In conversation with Dr Karen Duys

Familiar places

Preparing my e-dialogue with Dr. Karen Duys, senior consultant to local and national Dutch governmental organizations and an entrepreneur, was challenging and inspiring at the same time. Both of us are more than familiar with the one of the most dynamic cities of The Netherlands, Rotterdam, since we both live by the mantra 'roll up your sleeves and get it done'. This represents the mindset and attitude of Rotterdam folks. I dove into my mental library to rediscover the memories of my Dutch ‘lives’ which were somewhere stored in the back of mind.

When you work for the Dutch government, you need to know and understand the ever-changing political trends and dynamics (national as well as international), the informal Dutch and European culture (we know ours) and to be able to think in multiple scenarios. Before deciding which scenario would be most effective one, you need to anticipate the impact of the future paths you will most likely pave. Moreover, it’s not just estimating the impact on regional level. As an international advisor like Dr. Karen, you need to keep in mind plausible consequences of the impact far beyond Dutch borders which is a skill on its own. It also means navigating through different cultures, dealing with the personalities of political gurus and adjusting her advice to the variety of political programs.

Flexibility and creativity

We started our e-meeting by talking about the Women Economic Forum (WEF - New Delhi) in which she plays a major role as the country manager of Education, Employment and Scholarship. As a global advisor in the same area, I listened to her ambitions for the coming years. After I took my last sip of my cup of coffee, I decided we needed to stick to the actual purpose of our conversation all about Female Leadership and Managing Change and the required flexibility and creativity in order to survive in the jungle of political parties.

'Where did you learn that typical professional flexibility and outstanding creativity to navigate through all those labyrinths of governmental organizations?’,

I asked her during our e-meeting in September 2023.

'Well Marianne', she replied, ‘on one hand it has become easy after 25 years plus of in-depth experiences, both nationally and internationally’. As you know, you don't learn these life lessons by the book in high schools or Universities. On the other hand, you need to have the experience of this feeling ‘not-knowing-what-to-do’. What I mean with that is how do you get yourself back on track after a dramatic experience while you try not to lose your identity'

She mentioned her book 'Dual of Duel' in which she has written the most of her dynamic experiences as a member of the Municipality of Rotterdam, as a leader of a political party, and as a member of the confidential committee for the selection of the Mayor of Rotterdam, Mr. Aboutaleb.

She continued her story after a little pause, while going back into her own memories.

'I know myself as Karen more or less, how she feels and how she gets the job done. I have left my family at a very early age to get to know myself better. At the age of 18 I looked out for new adventures to discover the 'real Karen' which was a major step in my early life. A step I never regretted. It was kind of setting up a start-up in my personal life: all those classic business plan criteria played a major role in keeping myself on track. At the end I succeeded! Interesting is, Marianne, you learn several competences without having a choice. In my opinion, that is the best school one can think of. I've learned competences in both my personal and professional life and I can say with pride that I manage these competences well, till today. Speaking of change and leadership, in my experience these two concepts are developed on a personal level: once you have managed change in your personal life, you will manage change in your professional life. That’s a fact.’

Dr Karen, who received the honorary Doctorate degree of Philosophy from Rai University Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India due to her exceptional dedication to improve the lives of others, is not only an active professional in The Netherlands. She travels frequently to India to support her organizations. She is the founder and President of the European India Connection, a Dutch - Indo organisation that works and builds international networks of organizations committed to sustainable projects. Last but not the least she is the founder of a non-profit organization 'Planet Hope' which initiates educational and empowerment programs and provides vocational education, training, support, and scholarship programs in different communities in Karnataka and other states in India. With a degree in Public Administration, having studied in Rotterdam and Leiden, Dr Karen believes that The Netherlands can learn from the innovation and strengths that manifests itself in India. An accomplished woman in my eyes with never a dull moment in her life.

Keeping all these experiences on professional expertise in Public governmental areas, entrepreneurship and managing her own family as well, Dr. Karen is passionate about providing her support including coaching to political leaders who are exploring next steps in their professional roles.

'As I shared with you Marianne, life lessons are not written in books which you can learn by heart. A part of my passion is to support political leaders in their next steps of being responsible for different parts of society. I'm eager to teach them how to anticipate the impact of their behavior because politically sensitive topics need a balanced strategy on forehand to achieve maximum results. That means including partners that are involved, deciding on which scenarios make sense intuitively and taking full responsibility of the results if the outcome is not as expected. A political career has a huge overlap with a personal 'career': your own personal development to become a mature human being. That's what I believe in, and I know I can support others in this journey.’

After sharing experiences about India, its working culture, habits, and endless opportunities, I asked Dr. Karen before wrapping up:

what are your tips for female colleagues, working in the field of managing change as a leader as well?

Ah, nice question Marianne! Let me be straightforward in my answer:

• Try to keep balance in your professional and personal life. There will never be a standard formula for that. You simply need to find out the best formula that works for you.
• Secondly, do not copy men but learn from them instead.
• Thirdly, take time to reflect on where you currently stand and where you see yourself in the next phases of life. If you don't reflect, others will determine where you stand for and what your next destination will be.

After these great insights, I slowly wrapped up our conversation with some recommendations. At times you need to change your role from a leader to a coach, knowing that others need to learn from you as an experienced professional who is and has never been afraid of leading change processes and its unpredictable character.