To complete our mission toward 100% impact projects, we need a diverse team of consultants. With different expertise, backgrounds, and personalities. Let’s meet our team of consultants. What motivates performance consultant Lieke van den Dungen in her assignments?

Can you tell us something about your work?

Currently, I’m involved in a big performance improvement project for a power grid operator, Enexis. I’m helping the teams who are responsible for building, securing, and maintaining large power stations. As you may know, our electricity grid needs expand quickly to incorporate more renewable energy sources in our energy system. Think of new solar and wind parks. There’s so much to do for Enexis, but there’s also a shortage of technically skilled staff. My role is to help the teams improve their performance so that they can handle the workload better. Enabling them to speed up the transition towards a sustainable energy system.

What does a project like this entail?

Last year, we started our work with this unit’s management team. First, we translated Enexis’ bigger strategy and programs to this unit’s situation. We helped the managers to formulate their own ambitions and goals. We also set up a structure to separate their daily operations from improvement projects. Also, we helped them to manage those projects. Now, I’m doing the same in several teams within this unit. Learning everyone how to keep improving their teams’ performance.

What makes performance improvement projects so interesting?

It’s the perfect combination of our ‘head and heart’ philosophy at Been Management Consulting. Performance management is about creating structure (the head part), but also about behavior (the heart side). There’s a lot of change management involved too. It’s really satisfying to take these teams on board of this journey and see how they put everything into practice in the end. To be involved in the development of these teams.

“My role is to help teams improve their performance, enabling them to speed up the transition to a sustainable energy system.” – Lieken van den Dungen

How about your own development, how does that work?

I like working with people a little longer and form good relationships. So, these kinds of long-term projects really suit me. Here at Been Management Consulting, people take this into account when looking for a new project for me. There’s also lots of opportunities to develop yourself through trainings, intervision, coaching, and from learning from more experienced colleagues. Last year, I wanted to learn more performance improvement methods and my coworker Roderick took me along on his workshops. Great!

We say, you can put sustainability first in your work. How does that work for you?

At Been Management Consulting, we’re committed to let all our projects contribute to a better world. I find it satisfying to contribute to a sustainable energy system in my current project. As a certified B Corp, we do a lot about social responsibility too. Personally, I’m super interested in vitality at work. Last year, I set up our internal vitality program. Creating awareness for the importance of mental and physical health at the workplace, but also supporting healthy habits at the office. This is just as much part of ‘using business as a force for good’.