Laurent 0:02
The number one thing we should all do is take complete responsibility of our lives. You know, you are the CEO of their life. Well, that's not something that is going to happen overnight, but it's really something that it's a conscious and continuous effort.
Marije 0:19
Thank you for tuning in to the leadership sessions, a podcast series of conversations with guests from around the world hosted by TPC leadership. And in this series, we'll discuss how leadership is transforming. We'll talk with inspirational guests who are willing to share their personal stories and learnings with us. What are their strategies and tactics to thrive in these uncertain times and beyond? In the previous podcast, Tom Van Dyck interviewed Eelco from egg managing partner at executive search firm Amrop. And today, Tom welcomes his fellow TPC partner in Belgium Laurent Jacquet. Laurent is a former international field hockey player who believes the world needs a new generation of leaders, which led him to writing a book about exactly that, new leaders.
Tom 1:17
Hey, hi Laurent, good day. How are you today?
Laurent 1:21
I'm great, thank you.
Tom 1:22
Welcome to the podcast, Laurent we speak. We speak very often, right, we work together on a daily basis. But this was sort of a special occasion to, to invite you to sit down together and take a moment to speak about the the amazing thing you did, which was write, and then publish a book about leadership. So we know each other quite well. But perhaps you could share a bit more about yourself as an introduction to our listeners.
Laurent 1:48
Yes, of course. And thanks for having me, Tom. So, I'm, I'm 43 years old. I have I'm married. I have I'm a father of three small kids. I live in Belgium, close to Brussels in a green area. And I have a background, indeed, as a top sporter, I played for quite some years, almost 20 years, I played at the highest level of hockey. And at the same time, I also was active in large IT organizations for quite some time, I worked for Siemens, Atos, and then Accenture in different roles. But it's all somehow linked with people managing people and teams. And after that actually followed my passion and my interest in the people to try to influence and grow other leaders. And that's how I joined TPC Leadership almost three years ago, where I'm now a partner and a coach in the Belgium office. And I keep on being fascinated by everything that is related to performance and wellbeing and I'm always looking for new ways to improve myself, my life and the life of my clients.
Tom 3:05
Laurent, I just finished reading the book right, I've got it here in front of me New Leaders. It's very easy read. And what I really personally very much enjoyed about it is that it felt a little bit like a peek into your life, your professional life, especially it felt a little bit like a journey, like, to some extent auto autobiographic. So thank you for sharing that with, you know, with the world. But tell us tell us for those who haven't read the book yet, what has been your journey? And maybe specifically, how has your sports career motivated you into your mission, your personal mission of creating better leaders?
Laurent 3:45
Yeah, it really is a journey about contrasts, so that that sports background was really pivotal and really foundational to what, to the book into the person I have become now. So to tell you a bit more of my sports, you have to imagine, I was active in an in an environment in top sport where we were pushing each other to become better. We were having all sorts of adventures, traveling the world, you know, winning some cups, playing against the best in the world. We even one day we traveled for almost two weeks to Qatar on a scientific experiment, you have to imagine a place full of emotions there. We're creating strong bonds with, with some friends with the team players. So there's an incredible dynamic there. And the interesting aspect there for me was I couldn't find that back into my professional life. And that for me was very hard. I I really wanted to have that same engagement in my professional life than I had in my sports. And so I promised myself that I would do something about it. And on the other hand, I saw all these people in our large organizations that were not really engaged, and I couldn't see myself becoming these kind of people. So, I went on a quest of meaning I went on a quest of purpose. And that's how my journey started. And so this this entire sports adventure and past it for me, it was more of an incredible personal development school, I really got to know myself better in terms of who I am, what were my strengths? How did I perform in team dynamics? So that was very interesting to me. And the other sides. Over the course of the years, I also got very much interested in the roles of the coaches that we had in our team. So we saw many different coaches heading our team, and then some with great results, some, with, with, with less good results. And the interesting thing is that they all had different approaches in how they were managing the team, and the different people, how were they able to engage and create and fostering an environment where then our players were playing at their best. So I started to be very curious about that. And then if you know, at the same time, I was myself not feeling engaged in, in, in my work. So I became very curious about that those leaders in those large organizations and making this battle with the coaches, my sports team, I started to ask myself over and over that question, again, what actually makes a great leader? What is what is the formula to creating this high performing teams? And that's how actually my curiosity started. And my mission began.
Tom 6:42
Thank you. You say magic formula. Indeed, when I read the book, it almost feels like a lecture a recipe like a user guide for people to do some self-discovery, self exploration, and then to sort of, you know, find and develop and maintain the best version of themselves. But where to start? What would you say to listeners who currently are in that same starting situation, you describe on in the foreword of your book, you describe a very specific situation in 2008, when you were feeling like, totally lost, being stuck, unable to express yourself? So what would be a good starting point?
Laurent 7:23
I think that the number one thing we should all do is take complete responsibility of our lives. You know, there's this thing that says you are the CEO of their life. Well, it's exactly that. So I think I was very much stuck in, you know, in a victim role, was blaming others, blaming my circumstances, blaming my past, and that was not very helpful, it was just not a very helpful thing to do. So, I moved really from looking into the mirror and taking responsibility for everything. And that's a very hard thing to do. But a very, it's very freeing, because there's no one else to blame. But if you have wanted to change anything, well, it's on you. So that's a bit, basically, first thing to do is dropping your excuses. The second thing to do is, look looking inside. So, we all have a backpack, we were raised by our parents, and we meet friends, we have our school teachers, and they all share, you know, sort of a checklist of what we need to do of what's good, what's bad. And so the old, those are the items that are in our backpack. And the thing we need to do is to basically, open that backpack, look what's inside, and really ask ourselves, is this really mine? The things I received from my parents, the values, the beliefs, all these things. Are they really mine? What is it that I believe in so that that's really an essential second step? Because if we actually don't, we, we feel lost, we don't feel authentic, or relationships are not strong enough. And it's going to be much harder in the end to positively influence others. So, it's really that hard work of getting to know yourself. And that takes time and effort. That's not something that is going to happen overnight. But it's really something that it's a conscious and continuous effort that happens through actions through trials and errors. So, you need to be okay with making these mistakes and failing. So, for me, it's really much more of a focus on the process and less on the results. So that that is really Yeah, I think what's interesting about that journey,
Tom 9:41
So, Laurent, can you explain what drove you then specifically to writing a book about this philosophy, if I may say so? And if I'm a little bit asking you a bold question, why yet another leadership book, right, there are so many out there already. What do you what do you think? What would be a good reason for people to pick up New Leaders as a book?
Laurent 10:06
Thank you, an excellent question, actually. So, what drove me to write this book is actually dream of a world where people, you know, wake up, and they go to work, and they're extremely engaged. I think it’s; it's coming from the fact that I wasn't always engaged in my professional life. And I would wish everyone to be that. And I honestly believe that it's each and everyone's responsibility to look into that mirror, take that responsibility, and we’ll be completely engaged, find these places where you are engaged. But on the other hand, I also very much believe that leaders at all levels play a big role in creating these environments where people can thrive. And that is actually how I, you know, really became very curious about this, what is what makes a great leader, and I wanted to make a difference there. So, in my quest for what is a great leader, I found many great inspirations. But I always missed that little, little something that, that I thought was going to be very useful, which is a little complete guide, you know, that you could give to any new leader and say, hey, here's the here's the starter, this is everything you need at this moment. And that is what drove me to write this book. So yeah, I learned a lot about myself along the way. And it really forced me to clarify my own thinking. That I really believe it's, it's, it can make a difference in the world. And then answering your question related to another leadership book. I think I already partially answered that. So, there are many great books out there on leadership, and they all bring value in one way or another, through their own perspective. But as I said, I think there was not one book offering this complete little guide for new leaders. So, for these people who were good at their job, and then suddenly they were promoted, and they needed to manage a team. And there was not one book that, you know, that was emphasizing the importance of these core intentions, or this philosophy I'm mentioning, I'm still very much believe we're too much focused on the skills first, and then, you know, sometimes forgetting but what is it that we want to achieve in doing this intervention? What do I want to bring to my team? And so those core intentions were essential to me. And so basically, in terms of main difference, what people can find a new leader is, is one a complete guide. So, you can with this, you really can start and to yeah, there's this special philosophy that that helps the new leaders from tomorrow on, immediately start to have an impact on their teams.
Tom 13:07
So, you know, when I, when I hear you, you do speak about your book, New Leaders as a sort of a user guide, as a collection of some tips and tricks, maybe how to become a leader. It's funny for me, what struck me is the fact that we only start considering people as leaders from the moment they start, let's say they enter the job market. What I'm trying to say is, why is it that young professionals have to start their careers, often being under or unprepared when it comes to leadership? Why don't we make, you know, the age thresholds even lower, it feels like letting someone drive a car and only start training them how to do so. Once they're on the road? I think I guess what I'm trying to get at is could we or should we invest more in leadership development before the age of 20? Or 25? And if yes, how?
Laurent 14:05
Yeah, that's an excellent question. I think in terms of leading teams, and really being able to having that team dynamic, I think it's okay for people entering the job market or if you're 20. It's okay for them not to be fully equipped that I think that's okay. But what is not okay is, you know, the way people are equipped today, when they enter the workforce in terms of their, the way they lead themselves. So I'm a strong believer that there's quite some things we can do in order to better prepare our young generations to come better equipped to into the workforce. And I think we could invest more in having our teenagers or young adults learn some important elements around some foundational mindsets around leadership and As much as early as possible, parents can play an important role there, mainly in role modeling, because I think it's not always an easy age, when you're a young adult, you're, your parents sometimes are not very well positioned to, to pass on some messages. But I think there, there are quite some opportunities, I'm thinking of, you know, all the youth camps, or the sports camps where we could blend some sort of leadership interventions, you know, equipping these new generations with the right mindsets from the very young age, and I'm thinking of the elements that were really helpful for me, that I only got at a later stage, and I'm thinking, thinking about, you know, taking that responsibility, and linking, you know, the, your, your actions with, with the outcomes or the results, dropping these excuses. You know, having a growth mindset, those are all things that we can learn from a very young age, but our school system, or the, you know, the structure of the family doesn't always allow these messages to be passed on. And so, people enter the workforces. Not fully equipped. Last, so
Tom 16:16
We have spoken a lot about young people entering the workforce, who seemed to be the prime target audience for this book, they could, you know, read it as as, as a sort of guide towards self-discovery. Some of our podcast listeners are also more senior in an organization, would you say this book is also for them?
Laurent 16:35
Yes, absolutely. Many of the senior leaders could benefit from this book, it, it comes back to some fundamentals about leading yourself and then, you know, some key concepts in how you can take people with you. And really, because they want to follow you not because they have to. And so, some of our senior listeners, well may benefit of that, from my own perspective, I still see that many senior leaders don't master some of the fundamentals. And, and yeah, I think they could really, really benefit from that.
Tom 17:13
If I may ask one more challenging question. Your book is packed with quite concrete advice, tips, tricks, on what to do, for example, about defining your intentions by doing proper self-reflection about learning how to give and receive proper feedback, etc. I would say tips are good. But probably the most challenging thing for people for everybody, you and I included is to really, really change. How do you put things into practice?
Laurent 17:39
Yeah, I think I tried to tackle that by making the philosophy as simple as possible so that people can remember it. So the first thing in any change is that understanding it that you know, we have a new awareness of things could be, but that doesn't mean we're putting it into practice, like you just said, the way I see this is that by making things very simple, and through a lot of repetition, by the use of questions, so I really promote the use of questions such as, you know, how am I able to inspire my team this week? And what's the opportunity for me to care for my colleague today, if you're asking yourself regularly, enough of these questions around these core intentions, you will find ways on a daily and weekly basis to put this philosophy into practice. And by putting into practice, you'll see some results which will fuel again, your positive intentions and your drive to make a difference. So, it's really about those daily practices, using a simple to remember model
Tom 18:43
Laurent. Imagine you were given the opportunity to write a second book around leadership. What do you think you would be writing about?
Laurent 18:53
Either it would be a next, a next version of the New Leaders book where I would, you know, build on further case studies on how to make it even more practical, and, you know, show people how the impact was on many organizations that that's one thing, or another book that is of high interest to me is how can anyone even better manage their own state, mental state, physical state, I'm very much interested in personal leadership. You can see that in my New Leaders book as well. But I think it's it would be one of both.
Tom 19:28
Thank you. For some people listening to this podcast, it may come across as a little bit artificial or strange to hear you me us in English because they know you as a local Belgian, friend, colleague, whatever. Is there anything you would like to say either in Dutch or French to the people who've been supporting you people who have been reading your book people have been given giving you may be very interesting feedback on the book. Is there anything let's say local that you would like to add to our conversation?
Laurent 20:00
Yeah, well, I'm just going to continue in English, but indeed, to my, to my, my team, to my friends, to my colleagues and to everyone close to me, I think that my main message to you is, you actually were my inspiration. So, it is incredible to see how people evolve and are able to impact others just in my small, close or large network around me and see how difference they can make. And for me that that itself was the biggest source of inspiration to write this book. So, I say thank you to them.
Tom 20:38
If people have become curious and wants to read your book, where should they go? Where could they find it?
Laurent 20:43
So, they can find more information on my book and on some of the services we offer on laurentjacquet.com. And there's, yeah, everything should be on there.
Tom 20:54
Fantastic. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you for sharing your views on developing future leaders. Thank you for having shared the book with the world. And thank you for your time today.
Laurent 21:06
Thank you for having me.
Marije 21:10
We hope that you enjoyed listening to this leadership conversation. And we would love to hear from you and continue the conversation with you. So please send any comments questions or suggestions for a next leadership session to podcast@TPCleadership.com. This podcast was offered to you by TPC leadership. And please know that the guests that we interviewed during this series share their own views, they do not talk on behalf of the organization that they're part of. For more podcasts, please visit the TPC website, TPC leadership.com forward slash insights. Thank you for listening