Sean Lestiboudois (32) moved from Belgium to Utrecht with his girlfriend 4 years ago. He had already been working for Deloitte Belgium and continued his work in Amsterdam. There, he is a Manager in Supply Chain Strategy. He participated in the Rebel program in March 2022. His participation in Rebel Leadership was offered to him by chance within Deloitte, but according to him, it has brought him a lot.

You could say that I carry a duality within me: I have an analytical, rational side, with a slightly dreamy side opposite it. It's somewhat romantic, actually. That side wholeheartedly embraced the Rebel program and was immediately strongly engaged in the first few days. I was touched by the lifelines and emotionally pulled into digging into myself, my past, my values, and what drives me. In the follow-up sessions and one-on-ones, the dreamy side met the more rational one: with both feet on the ground, I translated the emotional insights and learning processes into 'what does this mean for me'."

You can also see in my career path that on the one hand, I make rational choices and do analytical things, but on the other hand, my path is also shaped by my dreams. From looking through a romantic lens to making a rational decision, really. For example, my passion lies in the food system, a complex domain that fascinates me because of the many sustainability and ethical issues, but also because it makes my life better. At some point, I started ensuring that I could incorporate that passion rationally into my career path. Within Deloitte's Supply Chain Consulting division, I created a niche that I’m now focusing on. There, my duality leads to something valuable.

The way both sides of me resonated in the development of Rebel meant that I encountered myself along the way. For me, the whole experience was truly an iterative process where I kept getting closer to the essence. Sometimes it was positive, and sometimes negative, but that’s life. For example, I bumped into certain walls and discovered that assumptions I had made were not entirely correct. To prepare for the second session, I had to ask some colleagues to fill out a survey. The results of that really opened my eyes. It turned out they saw me clearly as a visionary leader, whereas I had hoped to be seen more as a coaching leader.

I believe that if there’s one trait leaders need, it’s flexibility: being able to deal with changing contexts, different types of people you work with, and those you lead. Approaching a problem in different ways by switching between leadership styles. There isn’t just one way to get to Rome. I might not naturally have the most flexible personality, but thanks to Rebel, I now give myself the opportunity to be. Because what has clearly changed is the awareness: what can I get stronger at, how can I work on that, and who can help me with it. But most importantly, the awareness of where I’m already strong. Sometimes you need to be confronted with the facts for that.

I often saw myself as a bit ‘different’ and had the tendency to create defined niches that were only for me. I placed myself a bit outside the team’s structure and felt that I didn’t fit into the mold. When I involved people, they were those I knew would be receptive. Thanks to sometimes confronting conversations with group members and one-on-ones with Lian Ka and Arnout, I now realize that everyone is different, in their own unique way. As a result, I’m finding satisfaction in the coaching aspect of the learning journey – something I’d like to develop further – and enjoying the process. I see that it aligns with what I want, but the visionary side is also part of me. I’ll hold onto that duality, it makes me unique.

By acknowledging both my own uniqueness and that of others, I can come from a place of who I am. And that translates into my daily life and work atmosphere. I take more concrete initiatives and am much freer in approaching people. I’m more direct about it and place myself more centrally in the team. That’s paying off. But this also requires a good understanding of what you stand for.

The initiatives I pursue on the Future of Food path are often very new and span across the entire breadth of Deloitte. This often takes me into unknown territory, which sometimes brings uncertainty and makes me question where I stand and where I’m going.

But thanks to Rebel, the focus on the internal work and that well-integrated whole of brainwork and interaction, the iterative process where you keep getting closer to the essence, I can place myself back in the context of my life and ask myself how I can use that context to get the best out of it for myself: with whom should I talk, what initiatives can I set up, how should I position myself, who can I go to with questions? And am I in the right place within this context? These are important questions to ask myself.