Executive & Leadership Coaching · Based in the Netherlands · Working worldwide
You know how to decide. But some calls stay with you: the one you made too fast, the one you're still putting off, the one where you said yes and meant no. That's where we work.
A short, free call, no pitch. We find out if we're a fit.
The pattern
I've watched it in boardrooms, in training rooms, and at the water's edge. The setting changes; the pattern doesn't.
The decision sits on your desk for weeks. You gather more input, run one more analysis — and the moment quietly passes you by.
Pressure turns into sharpness. The team feels it before you do, and trust gets spent that took years to build.
You agree to something you never wanted — the plan, the role, the culture — and afterwards you wish you'd done it differently.
The work I care about most has two parts.
01 Taking you from bystander to action-taker.
02 And if you already act, making sure you act as yourself under pressure: decisions you're proud of, made when it counted.
Work with me
For leaders & senior professionals
A focused one-to-one engagement of six sessions. We work on the real situations on your desk — high-stakes decisions, difficult conversations, leading through change — and build the steadiness to handle the next ones without me.
Book an intro call →For leadership teams
Half-day and full-day sessions on active listening, psychological safety, and communicating under pressure — built on a decade of designing learning that people actually use, not just attend.
Ask about a workshop →Individual coaching · sliding scale
My individual coaching program for anyone stuck treading water — in a role, a pattern, a decision. Priced on a sliding scale across four tiers, because this work shouldn't depend on your salary band.
Learn about the program →Approach
Coaching, not advice. You're the expert on your situation. My job is to ask the questions that cut through the noise, hold up the mirror honestly, and keep you moving — even when it would be more comfortable not to.
Practical, not abstract. Every session ends with something you'll actually do before the next one. We measure progress in changed behaviour, not in insight collected.
Honest, with warmth. I'll push back when you need it and say the thing others won't. That's what you're paying for — and it always comes from being firmly on your side.
Floating isn't doing nothing. It's what keeps you alive long enough to choose your direction.
About
I'm Sonja — coach, learning & development professional, and trained water rescuer.
For over a decade I've designed how people learn and grow inside organisations, from global tech companies to Europe's largest lifesaving organisation. And for just as long, I've worked at the water's edge — teaching, rescuing, and learning what people are actually capable of when it counts.
That combination is my whole approach. Rescue work teaches you that panic is a pattern, steadiness is a skill, and both can be trained. Coaching is where I bring that to leaders: helping you meet the moments that matter as the person actually making the choice.
A short introductory call: you bring the situation, I bring the questions, and we find out honestly whether we're a fit.
Book an intro call