Video – How did Michiel embrace his more strategic role at Amista?

In this episode of the Kanaal Z series Leadership in Action (in Dutch), Michiel Neefs shares how he found a new balance in his strategic role. “I love working, and I work a lot – but it still has to be fun.”

Michiel Neefs, BU Manager Integrated Technologies, Amista: “My biggest challenge right now? For that, I have to go back a few years to when I started here. I began as a functional consultant, but within a few weeks, I found myself in a technical team. Over the past five years, I’ve worked as a developer, in project management, pre-sales... A wide variety of roles. It’s what made things so exciting and interesting. But that’s also my pitfall—because I’m interested in so many things, I tend to take on a lot, and people know how to find me quickly when there’s a problem. Now I’m in a much more strategic role, and I find it challenging to let go of the operational side.”

Gerrit Sarens, Leadership Expert at Ambits: “As a new leader, once you let go of your operational role, your priorities shift. I like to refer to elephants and rabbits. Elephants are the important strategic things managers should focus on; rabbits are all the distractions: putting out fires, colleagues with constant questions. It’s vital to clear the rabbits so you have time for the elephants.”

Michiel: “I have seven team members. And it’s really about finding the right balance: what responsibilities can I delegate to them, and what still needs to remain with me as BU Manager?”

Gerrit: “Delegating doesn’t mean simply handing something off and never looking at it again. True delegation is asking: what do my people need to carry this out independently? By delegating smartly, you not only free up space in your own schedule. You also help your team grow.”

Michiel: “The first few months in my new role, I was on cloud nine. I thought it was fantastic. There were so many new things to try, and I had that Superman feeling: ‘I’ll just take it all on.’ But at the same time, I was still working on a few projects as a developer while stepping into my new role. So, it was a real transitional period. And in hindsight, I think I let that period drag on a bit too long.”

Gerrit: “Making time for the big, important strategic matters means organising your schedule differently. We always advise leaders to block time for this early in the day, rather than falling into the trap of ‘just answering ten emails first’ or ‘quickly checking in with a colleague.’ Before you know it, it’s midday and the most productive part of your day is gone.”

Kris Andriaenssens, CEO Amista: “We invest in leadership development by offering our people a tailor-made leadership programme. We also provide one-on-one coaching, giving them tools they can apply in their daily roles.”

Michiel: “We just wrapped up our eight-month Leadership Navigator programme. It covered impactful communication, setting priorities, and more. I found it incredibly valuable to not only learn the theory but also put it into practice and figure out what works for me personally. On top of that, I’ve received personal coaching from Amista, where we zoom in one-on-one, like on managing and keeping control of my schedule. And of course, we have key people within the company I can always turn to. And I hope they see me the same way too.”

Kris: “I think investing in these kinds of programmes adds huge value to the company. It boosts performance and encourages employee retention. With our growth, we see managers who used to lead two or three team members now leading teams of ten, fifteen, or even twenty. That requires a different skill set and approach.”

Michiel: “I’ve noticed I’ve grown a lot over the past few months, but it’s definitely an ongoing learning process. I love my job. I work a lot. But it still needs to be enjoyable. I think the fun factor is really important. Not just for me, but for the team too. As a leader, I hope I can act as the glue that holds us together, so we can keep doing great work and stay motivated – myself included.”