After 23 years with a single employer, CFO Janneke Hermes didn’t realise she was ready for a new step—until the profile of Koninklijke Wagenborg landed on her desk. What followed was not a leap into the unknown, but a carefully chosen course: a journey in which Bolster’s executive coaching helped her lead not only with strategic clarity, but also with intuition.
From Career Blueprint to Unexpected Journey
As a young econometrician, Janneke Hermes had a clear career plan: return to the Randstad and work for a bank. Life had other plans. An internship at Gasunie led to a 23-year career spanning multiple roles—from corporate strategy to HR and ultimately CFO.
“Every time, something new came along that I could learn a lot from,” Janneke recalls. It wasn’t until the CFO position at Koninklijke Wagenborg appeared that she felt an immediate spark: This is what I want. Not because of the title, but because it felt right—a new sector, new people, and new energy.
Why Executive Coaching for Senior Leaders Matters
Her transition wasn’t driven by a rigid career blueprint. “It just felt right, so I went for it,” says Janneke. Still, the process was intentional. Working with Bolster executive coaches Thomas Beerepoot and Andy van de Poel, she explored multiple scenarios: stay, leave, or take a middle path.
Leadership coaching for executives in this context was not a standard training programme but deep, targeted conversations starting with one powerful question: What do you really want to talk about?
- What role do you want to play in your new leadership team?
- How will you set healthy boundaries?
- Where are your opportunities for growth as a leader?
“They drilled down to the real issue—even when I didn’t know yet what it was,” says Janneke.
Pausing to Accelerate: A Leadership Discipline
For many C-suite leaders in publicly listed companies, pressure is constant: shareholders expect growth, teams expect direction. Executive coaching for senior leaders helped Janneke pause long enough to reconnect with her why.
“Bolster helped me trust what I already knew I could do, while discovering additional possibilities. That gave me freedom to manoeuvre.”
For top executives, that flexibility is vital—space to weigh options, connect with stakeholders, and make boardroom decisions that last.
Authentic Leadership as a Strategic Asset
For Janneke, authentic leadership is not a buzzword. “I can’t lead in any other way than by being myself,” she says. “If something feels right, it usually is.”
Through scenario exploration and reflective dialogue with Bolster, she made decisions aligned with her values and strategically sound.
Three ways authentic leadership strengthens C-suite performance:
- Building organisation-wide trust and buy-in
- Accelerating decision-making through clarity
- Achieving sustainable results through consistency
Bridging the Boardroom and the Front Line
Janneke believes leaders must understand what’s happening across the organisation. At Gasunie and Wagenborg, she actively engaged with people at all levels—from operational teams to shareholders. “You need to know if people feel heard. That determines whether you stay on course.”
For many senior leaders, this is challenging due to physical and cultural distance from teams. Boardroom leadership development and executive coaching at Bolster provide practical tools to close that gap without losing effectiveness.
Lessons for Senior Executives
Janneke’s story proves that intuition and strategic insight can reinforce each other.
For C-suite executives, that means:
- More impact with less noise
- Stronger collaboration with the top team
- Faster, more confident decisions in complex situations
Bolster doesn’t offer one-size-fits-all programmes, but delivers tailored executive coaching for senior leaders. Their strength lies in asking the right questions at the right moment, revealing blind spots, and expanding leadership capacity.
Janneke’s Advice to Fellow Leaders
“Trust in what you already can do, and explore the possibilities of what else might be.”
That’s what Bolster brings: not changing who you are, but expanding your leadership repertoire. For senior executives, that means more agility, sharper decision-making, and a leadership style that aligns with both personal values and organisational needs.
