I know your field of work inside out

Healthcare, science and biotech place high demands on people. High pressure, complex interests, and collaboration where not everything is said. The specifics may vary, but the pattern is often the same: people hold back, and that costs energy, trust and results.

With over twenty years’ experience in these sectors, you don’t need to explain to me how things work in your organisation. This means we can get to the heart of the matter more quickly.

Healthcare

When I refer to the healthcare sector, I am talking about hospitals, university medical centres, care homes for the elderly and people with disabilities, and home care.

Psychological insecurity also occurs in healthcare institutions. For example, a trainee medical specialist who is belittled by a manager or colleagues. Who is not allowed to be critical. And if they are, they are reprimanded for it. Or when someone asks a question and is told: “You know that, don’t you!?” Nurses who are snapped at when they point out to a doctor that a medicine should have been prescribed according to the protocols, but wasn’t. This puts the patient’s safety at risk.

Science

In the academic world, power dynamics are often very different, with the head of department also serving as a professor. Dissent, or a different opinion or perspective, from someone at a lower level in the hierarchy is not always appreciated. For example, a supervisor might say to a PhD student: “You’re doing this simply because I say so.”

During a workshop for researchers (which I helped organise), they found it very strange to be given the task of deliberately organising dissent. There was quite a lot of resistance. If you don’t feel safe within an organisation, that can be very nerve-wracking. That’s why they arranged for a buddy to be on hand to support them.

Biotech

The various bioscience parks are home to a concentration of biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Within these companies, there is intense pressure to deliver good results. It proves difficult for staff and managers to discuss a lack of results or failed experiments with one another in order to learn from them, or to acknowledge that the development of technology can yield disappointing results. Leaders feel the pressure from investors and shareholders, who are keen to see positive – and preferably rapid – results. In this sector, the development process takes years before a product actually reaches patients and is launched on the market.

The director, who is surprised that staff do not dare to pop into his office, says that ‘his door is always open’. However, it turns out that he himself never visits the shop floor or the labs to have a chat with people about how they are getting on, what their needs are in their work, and to really listen to them.

Testimonials

4 / 5

7 reviews

Marianne is a very pleasant and knowledgeable coach, with whom I feel very much at ease. I’ve been seeing her for a number of years now and am very satisfied with the way she coaches me. She connects well with who I am and with my questions, and she challenges me to reflect and take action. I’ve learnt a great deal from her over the past few years.

Judith Uiterwijk

After a hectic period at work where I was thoroughly criticised by a director, I lost my self-esteem. Thanks to Marianne’s support, I managed to get back on my feet and learnt to stand up for myself better. I was also inspired by an excellent leadership training course.

Marcel van den Eng

Marianne is a warm and empathetic coach who holds up a mirror to you in a positive way. With her, you feel safe and understood, even when confronted with deeper, often unconscious patterns. She guides you with care to become aware of these patterns and helps you let go of habits that aren’t working. Thanks to the full programme I completed with her, I have made noticeable and lasting progress in my mental health.

Frank de Jongh, doctor

I’m glad I chose Marianne and followed my intuition. I’m most grateful for her recommending the book *Positive Intelligence* by Shirzad Chamine. Inspired by this book, I started the online Mental Vitality Programme, and my coach, Marianne, guided me through it. I am also very satisfied with the way she helped me gain insight into my own strengths and qualities. I also really appreciated that Marianne took the initiative to check in with me from time to time to see how I was getting on and also drew my attention to practical matters.

C.E.

Thanks to our fruitful conversations, I soon realised that I’d taken on too much (both at work and in my personal life). It turned out I was suffering from burnout. Marianne was a great help to me during this difficult time. And the great thing is that Marianne is also very adept at adapting and can intuitively sense what is important and necessary at any given moment. Marianne has given me many insights on a number of points, which I find very valuable and which can bring me even closer to my goals in the future.

M.S.

Marianne’s team coaching has made a very positive contribution to team spirit. Team members are more aware of their communication patterns, and communication amongst the team has improved significantly. We now engage in much more dialogue with one another and are working constructively to improve our collaboration.

CK, Director

I’ve been seeing Marianne for years, and that really says it all. She has taught me to reflect: to pause where I used to rush straight through, and to look at situations through different eyes. In quiet periods, she gets me thinking; in challenging times, she brings calm.

What makes Marianne special is her combination of genuine commitment and professional expertise. She listens without judgement, asks exactly the right questions and provides practical tools that you can really put to use. Even between sessions, she continues to think alongside me and shows genuine empathy.

Over the years, I’ve developed thanks to our collaboration, both personally and professionally. I can wholeheartedly recommend Marianne to anyone who wants to grow further, reflect and take concrete action themselves. It’s simply a matter of taking a good, long look in the mirror with someone who guides you through the process with warmth and expertise!

Gert Kornet

“I’m so glad I found Marianne at a time when I really wasn’t doing well. I was incredibly tired, couldn’t think clearly any more and didn’t really know how to carry on. Things were very hectic at work and my private life was on autopilot. I just didn’t know what to do anymore. I confided in Marianne and she never betrayed that trust. She guided me in very small steps. At first, I really didn’t know the answers to her questions; my head was too full to think properly, but bit by bit, space opened up to consider how certain things needed to change. Both at work and in my own mind. Certain thoughts and habits have become so ingrained, yet sometimes they’re not good for you. Marianne confronted me with this and helped me realise it.

I really wanted to get ‘better’ again, so I took this programme very seriously – and it worked! Creating a new daily routine, dealing with thoughts differently, building in moments of calm, setting and maintaining boundaries, finding and drawing on my inner leader – I could list so many things that are now going so much better and bring me peace of mind. Now that I’ve had a chance to reflect on it, I realise just how much progress I’ve made, and I’m genuinely so happy about that! I’ve now completed my programme, but I know I can always turn to Marianne, and that’s a really lovely and reassuring feeling!

Melanie Clemens

I have taken part in many different self-empowerment courses, but I have never had such a life-changing experience as with Marianne!
I deliberately call it an experience as it goes far beyond coaching. The sessions include so much more than I had expected when I signed up for her coaching programme. With her enthusiasm, professional attitude and a sort of ‘superwoman’ radar, she always asks the right questions to establish clear goals for each session, no matter what area it relates to. She combines kindness with firmness in a remarkable way to achieve the best results, even without knowing in advance what those results will be or which direction to take.

Karin Oversloot-van der Zel

Coaching with Marianne van Oosterhout is not just an investment in yourself; it is also a gift to yourself. Sessions are always a combination of intensive work and moments of calm.

Intensive, because coaching with Marianne involves a – sometimes profound – confrontation with conscious and subconscious patterns and beliefs, exploring where they originate and how they influence you. It also involves hard work to internalise new patterns. This simply cannot be achieved without a bit of trial and error.

Finding peace, because Marianne creates an atmosphere in which you are allowed to be yourself, with all your quirks and struggles, and can focus on what you need at that specific moment to continue growing.
The reason this can coexist within coaching sessions is that Marianne combines thorough professionalism with a high degree of personal commitment, which extends beyond the sessions themselves.

Coaching with Marianne is therefore the most valuable gift you can give yourself.

JMG

Although I am a highly qualified coach and mentor myself, I have benefited greatly from Marianne’s intuitive and compassionate coaching and mentoring on a number of occasions over the past few years.
I have no hesitation in highly recommending Marianne for her insights, particularly in leadership and personal development. You’ll be glad you chose Marianne’s support.

Linda Ambrose

Interested?

Book a no-obligation introductory meeting

Does any of this sound familiar to you? In a half-hour, no-obligation chat, we’ll explore together what’s going on and whether coaching is right for you. No sales pitch – just a straight-to-the-point question right from the start.