AND
PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
PATTERNS AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY IN TEAMS
FOCUS AND
IMPACT THROUGH CHANGE
ENGAGEMENT
AND MUTUAL
TRUST
UNDERLYING DYNAMICS
AND HIDDEN
PATTERNS
DIRECTION
AND LASTING
RESULTS
My coaching
Working on what truly matters
Good leadership often doesn’t start with working harder, but with seeing more clearly. In my coaching, I slow the pace so there’s room to notice what would otherwise remain invisible: patterns, beliefs, emotions, and interactions. That’s where real movement begins.
I work in a calm, clear, and human way. No heavy models or lengthy analyses, but a joint exploration of what is happening within you or in the team. I name what I see, ask further where there’s friction, and help organise what often gets tangled. This creates clarity and direction.
What characterises my approach is that I look both inward and outward: at what you feel and think, and at how that becomes visible in your behaviour and collaboration. One cannot exist without the other. This keeps coaching practical: what you discover here can be applied tomorrow in conversations, decisions, and teamwork.
For me, coaching is a collaboration. You bring your questions and your reality; I bring calm, attention, and a sharp eye. Together, we create a space where you can honestly look at who you are as a leader.
Results
What others say about me
Sanne
Head of Sales
““Berend guided my team and me in a pleasant yet incisive way. He quickly grasped the core of our dynamics and supported us in building stronger connection and better collaboration. Berend is clear, empathetic and effective.” “
Joost
Operations Director
“Berend was there for me at a stage when, in taking on a new senior management role, I needed more self-awareness and a step forward in my development. Berend is relaxed, incisive and direct. My own development ultimately turned out to be very valuable for my team as well.”
Fleur
Manager of Marketing
“Berend is authentic and calm. He helped me settle well into my new role as Head of Marketing. Berend combines a sharp eye for personal development with a practical approach. His accessible style makes him a valuable sparring partner.”
Hidde
Director
“Berend helped my team come closer together. The reflection he enabled allowed us to truly look ahead again as a team. Berend radiates calm, is authentic and perceptive. For us, he was the right coach at the right time.”
Corne
Regional Director
“Berend naturally creates a safe atmosphere in which everyone feels free to speak up. He asks sharp, thought-provoking questions. His guidance is supportive and precisely tuned to what the group needs. Truly a pleasant and inspiring coach to work with.”
Roy
Digital Director
“Berend supported me in breaking through old patterns. He had a strong sense of where I was stuck and, while staying connected, could also be confrontational. For me, the ‘aha’ moments were hugely enlightening and led to a real shift in my behavior.”
Raimond
Marketing Lead
“Over the past few months, Berend has coached me on how to work more effectively with my team. As part of this, we used Hogan Assessments. The combination of the assessment and Berend’s coaching is something I can truly recommend. I am now calmer and more confident.”
Programs
Growth needs space, change needs direction
Leadership and collaboration demand something different in every phase. Sometimes, as a leader, you need more calm and direction. Sometimes your team needs stronger collaboration. And sometimes there is space to deepen your leadership further.
That’s why I work with three programmes that align with where you or your team are right now: executive coaching for leaders who want calm and impact, team coaching for teams that want to collaborate more cleanly, and leadership development for those who want to grow in conscious and authentic leadership.
These programmes are not fixed formats, but starting points. We always look together at what is truly needed and design an approach that fits your situation.
Executive coaching
For leaders who want more calm, direction, and impact in their daily work.
Many leaders carry major responsibilities, think quickly, and are always switched on. You want to do right by your team, the organisation, and yourself. But sometimes it becomes too much: too much pressure, too many expectations, or too much in your head. That’s when it helps to pause, gain an overview, and explore what is really going on.
What’s going on
You may notice that you slip into operational mode faster than you’d like, that you have little time to think, or that you’re too preoccupied with what others think of you. There’s often success, but little calm. You want more overview, more trust in yourself, and the ability to make clearer choices.
What’s needed
Awareness of your patterns, more connection with yourself, and space to reconsider how you want to lead.
What I do
I help leaders slow down, think more clearly, and come closer to their own authentic style. We explore behaviour, beliefs, and automatic reactions. Using TA, Gestalt, and systemic perspectives, I support you in making choices that align with who you are.
The result
After this trajectory, you will notice more calm, clarity, and self-confidence in your work. You make decisions with more ease, have clearer conversations, and feel more grounded in your role. The changes become visible in both small daily moments and the larger patterns of your leadership.
Team Coaching
Working together with trust, clarity, and energy.
Many teams work hard, but not always well together. People are willing, but there is tension in the collaboration, expectations aren’t clear, or communication gets noisy. Deadlines and pressure often make it even more difficult. As a result, a lot of energy is lost, even though the team actually has much more potential.
What’s going on
Important things are left unattended or remain unspoken. Irritations grow into distance, roles aren’t always clear, and conversations sometimes happen more about each other than with each other. Everyone is doing their best, but the shared direction becomes blurred. Because of the busyness, there’s little time to pause, and patterns persist..
What’s needed
A safe space to slow down, voice what is unclear, and explore what is happening beneath the surface. When walls come down and patterns become visible, the team can truly work together again.
What I do
I help teams understand each other better and make stuck patterns discussable. I name what I observe in the dynamics, make difficult topics accessible, and guide the team toward clear agreements and shared expectations. We always work with situations from daily practice, so insights are immediately applicable.
The result
The team experiences more trust, openness, and clarity. People address each other more easily, know what to expect from one another, and work together with more energy and enjoyment.
Leadership development
For leaders who want to grow, deepen, and make more conscious choices.
Sometimes there is no immediate problem, but there is a desire to grow. You want to make more conscious choices, stay closer to yourself, and lead with more calm and direction. Daily pressure can get in the way of this. There is little time to pause, to feel what you truly think, or to explore where you want to go as a leader.
What’s going on
You work hard, but have little time to truly pause. You feel the expectations of others, sometimes doubt your role, or notice that you’re mostly reacting to whatever comes your way. These are often signals that you’re ready to deepen your leadership.
What’s needed
You need space to explore who you are as a leader, what matters to you, and what holds you back. Calm, reflection, and a truthful look at your patterns help you act more consciously and with greater confidence.
What I do
I guide leaders in slowing down, exploring, and sharpening their leadership. We look at drivers, boundaries, beliefs, and habits—always linked to concrete situations from your work. Practical, human, and clear.
The result
After this trajectory, you experience more clarity, strength, and direction. You know better what you want, what suits you, and where your boundaries are. You feel more calm in busy periods and can make choices from within yourself, not based on others’ expectations. Leadership becomes lighter, stronger, and more your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Coaching and team development are always customised. What works depends on the people, the situation, and the question you or your team are facing. Below you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions: about my way of working, what you can expect from a trajectory, and when coaching or team development can make a real difference. Is your question not listed, or would you like to explore your situation? Feel free to get in touch.
Invisible
1. What sets your approach apart from other coaches or team facilitators?
What sets me apart is the combination of twenty years of leadership experience in large organisations and a strong foundation in psychology and coaching. I know what it feels like to experience pressure, make decisions, and carry responsibility. At the same time, I’ve specialised in behavioural analysis, executive coaching, and team development (Hult Ashridge Executive Education, Hogan Assessments, Coach College de Baak).
Those two worlds together make my approach different. I see both the human side and the systemic context. I name what is happening beneath the surface, without judgment, so that calm, insight, and movement can emerge. It’s practical enough to apply tomorrow, yet deep enough to create real change.
2. How do I know if coaching is the right step in our situation?
An exploratory conversation often helps clarify what’s going on. Sometimes coaching or team development is indeed the right fit; other times something else is needed first, for example, a recalibration of roles, more mandate, or a broader change approach. I’m happy to think along about what is truly needed.
3. What does a trajectory look like: is it a fixed programme or customised?
Every trajectory is tailored. While I work from clear starting points, such as stuck teams, unanchored change, or leaders under pressure, the content and approach are shaped around the specific needs, context and phase of the organisation. That means no fixed formats, but targeted interventions that align with what the people and the situation truly require.
4. Do you also work with assessments or other instruments?
Yes, where relevant I use behaviour-focused instruments, such as personality assessments like Assessio or Hogan Assessments, or team and organisational analyses. Not as a goal in itself, but as a way to give language to what is happening and to deepen reflection and development.
5. Do you also work with multiple teams at once or across the organisation?
Yes. Sometimes issues arise not just within one team, but in several parts of the organization. In that case, I design a trajectory in which I work with multiple teams or leaders, so that insights and patterns become visible across the organization. This way, each part strengthens the whole, creating greater cohesion and impact.
6. How do you involve the client or HR in a trajectory?
Alignment with HR or a commissioning manager can be valuable, but it is not always necessary. It depends on the question and the context. In organization-wide or complex trajectories, I often coordinate on the design and keep the line open during the process, mainly to stay clear on the goal and the conditions. What happens within the coaching itself always remains confidential between me and the coachee or the team.
7. What does a trajectory deliver, and can it be measured?
What a trajectory delivers always depends on the question. It may lead to greater ownership, better collaboration, more effective leadership, or increased trust within a team. Results often become visible in daily practice: people address each other more readily, make clearer decisions, and collaborate with more energy. Together, we determine how to track this best — for example through reflections, feedback, or a joint evaluation.
Contact
Curious what it takes to truly shift collaboration, leadership or change? I’m happy to think along about a suitable approach or help explore what’s really going on. Feel free to get in touch for a non-committal conversation.