About Ger
Interim management in education, trainer intercultural management, coaching and advice.
In my LinkedIn CV you can read about what I have done, my education, and where I have worked. I am going to talk here about my more personal profile. Those things you won’t read in a CV, but which are nevertheless formative.
My mission
I want to assist other people with their personal growth. I contribute to a safe atmosphere based on trust. I support organisations with the development of a professional culture.
Travel
I have loved travelling throughout my life. When I am travelling, I enjoy, I experience and I exist in the now. In fact, I have done it this way since I was nine. An old scrapbook that I have kept gives witness to this. I have travelled with my parents, alone, with friends, with my wife and children. With a rucksack, and organised, for work, for a hobby or study. It has been a defining factor in my life, though I believe I will need to limit my travelling to some extent over the coming years in connection with the environmental problems we are facing.
Nicest trip? Difficult to choose, but I think I would have to go for India and Peru. Though within Europe I have always had a soft spot for Italy and England. And Turkey, of course.
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
It came as a surprise for some people that I became involved with International education in 2005. It was no surprise to me. My wife and I have always had friends who worked in international education. When I was given the opportunity to start a bilingual department at the school where I was working, I regarded that as “international education light”. Not realizing that just a few years later I would work on the creation of an international school in Breda.
Spirituel interest
Since the birth of my children, I have involved myself again in the search for meaning. In the end, I have studied for 17 years under Gelek Rimpoche. Gelek Rimpoche was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher, born and raised in the old Tibet, who finally found his home in the United States. He taught twice a year in Nijmegen and I was virtually always there. A great source of inspiration in my life, and one of the reasons that I was involved in the organisation of the education conference with HH the Dalai Lama, Education of the Heart. I began writing a book about my spiritual quest, but that will definitely turn into a long-term project. Recently mental coach Minna Marsh interviewed me about my spiritual path.
Beatles
I can’t imagine life without music, and certainly not without the Beatles. For me, the Beatles stand for much more than just creative music. They are men of flesh and blood who, through many ups and downs, tried to make their way through life and to gain a little wisdom here and there along the way. I like to associate myself with that. At the Beatle days, which are organised annually in Liverpool, a lot comes together for me: A great international atmosphere around an endlessly fascinating phenomenon, an informal atmosphere full of connection between all ages and nationalities, and a lot of live music. I recommend it to everyone.
Naropa University
In 2015, I followed the Authentic Leadership Programme at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Naropa University was founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa. Naropa University offers a cross-over of eastern wisdom and western thinking in its curriculum. Besides western management and theories like Theory U, meditation and contemplation receive ample attention in the lessons. Combined with the breathtaking nature of the Rocky Mountains, the course gave me the feeling that time had somehow slowed down. An unforgettable experience.
For more information: https://www.naropa.edu/
Hofstede Insights
In my work as a director of an international school, I came into contact with Hofstede Insights. One of the associate partners, Candida Snow, held a workshop in the school for the whole team. A great success and an eye-opener for many. Naturally, you can’t explain everything with culture, but culture plays a major role in the interaction between people at both conscious and unconscious levels. After participating in the annual conference of Hofstede Insights I decided to follow the Intercultural Management program in order to become an accredited partner myself. Hofstede Insights is based on the academic work of Professor Geert Hofstede. The model he proposes is based on the six dimensions on which we can compare cultures together. They can help find an explanation for misunderstandings and irritations in intercultural collaboration. Ultimately, the most important insight is that multicultural teams are stronger, provided they manage to overcome a number of obstacles. In 2021 I also followed the organisation culture program of Hofstede Insights. For more information: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/
