Marc Vanderheyden

• He has over 30 years of working experience as business co-owner and manager.
• Today he uses his experience as a mentor for entrepreneurs, managers and their team.
• Marc is driven by curiosity and eagerness to understand your questions and to investigate a problem until the next step becomes available.

Unique Marc

Marc loves walking, cycling, jogging in nature, and visiting art galleries and expositions together with his partner. One of his favorite artists is Roger Raveel because of his ability to create such beautiful art in the narrow direct vicinity of his home. Art makes Marc look with wonder at what the human genius is capable of.
For years now, Marc has been learning to play the classical guitar. The concentrated effort stimulates his brain and memory and improves his physical coordination. And it has changed the way he listens to music.

Reading is also one of Marc's favorite hobbies. Fictional books must be about human relationships because of the inherent lessons in human behavior; philosophical books about humanity, e.g., ‘Non-Zero’ by Wright, Armstrong's 'The case for God' or Harari's writings. Business books are mainly about strategy like 'The Execution Shortcut’ by De Flander or organizational design and leadership, like Theory U.

Marc does not like the concept of heroes. He admires people who remain vulnerable and show generosity in their interest in others without giving advice.

He'd advise young Marc to listen more to his emotions and feelings. "Don't let others pressure you into doing things that don't feel right for you. If something drains your energy, avoid doing it, or doing it too often."

His motto is "Always stay interested." Inquisitiveness is a better word for it implies a conscious activity; it is delving deeper versus picking something up by chance. When you look at a question differently, you discover different solutions.

A good mentor can listen and observe at different levels. A mentor holds space: "I am here for you; you have all my attention."
Marc had a super mentor for twelve years at the beginning of his career. He was constantly stretched but at the same time received strong support and much space to realize the impossible. "Choose a job where you can learn most through a mentor" is his advice to everyone, even to experienced managers. Many managers are under a lot of performance pressure and believe that they have to know everything and should take all decisions. They can benefit from the support of a mentor, provided they are willing to look at themselves and change. It's okay to say that you don't have all the answers, that you are fallible. You are allowed to make mistakes. This mindset is essential for both mentee and mentor to make mentoring a success.