The power of female leadership: Petra van Zeeland

"More women than men work at Morgens Conclusion," says Petra. "And in the healthcare sector, where I carry out assignments, I also meet many female colleagues. I started as the only woman in the Management Team. A second woman is now part of the MT. I consider that a positive development."

Petra's roots are in the healthcare sector. Petra: "After working at Erasmus MC for 14 years, I switched to Morgens Conclusion. I started here as a senior consultant and after a year I was asked to become a director. In the meantime, I have been working at Morgens Conclusion for 7 years with great pleasure."

Integrating perspectives

According to Petra, the importance of female leadership is mainly about creating different perspectives. "For me, diversity, inclusivity and complementarity are crucial. It's not just about the differences between men and women, but about integrating diverse perspectives to achieve the most valuable results," says Petra.

When it comes to leadership in general, Petra sees connection, entrepreneurship and sensitivity as valuable qualities. "They are just as much of added value for male managers as for female ones. There is no distinction in that."

We asked Petra about her style of leadership. "I am connecting, have a listening ear, give direction, am enterprising and focus on results, but also give a lot of autonomy to people. My motto is: "the content, soft on the relationship"."

Balance is not always easy

Creating a good work-life balance, how do you do that? Petra: "To be honest? That is not always easy. But that mainly says something about me as a person and is no different for male leaders than female leaders. Because there is really a good work-life balance to be created. I get and feel all the space for this. My own ambition and drive means that I have to pay extra attention to this. I consciously go to sports, am there when the children get up, am at home with dinner at least two nights a week, help with football training and love to crawl on the couch in the evening with a cup of tea with a book or Netflix series. The latter just doesn't happen enough."

Mommy lunch

Petra does not see herself as a role model for other women. Petra: "No, but I know that colleagues think so and experience it that way. So unconsciously I make an impact through my actions. I will continue to do what I do. For example, at Morgens Conclusion we have introduced a mommy lunch. Many employees struggle with that work-life balance when having (young) children. We exchange experiences and ideas without obligation and without inhibition. For example, we encourage working from home to reduce CO2 emissions and to improve the work-life balance, but also to build up working hours after returning from maternity leave.

According to Petra, in order to increase the share of women in top positions, a conscious hiring policy is needed. "Recognizing what the strengths of women are and creating opportunities to maintain the balance as a top woman."

What’s next?

Making a social impact plays a major role in Petra's ambitions. Petra says: "I want to continue to make an impact in the healthcare world, so that there is accessible, affordable and appropriate care for every citizen, patient and client. Together with colleagues from Morgens Conclusion and Conclusion. We still have a big world to inspire, innovate and improve to achieve sustainable change in the sector!"