About me | René Diepeveen training and coaching

Background, passion and development

Since 2008 I have been working as a coach and trainer in leadership, personal development and collaboration. Before that I had a corporate career in Marketing, Sales and Supply Chain Management at multinational companies such as Procter & Gamble, Perfetti Van Melle and Délifrance. During my 14 years at those companies, I learned what it is like to work in senior leadership roles in very different corporate cultures.

I am fascinated by human behavior and the origins of that behavior: why do people do what they do, why do they make the decisions they make? As a young man I wanted to better understand the world and I hoped as a business engineer to find answers in mathematics and engineering. Soon I transferred and focused more on the human side and was able to find some of that fascination about human behavior in marketing and sales. In the wonderful profession that I now pursue, I get to focus entirely on people and their motivations.

Evidently, the choices I made in work and life, have also been driven by my own development. When I was 28, I came to an insight which in retrospect has been a turning point in my life: I had ticked off all the boxes of my bucket list with a good career, a house of my own, a great partner and a beautiful daughter, but still something was missing and I did not feel complete nor satisfied. That was the beginning of a quest and development path in which I learned that I have a body, that the most beautiful things in life are often not tangible but mostly about feelings (happiness, love, gratitude, etc), and an enormous expansion of my worldview occurred.

Decades of trainings and workshops in the fields of body-centered work, systemic work, Buddhism and Hinduism, energetic work, meditation, non-dualism, shamanism, anthroposophy, and food forests (agro forestry) later, I am still living happily together with the partner I once met in my student days, we live in two places in the middle of nature, and I divide my time between guiding people, living with people, and being in nature.

To develop one's effectiveness is to grow to Personal Leadership. It is about understanding oneself, about empathy and about intention.

Clients about me

When feeling the need to reflect and consider my ambitions for the years ahead, René was the perfect coach for me. In just a couple of sessions he was able to structure my thoughts, to get to the core of my doubts, and to help me realise that I could unite conflicting motivations and objectives. There is not a week passing without me reconnecting with insights I had during our sessions.

Daniël Lakens
Associate Professor, TU Eindhoven

As a social entrepreneur, I find Rene a very insightful mind and coach who helps me tie together the various aspects of my business. Rene brings back wholeness and comprehension instead of dissecating, analyzing, segmenting. This helps our team a great deal advancing further in our mission in a healthy way.

Ingrid Cayet
CEO and Founder, Madaga - The Great Little Foods company

René has a great personality and is a great 'activator' - he does not speak/interact from a place of authority, but instead relates to people on a personal level which I find to be highly effective and it is very aprreciated. Very revealing course. I would recommend it to everyone.

Assistant Professor, TU Eindhoven
regarding Rene's Academic Leadership Course

With Salt Farm Texel, we worked hard with René between 2015 and 2017 to give this startup a good foundation. René has contributed enormously to this. In the development of the business models, but especially in coaching the team with diverse characters. Here you notice René's experience, knowledge, expertise, reliability and humanity. With a gentle, compelling hand, he always knows how to get to the heart of the matter. His famous opening question “How are you today?” creates a setting where not only the business viewpoints are exchanged, but also the human ones. Therein lies René's added value.

Robin Konijn
CFO Salt Farm Texel / Silt Trial Farm

René was able to listen very well in a very short time and to sense what was needed to get to the heart of the matter. Quiet, clear, creating space. Balance between clear thinking and warm feeling.

Bianca de Ruiter
teacher

I have worked regularly together on assignments with Rene since 2010 for various Sinclair Group clients. During that time, I have learnt that Rene has the ability to quickly get to the root of an issue, be it with individuals or the interaction of a group of people. This skill, combined with his strong interpersonal skills set gives him the ability to coach both senior individuals, as well as leadership teams, towards common goals in a subtle but very effective manner"

Steve Martin
European Director, Strategy and Operations Management at the Sinclair Group

For more than 18 months I worked intensively and very pleasantly with René. A professional at heart who does not lose sight of the human dimension during sometimes difficult and confronting situations. René brings it back to the essence and leads the group to the desired outcome that is widely supported. He summarizes and fortunately does not hesitate to put his input forward. Prepares thoroughly and ensures an optimal result in the right atmosphere. Exceeds expectations.

Adriaan Verbeek
Dirigo International

René is a pleasant guy who is very good at getting a process moving, helped by the right intonation. He is knowledgeable and incisive, and strict when necessary. He knows how to bind and fascinate.

Anton Kersten
Director of Operations South Stork Technical Services

In the couple of months that I had the privilege to be coached by Rene we managed to achieve a major change in the way I work and feel about my work. I deliberately say “we” because to me it feels like we were in it together. Rene has the rare and powerful combination of being a warm and empathic person who is at the same time pragmatic and gets straight to the heart of the matter. It allows him to offer both support and direction, and provide the coachee with lots of new insight, self-confidence and practical tools that are immediately applicable.

Coachee
Assistant Professor, TU Eindhoven

What I admire in Rene's way of training and coaching is his ability to be gentle and powerful at the same time. He is lovingly and openly present, while keeping a firm grip on leadership. This ensures that those he trains/coaches can be vulnerable in the confidence that he keeps the goal in mind and continues to direct them accordingly.

Coachee
TNO