Leadership
What is leadership? One means of approaching this question is by noting that leadership is without doubt the most discussed boardroom topic. By far. Everyone has an opinion about their own ‘boss’ and almost as often about – in gaming terminology – the ‘final boss’ : the managing director, or, in a corporate, an executive from the C-suite: a COO, CDO, CIO, CFO, CRO, or ultimately the CEO: the chief executive officer.
In such a conversation about the boss, it is usually about the many facets of leadership. What characteristics make a leader a good leader, a strong and powerful leader, or a mediocre or even arrogant boss? he following assessment is usually made: what is she/he good at, and what is she/he not good at? Many leaders clearly have weak points, but if the strong points sides are strong enough, people will still support ‘their’ leader. At least, that is what psychologists and leadership coaches claim.
Business programmes and management book classicsYou can practice becoming a better leader. Every self-respecting business school and university develops programmes, and hundreds of books and thousands of other publications have been published with the aim of improving leadership skills: by changing or mitigating the weak points and developing the strong ones. These publications are often eagerly sought after. The classic The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by the American author Stephen Covey has sold more than 25 million copies in 40 languages. The audio version has sold 1.5 million copies. It is no coincidence that this book is a source of inspiration for many leaders. Leadership is also a major theme for Management Scope. Indeed, Management Scope focuses primarily on the CEOs of Dutch corporate companies and on their stakeholders: those who are in direct contact with the CEO, the C-suite. These include members of the executive committee (the ExCo) but also, for example, a company secretary, the members of the supervisory board or a chief sustainability officer. Increasingly, executives are specialists who occupy themselves with one facet of management. Several authors focus on executive education and on the psychological side of leadership. And on what is known as the ‘boardroom dynamics’: how do you create an efficient leadership team – one in which bodies such as the executive board, executive committee (ExCo) and supervisory board function well and also cooperate well?
Diversity in the boardroomLeadership also shows clear developments. For example, diversity in executive and supervisory boards has been a major theme in recent decades. For some 20 years now, women have been steadily taking up more prominent positions in boardrooms. Management Scope, too, is committed to diversity. Every year Management Scope publishes the Top 100 Corporate Women in the Netherlands, inter alia. The female role models in Dutch management are put in the spotlight through this list. Another theme is inclusion. How do you ensure that in the top of the organization – as well as in the layers below – there is room for the opinions and thoughts of bicultural and other cultural leaders? Incidentally, this development is absolutely vital. As Dutch society has embraced more and more nationalities and cultures, consumer behaviour is also changing. Companies can hardly get a grip on these social trends unless they themselves embrace different leadership: in other words, inclusion.
Transformational and responsible leadershipLast but not least, the rise of transformational leadership and responsible leadership in the boardroom should be mentioned. The rapid developments surrounding the digital transformation mean that many companies are having to innovate at an ever-increasing pace and even transform their entire business model. Hence: transformational leadership. What leader has the qualities to really take his team on a journey, where existing rules are set aside and innovation is embraced? Change is difficult for everyone. A good leader must not only be able to ‘jump over his own shadow’ but must also be able to do so on behalf of the entire team, undoubtedly assisted by an expert HR department. Workforce management – what kind of people do I have, and what are they capable of, also on a human level? – is becoming increasingly important. Responsible leadership is perhaps the most remarkable trend. Stakeholders increasingly expect companies and other organizations to know and measure their impact on society and even to have a clear purpose, a right to exist. There is no time to waste for the leaders of our corporates.
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Wouter van Benten (DHL): ‘I am a tech optimist’
How can organizations survive in the digital age? This question is explored in depth in a series of articles in Management Scope by Hilde van der Baan and Gijs Linse of A&O Shearman. This time, they interview Wouter van Benten, CEO of DHL eCommerce, about his digital journey, about speed – ‘we were moving so fast that we had to fight quite a few battles with head office to get our way and keep going’ – about choices that differed from those of the competition, and about what will be needed for the next ten years.
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On the fiftieth anniversary of executive search firm De Vroedt & Thierry, Management Scope’s newest knowledge partner, managing partner Ralf Knegtmans looks back on the far-reaching changes that have radically transformed his profession. He also looks ahead. AI is becoming increasingly important and will be able to take over large parts of the search process in the future. ‘But as the trait d’union between client and candidate, we remain indispensable.’
David Knibbe, the new jury chair of the Young Captain Award and CEO of NN Group, was in the running to become Young Captain himself in 2009. When asked what had gone wrong during the financial crisis and how to proceed, he lingered too long on his analysis. He did not win. That proved to be a lifelong leadership lesson. ‘We often clearly see what is going wrong, but less often focus on how to move forward. Whereas leadership is about providing direction.’ Plus: Knibbe on the war for talent, talent development, and AI at NN Group.
Ralf Knegtmans (De Vroedt & Thierry) on fifty years in executive search
On the fiftieth anniversary of executive search firm De Vroedt & Thierry, Management Scope’s newest knowledge partner, managing partner Ralf Knegtmans looks back on the far-reaching changes that have radically transformed his profession. He also looks ahead. AI is becoming increasingly important and will be able to take over large parts of the search process in the future. ‘But as the trait d’union between client and candidate, we remain indispensable.’
David Knibbe (NN Group): ‘Leadership begins where analysis ends’
David Knibbe, the new jury chair of the Young Captain Award and CEO of NN Group, was in the running to become Young Captain himself in 2009. When asked what had gone wrong during the financial crisis and how to proceed, he lingered too long on his analysis. He did not win. That proved to be a lifelong leadership lesson. ‘We often clearly see what is going wrong, but less often focus on how to move forward. Whereas leadership is about providing direction.’ Plus: Knibbe on the war for talent, talent development, and AI at NN Group.
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Managers must be open to the fact that their organization will change no matter what, according to computer science professor Hajo Reijers. The future of work and entrepreneurship requires a broad perspective, hybrid technological landscapes, and above all, flexibility. ‘You have to dare to say goodbye to fixed structures and experiment with new structures that allow you to quickly respond to those changes.’
‘Run at least twice as fast!’ This warning from the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland is more than a literary metaphor, it is the harsh reality for modern organizations. In the land of the Red Queen, you have to run fast to stay in the same place, and even faster to get anywhere. Companies that stand still fall behind. If they continue to follow the old formula, they lose market share to agile newcomers without baggage. Modern leaders know this and succeed in keeping their organizations agile, writes Ralf Knegtmans of De Vroedt & Thierry, part of Boer & Croon. He notes that the focus in leadership selection is gradually shifting from knowledge and experience to character.
Do more to prevent absenteeism and be open to employees who do not fit the ideal picture. With this appeal to employers, Maarten Camps, who is chairman of the UWV, the Dutch Employment Insurance Agency, and number 81 in the Top 100 Supervisory Board Members, hopes to address the shortage in the labor market and reduce the rapidly increasing waiting times for a WIA, the Work and Income (Capacity to Work) Act, assessment. But changes are also needed within his own organization. ‘We will have to create more uniformity in the working methods of our professionals.’
‘Organizations need to significantly increase their focus on flexibility’
Managers must be open to the fact that their organization will change no matter what, according to computer science professor Hajo Reijers. The future of work and entrepreneurship requires a broad perspective, hybrid technological landscapes, and above all, flexibility. ‘You have to dare to say goodbye to fixed structures and experiment with new structures that allow you to quickly respond to those changes.’
Leadership in the digital age
‘Run at least twice as fast!’ This warning from the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland is more than a literary metaphor, it is the harsh reality for modern organizations. In the land of the Red Queen, you have to run fast to stay in the same place, and even faster to get anywhere. Companies that stand still fall behind. If they continue to follow the old formula, they lose market share to agile newcomers without baggage. Modern leaders know this and succeed in keeping their organizations agile, writes Ralf Knegtmans of De Vroedt & Thierry, part of Boer & Croon. He notes that the focus in leadership selection is gradually shifting from knowledge and experience to character.
Maarten Camps (UWV): ‘A different mindset is needed’
Do more to prevent absenteeism and be open to employees who do not fit the ideal picture. With this appeal to employers, Maarten Camps, who is chairman of the UWV, the Dutch Employment Insurance Agency, and number 81 in the Top 100 Supervisory Board Members, hopes to address the shortage in the labor market and reduce the rapidly increasing waiting times for a WIA, the Work and Income (Capacity to Work) Act, assessment. But changes are also needed within his own organization. ‘We will have to create more uniformity in the working methods of our professionals.’
Daniele Tonella (ING): ‘Innovation is also about behavior and governance’
As chief technology officer and member of the management board banking at ING Bank, Daniele Tonella is responsible for the bank's entire IT landscape, with its nearly twenty thousand employees. His mandate covers everything within the organization ‘that contains a chip or line of code’, as he puts it. Tonella discusses his concerns about knowledge development and how technology and organizational development are becoming increasingly intertwined. ‘ING's digital transformation is more a challenge in terms of organization, culture, and governance than a technology issue.’
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Farewell Interview Martin van den Brink and Peter Wennink: ‘ASML Remains a Very Dutch Company’
The legendary leaders of semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML, are retiring. A very good reason to engage in an exclusive conversation with the co-presidents Martin van den Brink and Peter Wennink on everything that contributed to their evolution into a global player.
Carsten Bittner (ABN Amro): ‘Do As The Dutch Do’
The German CI&TO (Chief Information and Technology officer) of ABN AMRO needs to take cognizance of the differences between the Dutch and German cultures. His observation is that these are not that significant. ‘Nuances do exist, of course, and, as a director, it is important to take heed of these.’
Kaya de Lange (BeFrank): ‘A leader needs both reason and intuition’
Siete Hamminga and Guus Verhees on Robin Radar's scale-up journey
Rutger van der Leeuw (Enexis): ‘More copper in the ground is not the solution’
Millennial leaders are warming up – and here is what you can expect
André van der Linden: ‘Make cybersecurity as self-evident as fire safety’
Michel Mersch (Nestlé): ‘Sustainable investments more than pay for themselves’
‘Sensitive issues remain undiscussed too often’
Trudy Onland has been at the helm of grid operator Stedin since early May 2025. Her clearly defined goal is to ensure that the company takes major, concrete steps towards a new, sustainable energy system, now still under construction. ‘It is important not to get stuck in yesterday’s technology.’
It is time to stop telling women that they are insecure. Instead, companies would be better off focusing their attention on changing the systems that make women insecure, writes Maartje Laterveer.
Trudy Onland (Stedin): ‘Accelerating with tomorrow’s technology’
Trudy Onland has been at the helm of grid operator Stedin since early May 2025. Her clearly defined goal is to ensure that the company takes major, concrete steps towards a new, sustainable energy system, now still under construction. ‘It is important not to get stuck in yesterday’s technology.’
‘Insecure women’ as a convenient and dangerous argument
It is time to stop telling women that they are insecure. Instead, companies would be better off focusing their attention on changing the systems that make women insecure, writes Maartje Laterveer.
Maria Montenegro (Wolters Kluwer): ‘Steady, continuous transformation’
Living as if your life depends on it
‘Demonstrating and implementing moral leadership’
Willemien Terpstra (Gasunie): ‘Setting up new energy systems is the only way’
Jacques van den Broek: ‘Without a flourishing business community, we have a long-term problem’
