I started the first of three companies when I was 28 after moving from Sydney to Amsterdam and recruited and managed more than 70 people before embarking on my current career as a coach in 2020. I have always been strong on self efficacy, developing people, empathy and courage.
I’m Mark, an Aussie living for more than 25 years in Amsterdam, and one of the few that is fluent in Dutch (up there with my greatest accomplishments ).
I am a dad of a daughter I call supergirl, an avid reader and autodidact and am a fan of stoicism and psychology in the broadest sense. People describe me as sharp, empathetic, quick thinking, impatient and motivational. Also humorous, level headed and unconventional.
Designing (self) leadership programmes that go deeper than the surface level AND have a fun and enjoyable element brings me joy. Coaching individuals and teams, whether trainees or senior executives, brings out the best in me.
Regardless of age, irrespective of our relative success and independent of the life phase we find ourselves in, we all have many things in common:
We want to be seen. And loved. Unconditionally.
We want to feel useful, to contribute and give back.
We want to explore what makes us tick.
We want to stretch ourselves.
We want to overcome the saboteurs holding us back from our desires and goals.
We want to achieve balance.
I work every day to make a tiny, empowering difference to those people I coach, train or meet for a drink. It’s what gives me purpose and peace, it’s what contributes to my own development as a human, dad, son, friend and brother. And god father to 4 children and dog father to 3 dogs.
In 2016 and 2017 the catalyst that would lead me to dive full time into coaching occurred. In the space of a year, I lost my dad in Australia, one of my closest friends took his life in Spain, and my daughter, who was 10 at the time, suffered a heavy brain hemorrhage at school. That really changed her life. And mine. It was transformational.
That hemorrhage took much from her and still asks so much of her. For me, that year created a new perspective to level up the impact I was wanting to make on the world. As a man, I had trouble feeling deeply or identifying emotions. Trauma was dealt with in a practical manner, looking for solutions and answers. And blame.
I starting learning how compassion, love, commitment, and courage can transform lives for the better. I expanded my self awareness that complements the natural solution-oriented side of me to better understand myself and my clients, to see through the lens of the other, whether a trainee, a seasoned executive or an entrepreneur.
I suspect that earlier in my life I had taken things for granted. Success. Money. Friendships. Family. I suffered from the same beliefs that my clients often do: FOMO, FOBO, fear of failure, fear of attachment, fear of scarcity. Searching for happiness in work, achievements, advancements, vacations.
Today it feels different. There is a strong sense of purpose, of being enough and OK. Of being able to give and receive love. To say no. To explore my spiritual side and integrate it with all the practical tools learned from the varied studies I have undertaken and the people with whom I have worked.
My coaching style mixes embodiment and pragmatism with a serving of humour and provocation. It’s where my motto comes from: Play with Passion and Purpose. It’s an approach I consciously bring to group work and workshops, an ethos I apply across my life.
2023
Coaches Rising Leadership presence certificate
DISC certification
MAPSTELL certification
2022
ORSC Organisational Relationship and Systems Coach certificate
2020
GTCI team coaching certificate accreditation
2020
ICF certified coach PCC, CPCC Co-Active Coaching institute
2019
Voice Dialogue certificate
2017
Coaching and Therapy certificate Dutch academy for psychotherapy
2016
NLP timeline therapy & NLP practitioner
You bring honesty, commitment, and curiosity. I’ll bring a big, gold-edged mirror so you can see who you really are.
