This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.

I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other’s stories – of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing.

Henny is someone who doesn’t follow the normal route in life. She lost both her parents at an early age and learnt quickly that life is too short to not make your own decisions. She wants to be happy and also create an environment where her teams can also learn, grow, and be happy at work. She acknowledges that she can be too hard on herself, and tries to let things go and find a balance.

You can find Henny at the below links

In the interview, Henny shares

  • Life is too short to make decisions that you don’t want to have. 
  • I also feel like no matter what happens, if I die out, I will be happy because I have the feeling that I created a positive impact on the world.
  • If you look at leaders there they’re mostly like very angry or tough people. Not exactly, always vulnerable. I do believe that people that are able to show vulnerability make sense because we’re all human beings. And if, and then we connect with each other when we’re trying to be vulnerable, when we try to open up with each other, we get more connected.
  • Our emotions and our inclusion play a bigger role in our decision-making than our rational minds.
  • it is better to also take the time for yourself. So when you’re working you’re doing the right things, because if you’re very tired, you make bad decisions and that’s not what you want to do as a leader.
  • almost all choices are reversible. So it is worse to not choose.
  • Always be learning. Always develop yourself. Always you can learn something from someone. Everybody can teach you something, be open to it, keep developing yourself, and they will also keep developing everything around you.