Exactly one year ago, on September 9th, 2022, Extra Horizon N.V. was born as a spin-off out of the womb of Qompium [FibriCheck]. After spending about a decade helping other CEOs make better strategic decisions, I accepted my first executive leader position at Extra Horizon N.V.
Many people overestimate what they can accomplish in one year, but truly underestimate what they can achieve in ten. Not even ten years ago, I was working in technical marketing roles, but I had a clear ambition for growth. Shortly after being diagnosed with ADHD, I started writing a couple of blog posts here about how to handle that new piece of information about the person I actually am. One of those things was starting to focus on my strengths, rather than trying to make up for all the things I truly suck at by “trying harder“. This is just one example of how I finally started to somewhat believe in myself. And look at where we are now … I can still hardly believe it.
The buck stops with me
One thing most CEOs have in common; the true feeling of taking the end responsibility towards the shareholders of the company, but also towards the members of their team. Like a captain is responsible for both the ship and its crew. And although I’ve been walking alongside other CEOs on their right-hand side for many years now and somewhat knew it was going to feel different, I still underestimated how much. You sleep differently the day the buck stops with you!
Sometimes people may say “if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen“, but I’ve found a better way to voice this sometimes very uncomfortable feeling.
“A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
John A. Shedd
Standing on the shoulders …
What intrinsically motivates me in life is having a positive impact on the lives of other people. Sometimes this can be just cooking them a good meal. But what better place to do this, than at the helm of a company? You literally get to create the environment in which people will spend the majority of their time.
A few weeks ago I was awarded by one of our team members with the following compliment:
“At Extra Horizon, I don’t have to FIGHT to be able to do my job. I can just DO my job.”
This message is the direct result of a lot of different efforts we have made to create a place where everyone on the team is fully empowered to make their own decisions without unnecessary oversight, make changes to our way of working, and a safe place where they feel comfortable saying whatever they feel needs to be said.
But none of those efforts are truly my ideas alone. “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe” [Carl Sagan]. I probably could not have come up with any of these initiatives without the incredible inspiration from people who came before me and wrote their thoughts into some of these books:
- The Fearless Organization – Amy Edmondson
- Radical Candor – Kim Scott
- It’s Your Ship – Cpt. Michael Abrashoff
- Empowered – Marty Cagan
- Leaders Eat Last – Simon Sinek
“Leadership is a choice, not a rank.”
Simon Sinek
Extra Credit
A special word of gratitude goes to the shareholders and co-founders of Qompium who have put their trust and faith in me as a person to take the helm of their baby ship! Thank you, Lars, Bieke, Jo, and last but definitely not least Kobe. Thank you Kobe, for embarking with me on this incredible journey together and dealing with my weirdness on a daily basis 🙂
