Nanna Kies

Nanna Kies
Coach, Faculty, Program Director
My pronouns are: she/her/hers
My experience and deep interests:
I am based in: Utrecht
THNK connection: Faculty, Leadership Coach

I facilitate personal and organisational change through (Executive) Coaching, Team Coaching, Supervision groups and tailored (strategic) leadership and change programs.

Prior to starting my coaching practice, ‘Safe Places,’ in 2017, I worked for more than 16 years for renowned Dutch international business schools (Rotterdam School of Management/Erasmus University and TIAS School for Business & Society) as a consultant, a program director/lead facilitator and as an executive (team) coach. I help leaders & professionals to slow down, to speed up. In a trusted setting I offer a safe space to pause and reflect on personal (or team) leadership and business challenges. To cultivate awareness. To explore and unravel our thought and behavioural patterns. To look at the question through different lenses. To experiment from a mindset of curiosity and growth. To get unstuck, to discover new possibilities for action and to accelerate growth and performance.

Over the years, I’ve worked with individuals, team & groups and corporates from over the world. With multinational stock-listed companies to family businesses, in many different industries and with people across all management levels within organisations, across departments, with intact, multifunctional and cross-hierarchical teams. It is through this breadth of experience that I’ve built a solid understanding of the world and systems my clients work in, and of the leadership challenges that they face. I’ve developed an antenna that quickly picks up on organisational and people dynamics and on behavioural patterns in the wider context.

A central theme in my work is about of ‘Safe Places’: creating a climate of psychological safety within organisations, because I strongly believe that the quality of interpersonal relationships is a key ingredient for high performance and organisational success. ‘Safe places' is about creating a climate in which people feel included, valued and respected, where people are curious and open-minded, have the courage to flourish and thrive, to speak-up and encourage others to do the same, to spur positive change around them. It allows us to tap into the collective intelligence, to tap into the diversity in its broadest sense and unleash the potential within the organisation, within and across teams, hierarchical levels and organisational borders. I see myself as an ‘experienced expert’ in the field of the inner critic: our critical inner voices that may prevent us from thriving, that may inhibit our spontaneity on our (work) relationships and our creativity in (work) life.