"I also receive feedback from my environment that I am more calm and more present."

Babette was a participant of Rebel in August 2020. She shares her experience with the program below.

Babette van Dinten is 30 years old and lives with her partner in Amsterdam. Until early 2021, she worked at Accenture as a Technology Strategy Consultant, after which she transitioned to OLVG and started working as a strategic healthcare seller. In August 2020, she joined the Rebel Leadership program.

For me, it’s important that people can be who they want to be. It seems awful if that’s not possible—you’re always in conflict with yourself. I believe the opportunities for that authenticity are facilitated by providing space—by ensuring people can grow, learn, and do; not by fixing things but by supporting them. During the Rebel program, I worked on becoming more conscious of how I can foster this.

For a long time, even during my work at Accenture, I was drawn to healthcare. At some point, I just started googling, and when I saw this role at OLVG, I thought, ‘Wow! Does this actually exist?’ In my current role, I can directly see the impact of what we do. It feels very valuable and suits my caring and helpful nature. But in the past, I could sometimes overdo it with my helpfulness: I wanted to be aware of everything, jump into everything, even before help was asked for. However, for someone else to decide they need help isn’t necessarily helpful. Because of that, I wasn’t giving space for the authenticity that I value so much.

That didn’t sit well with me. I wanted something to change and realized that if I wanted to know who I am as a leader and who I want to be, I had to become more aware of how I present myself. Before I signed up for Rebel, I had an extensive intake session to discuss where I stood and whether the program would fit. This personal approach really makes you aware of what they are asking from you. It’s also a great example of how sharply they look at the individual: what does this person need right now. That’s why the program really stood out for me."

When I started with Rebel, I was very aware of what I was getting into, but I was ‘consciously incompetent,’ to use the terminology. In order to become competent, I had to allow myself to be helped. By Arnout and Lian Ka, the coaches of Rebel, who were like the perfect puzzle during the program and constantly asked me exactly the right questions. And by the group. I had asked them, and some people in my environment, to point it out if I did something where I was, for example, diminishing myself. Their honesty was sometimes tough and harsh, but it made me think. By paying attention to both my actions and my internal process, I now notice better what triggers me and how others react to it. In the past, I sometimes did things with a smile but felt negative inside; now I’m much more aware of what happens within me. This allows me to reflect on it myself, which creates the opportunity to later discuss it. That fosters equality and trust.

The bond of trust during the program was very impressive to me. Everyone knew: my story stays in this group. We became part of each other’s growth paths and could help each other precisely because of our differences and diverse experiences. Because of that, I truly learned that everyone has their own story. I don’t need to know the reasons for someone’s behavior, but it’s important to realize that there may be more going on than I know. It’s up to me to stay alert to that—without immediately needing to help. But I do know now that I can indicate: ‘Hey, you can always come to me, and I won’t judge you.’ This way, I can ensure that people can be themselves and have the space to grow and fail. And then I can really help, by supporting.

For that support, peace is needed, and the Rebel program helped me find that peace within myself. In the past, I was sometimes too focused on making things pleasant; now I dare to trust that people know who I am and where I stand, even if I am serious. I also receive feedback from my surroundings that I am calmer and more present. And it feels that way too: I engage more in connection, listen to my feelings, reasoning, and intuition. That awareness has given me even more self-confidence. Who I wanted to be and who I was were actually already quite close, but with the push from Rebel, I can now give others that trust as well."