“A narrow strait can so canalize the tide
that a powerful current is developed”
ABOUT CANALIZE
Willem Meijer is a Boardroom Advisor, Interim Director, Supervisor, Executive Coach, Business Mediator and was appointed director by the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal.
Since 1989, Willem has held various positions in investment banking. He has managed brokers, asset management, corporate finance and exchanges at the board level. He has a long and broad experience in governance and regulated markets. In his current position, Willem holds various supervisory positions and is a Boardroom Advisor and Executive Coach for various companies in different sectors.
Furthermore, Willem is a Business Mediator at Mediation Kamer Amsterdam and has been appointed director by the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal. In this role he is assigned by the court as executive director / mediator for boards of directors in disputes and in the role of WHOA Restructuring Expert.
Willem has a Bachelor's degree in Business Economics and was trained as a business mediator & negotiator. For about 25 years, Willem has been a recognised director of the Dutch regulators.
Trainer directors of the Enterprise Chamber
In the new two-day training for directors of the Enterprise Chamber, an initiative of the Rimari Foundation and Radboud University Nijmegen, Willem has made an important contribution to the realisation of the 'negotiation, communication and mediation' section. He trains directors for this section.
“Clear and focused no-nonsense approach. I experienced the cooperation as very pleasant. Professional and reliable. The mediation has in a short time led to a very satisfactory result”
“In addition to the right of inquiry and the specific challenges of a director appointed by the Enterprise Chamber, an important part is also about behaviour: negotiation, communication, what role do emotions play? How do you avoid becoming part of the conflict? It has fundamentally changed my way of communicating and leading. I can recommend anyone – lawyers, judges, administrators – to train those skills.
As an Enterprise Chamber director it helps to be neutral and to use certain ways of communication. You summarise vexed points of view into something more tolerable for the other side. Replace 'but' with 'at the same time' and you already have a different tone in the conversation. You look for common interests, try to build rapport with both parties and get them to agree on a solution. That is also a matter of timing."
Volunteer as neighbourhood mediator
As a volunteer, Willem is regularly asked to mediate in neighbourhood conflicts. In principle, this is no different from business mediation.
"They are all people who can no longer listen to the other side, where something has been damaged in the acknowledgement. Whether it concerns the rattling kitchen cabinets next door or a shareholder dispute:
It is also about behaviour and communication. The protagonist is the human being." www.beterburen.nl