Gerard Baauw

The roots of Gerard Baauw (1967) lie in the agricultural sector. After studying Agricultural Business Administration, he developed through various line management roles, ranging from Procurement and Logistics, commercial and regional management to strategic and policy-based HR management. Here, he discovered his passion for the development of people and organisations. When people and organisations come together, something special happens. Without language or agenda, these two meet, whether you are aware of it or not. This meeting can either block development or propel it forward at full speed.

Within this meeting lies an important task for the leader. A leader needs a keen eye for what unfolds during the encounter. What pattern is repeating itself here? What potential is becoming visible? How does the environment influence what is possible or not? This requires a leader to be willing to move beyond loyalties and to get their hands dirty. It also calls for an awareness of one’s own membership, the place where the leader can feel ‘at home’. Only from this position can the leader act freely and bear their tasks and responsibilities.

Gerard learnt that keen eye from his father. He was an artist and would take Gerard to his studio from a young age: “That moment when he let me look and my own imagination suddenly had space and I saw more, that was something wondrous. That way of looking has helped me in leading people. Seeing the movements. Seeing what is not being touched. Seeing where it stops.”

With this, Gerard not only pays attention to the story you encounter as a leader within the organisation, but also to the story of the leader themselves. For him, systemic leadership is about how you give direction to yourself as a leader within the context of the company’s destination.