Els Van Humbeeck

>20 years of experience in operations, people, project, change & Hr management in media, IT, HR & security

Founder of a company in Belgium (leadership, coaching) & Spain (market research, business suport & Hr)

Generalist, always looking for the broader picture, committed, compassionate, facing the brutal facts, always learning, putting things in perspective

I'm a yogi and nature lover. I love good food and nice wines. Reading books, fiction and non-fiction, and old-fashioned newspapers (on paper off course!) really relaxes me. As does watching good fantasy or historic fiction series or films. I love travelling, mainly to admire nature and culture. I'm the lady of the house I share with my husband, two teenage boys and cat Wolf. I'm not the worshipping kind so there aren't a lot of people I would call my hero. Simon Sinek comes close, as does Brené Brown (if it weren't for the heavy American accent). My husband as well, for reasons I won't get into because it would take to long.

My motto I stole from Pipi Langkous: I've never done it before so I'm sure I'll be good at it! Not because I'm so self-confident. But because I think you should never be afraid of trying out something new. Stepping out of your comfort zone is kind of a thing for me. I moved to Spain with my family, not as an expat, but because we wanted to. 'Live your own life', and 'Take control of your own life' could be two other motos. I would tell my 23 year old self to work on my confidence and listen to my gut feelings more.

I'm a mentor because I love inspiring other people. I want to bring more positive thinking and a 'cando' mentality into the world. If by mentoring others, I can do my bit, I'm a happy woman. I also learn so much from mentoring people. I admire the willingness to open up and be vulnerable. I have tremendous respect for people who are willing to work on themselves and their future. As a coach and mentor I believe it's important to have my own coach and mentor, so I have. But before in my career I only had unofficial mentors in some great bosses or colleagues. I believe it could have helped me a great deal having an 'official' mentor.