Few leaders know two such different worlds from the inside. One revolves around experience and unforgettable memories, the other around process, precision and continuity. Jesse Zahn-van der Valk stood at the helm of both, and discovered that the core is always the same: it comes down to people. This spring she did what few leaders dare to do, handing over daily leadership at the very moment the business was thriving, because its next phase called for it. A conversation about leading across cultures, about family and business that intertwine, about slowing down to accelerate, and about the art of letting go.
What, to you, is the essence of leadership talent, and how do you recognise it right away?
I do not recognise leadership in the person with the most answers, but in the person who stays curious, takes responsibility and helps others grow. The best leaders create an environment in which people rise above themselves. They give trust, dare to make choices and keep learning at the same time.
To me, leadership is far more about attitude than about hierarchy.
You have led two worlds: a resort in Curaçao and an HR and payroll partner for hospitality in the Netherlands. What is the biggest difference, and what is surprisingly the same?
Baoase is about emotion and experience. Everything is devoted to creating unforgettable memories for guests. Kolibrie is about processes, continuity and taking work off entrepreneurs' hands, behind the scenes.
Yet I discovered that the essence is the same. In the end, leadership is always about people. Whether it is guests, colleagues, clients or partners: when people feel seen, trust follows. At Baoase I was also very much the hostess and the face of the resort. That role of connector is one I have carried with me ever since, including to Kolibrie.
In Curaçao you worked with people from many cultures. What did that time teach you about growing teams that you had not learned in the Netherlands?
Curaçao taught me that as a leader you first have to understand before you can change anything. Even though I had known the island since childhood, as a Dutch person you are still an outsider. Respect does not come automatically with your title. You earn it by showing genuine interest in the culture, the history and the people.
That awareness travels with me everywhere: listen first, then lead.
Listen first, then lead.
You grew up in the Van der Valk family, where entrepreneurship and hospitality are instilled from childhood. What did you take from home about leading people, and what do you consciously do differently?
Hospitality, hard work and working together were quite literally fed to me with a spoon. From a young age we waited tables, washed dishes or worked reception. The message was simple: look around you, roll up your sleeves and never place yourself above anyone else.
At home, entrepreneurship was the most normal thing in the world. Around the kitchen table the conversation was often about guests, businesses and new ideas. And yes, we turned everything into a competition.
What I have come to do differently is give more attention to the people behind the work. I believe that happy employees ultimately create happy guests and better results. I have also learned that working hard is not the same as always running at full speed. For years I was permanently in top gear. By now I know that slowing down is sometimes what it takes to truly accelerate again.
Family and business intertwine in your life: steering together, sharing responsibility, coming home together. What does that ask of you as a leader, and what does it give you?
I sometimes jokingly call our family a family business in miniature. With three young children, two entrepreneurial parents and a great deal of responsibility, everything revolves around working together. That only works if you accept that you do not have to do it alone.
When I became a mother in Curaçao, I discovered how important it is to build a strong team around you. Not only at work, but at home too. Thanks to that support, I could keep building the business and be a mother.
My husband and I divide responsibilities deliberately. We communicate a lot, give the children more and more ownership of their own responsibilities, and above all we try to compliment each other instead of taking each other for granted.
I am genuinely proud and grateful to be a mother. My children and my husband always come first. That does not mean the balance is always perfect. Honestly, I do not believe it ever is. Instead of chasing an ideal balance, I now look much more at energy. How am I doing? How are Oliver, the children and the people who support us doing? When something there tips out of balance, I adjust. That has made me not only a better mother, but also a better leader.
When did you feel most vulnerable as a leader, and what did that moment bring you?
At Baoase, Oliver and I were not only the directors but also part of the brand. That made it hard to truly step away. A day off rarely felt like a day off.
When I then took the lead at Kolibrie, I entered a completely different world. I had a great deal to learn about Dutch legislation, systems and processes. In the beginning I relied too much on the knowledge of others. That taught me that trust matters, but that as a leader you also need to understand enough of the substance yourself to ask the right questions.
Perhaps the most important lesson was that leadership does not mean you always have to be the one at the helm. Sometimes your greatest contribution is creating a team in which others can excel.
You said yourself that the next phase of Kolibrie belongs to Daniëlle. How did you know the moment had come, and what did that decision cost you?
After five years I felt that Kolibrie's next phase of growth asked for a different kind of daily leadership. It also coincided with the transfer of our family businesses to the next generation. That made me feel this was the right moment to make room for my role as active owner. Not because the work no longer suited me, but because my greatest added value lies elsewhere.
The hardest step was not letting go of the role, but realising that I can be of great value without the daily operation. By giving Daniëlle the space, room opens up for her to build further, and for me to further shape my role as active owner within our family businesses. Those two developments came together very naturally for me.
Slowing down is sometimes what it takes to truly accelerate.
Which insight about people do you wish you had understood ten years earlier?
I wish I had understood earlier that you do not motivate people by pulling harder, but by giving ownership. That salary is rarely the most important driver, and that everyone needs something different to come into their own.
Perhaps I should also have accepted earlier that leadership can be lonely at times. That is exactly why it matters to gather people around you who dare to be honest with you.
Finally: how do you look at the future of leadership?
I believe leadership is becoming less about control and more about trust. Less about who is in charge, and more about who helps others grow.
The challenges organisations face today are too complex to solve alone. The leader of the future connects people, encourages collaboration and dares to be vulnerable. Not the one with all the answers, but the one who asks the best questions.
My greatest value is not being at the helm of everything. It is building strong people, strong brands and strong teams.
Bright Leadership, according to Jesse.
For Jesse Zahn-van der Valk, bright leadership begins with attitude, not hierarchy. With understanding first, and only then changing anything. Two worlds that could not have been more different kept bringing her back to the same core: leadership is about people, and trust appears the moment someone feels seen. She learned that you do not motivate people by pulling harder, but by giving ownership, and that a leader's greatest contribution is sometimes letting go of the helm. Her measure is no longer the perfect balance, but energy: her own, and that of the people around her. And from there she keeps building, strong people, strong brands and strong teams.