René de Baaij
Developing people. Strengthening organisations.I am a coach, counsellor and adviser to executives and teams. For leadership, collaboration, organisational design and strategic transformation with AI.
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René de Baaij MCM
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+31 (0)6 41 92 42 75
Mail: rene@dbvp.nl
A great deal is coming our way. Geopolitics, climate, society. And AI, which is already changing how we work, decide and collaborate. All of this asks a lot of the resilience of people and organisations.
Meanwhile, you give direction. You choose, take responsibility and deliver results. And you want your people to stay healthy and engaged, and AI to strengthen them rather than replace them.
Much of this succeeds on routine and experience. But some questions keep chafing. How do we work together, with each other and with AI? What does that do to our craftsmanship, our judgement and the way we meet one another?
Such questions call for a pause. For enquiry and reflection, together with the people you work with. That is where learning that lasts begins. That is where the strength of your team and your organisation grows.
That is where I stand beside you. As coach, counsellor and adviser, with extensive experience in leadership, organisational development and the impact of AI. Sometimes as an ally, sometimes as the voice of challenge. I question, mirror and guide, and name what would otherwise remain unspoken. So that you do not merely stay standing, but grow stronger.
Sometimes the question lies in the design itself: in strategy, structure, processes or governance. Then I design alongside you, based on proven organisational principles and together with experienced senior professionals from the DBVP network. Structure and meaning belong together.
DBVP works with a strategic AI developer. Together we bring about strategic transformation with AI, from first design to everyday practice. I guide the leadership and the change process it calls for, so that your people keep the judgement and ownership that working with AI demands.
René de Baaij
Meaning
People, collaboration and leadership. Development from within.
Personal and engaged.
A confidential space for who you are behind the role. You find calm, direction and the courage to choose.
Collaboration as it is meant to be.
Your team holds each other to account again. Decisions are made faster and carried better. Less energy is lost to friction.
Setting people in motion.
Your people take ownership. Change is embraced, not imposed. Your influence reaches beyond your role.
Learning intelligently as an organisation.
Your organisation learns faster than its environment changes. AI delivers gains without losing your people. Renewal that lasts.
Strategy, system and people as one.
Your AI solution fits the way your organisation actually works. Your people help build it and keep their judgement. What gets built also gets used.
Structure
Strategy, design and governance. Healthy organisations built on sound organisational principles.
From direction to design.
Your organisation fits your direction. The top stands behind the choices. The design is well-founded and explainable.
A structure that serves the work.
Your organisation is grouped around the customer and the work, not around positions. Teams solve what they encounter themselves. Fewer hand-offs and less coordination are needed.
Work that flows without detours.
Your processes run from customer request to result, across departments. Everyone can see where the work stands and where it chafes. Improvement becomes part of the work itself.
Clear on who decides, on what and on what basis.
Mandates match responsibilities. Meetings are set up for decisions. Board, supervision and management know what they may expect of one another.
AI built in, not bolted on.
You know where AI works in your processes and where human judgement decides. Data, oversight and responsibility are clearly assigned. You comply with the rules without the work getting stuck in them.
Active nationally and internationally, in the public and private sectors, in professional services and industry, in finance and healthcare.
Bespoke AI, from first question to working system
Together with a strategic AI developer, we deliver AI solutions that fit how your organisation actually works. They design and build the system. I guide the leadership and the change, so that your people genuinely carry it.
Understanding first.
We map your process with the people who do the work every day. Where does it chafe, what can AI resolve there, and what should stay in human hands? You receive honest advice on the approach, even if it turns out you need no new software at all.
Made to fit.
With your end users, we design the new process and the data, integrations and permissions it requires. Where it helps, we start with a clickable prototype. You see in advance how it works and what it changes in the daily work of your people.
Built and owned.
In short cycles, a working version is ready each time, so you steer while it is being built. Your people test along and receive training. I guide the change on the work floor, so that the system is actually used.
Secure and learning.
Hosting, security, monitoring and support are taken care of, and the code and data remain yours. Meanwhile, we look together at where process, system and collaboration can grow further.
Already built something with AI yourself? Then we make it secure and stable for real users, or first assess where it stands. Read about the approach → Plan an exploratory conversation →
Do you recognise this?
You have set the direction and presented the plans. But the organisation is still set up for the previous direction. Work falls between departments and decisions keep coming back to the table.
You talk a lot about AI, about acceleration, about the future. And yet the silence grows where it matters most.
You see people who work hard and are loyal. And yet energy is lost to friction and avoidance. Sometimes you need someone to name from the outside what has become invisible from within.
How I work
Every organisational question is ultimately also a human question. I work on and with organisations. Because a design that is not personally carried does not last.
Nothing of value comes about alone. What counts is what happens in the space between people. I stand beside you and together we take on the questions that matter most.
An organisation is a working community with a design. Structure without meaning does not last. Meaning without structure stays non-committal. I work on both, so the organisation comes into its own and can do its work well.
What clients say
"Sharp on the substance, but above all on what we ourselves were avoiding."
Director, public sector"He is present at the moments that count. Not with advice, but with the question you did not dare to ask yourself."
CIO, financial sector"What sat under the table came onto the table. And suddenly we could choose."
COO, industry
What I can offer
You regain calm and perspective. You choose more deliberately. You lead from who you are, not on autopilot.
You regain trust and direction. You speak openly with one another. You work together from a shared purpose, not from separate islands.
You regain energy and momentum. Your people take responsibility themselves. You lead by giving direction, not by controlling.
You regain grip and agility. Your organisation learns faster. You use AI to support human judgement, not to replace it.
You regain coherence. Direction, structure and governance point the same way. Your organisation is set up for the work it has to do.
You regain overview. Work flows from customer request to result. You see where it chafes before it escalates.
You regain clarity. Everyone knows who decides and on what. Meetings produce decisions, not repetition.
You regain control. AI has a place in process, structure and governance. Responsibility stays with people.
Situations you may recognise
Public sector
- Situation An executive team divided on course that increasingly held back from challenging one another.
- Intervention Guidance in the avoided conversations. Clear mandate, explicit ground rules.
- Result Fewer meetings, better decisions. A team that challenges one another again.
Financial sector
- Situation A board that had set up AI governance but found the organisation disengaging.
- Intervention Surface and undercurrent connected. Governance design adjusted so that learning becomes possible.
- Result More ownership at every level. Governance as a workable framework.
Industry
- Situation After a reorganisation, managers were hesitant and waiting.
- Intervention The managers' own development placed at the centre.
- Result A management team that looks ahead again. The organisation followed.
Professional services
- Situation Self-managing teams turned out not to be self-managing in practice.
- Intervention Professional identity and self-worth strengthened.
- Result Teams that function independently as intended. More enjoyment in the work.
Recent thinking
I write regularly about leadership, organisation and the impact of AI on people and work. No newsletter, no noise, only pieces that are about something.
uātēs the art of leadership
As initiator and founder I take part in uātēs, a collaboration of experienced organisational professionals focused on leadership and organisational development. uātēs works from the conviction that leadership is a craft that calls for continual deepening.
The name uātēs refers to the ancient poet-seer: the one who speaks what others see but do not say. That is the heart of leadership, and the heart of our collaboration.
From uātēs we developed uātēs Lux, an AI-driven conversation partner for leaders and organisational professionals. Not a generic chatbot, but a considered partner that thinks from the complexity of real work.