In Bright Leadership Reflections we ask leaders who help shape what comes next to pause on what leadership truly asks of us today. Their choices, their insights, their doubts. This time, we spoke with Marit van Egmond, former CEO of Albert Heijn. Nine questions, in her own words.
What is the essence of (leadership) talent for you, and how do you recognise it immediately?
For me, talent begins with curiosity: about new developments, about people and about possibilities. I recognise it in openness, an eagerness to learn, the capacity to reflect, and the speed with which someone turns insights into direction, initiative and responsibility. And talent shows itself, above all, in behaviour.
Which leadership challenge should leaders really prepare for in the coming years?
Leading, day in day out, in a world where change and ambiguity are permanent. Technology, globalisation and shifting customer behaviour force leaders to make choices faster and to prioritise more sharply. At the same time, when the world asks you to speed up, it is just as important to slow down and stay close to yourself. Resilience and agility become core themes for organisations, and just as much for each of us personally.
What should leaders stop doing, because it no longer works in this time?
Leading purely from hierarchy rather than from talent. Complex issues call for the right talents around the table, whatever the job title. Hierarchy organises, but talent creates progress. Bringing together the right people, each with their own unique talent, delivers not only better decisions but also more ownership and more speed.
Hierarchy organises, but talent creates progress.
Which leadership choice made you or your team visibly stronger?
Working entirely from one shared mission and one sharply focused growth plan, always with the customer as the starting point, has taken us to a higher level. We also consistently aligned our investments in time, capacity and resources with that strategic course. That gives the whole organisation both direction and room: direction because everyone knows what matters, room because teams can take responsibility and accelerate within those boundaries.
That sounds simple, but it also demands clear choices. Deciding together what you will go for also means being clear, as a team, about what you will not go for. That is how you avoid fragmentation, in departmental plans for instance, and the strategy stays connected and strong as a whole.
By sharing the mission and every step transparently, inside and outside the organisation, and by actively inviting everyone to take part, we have flourished in recent years and exceeded our ambitions by a wide margin.
Which quality or style of other leaders genuinely gives you energy?
A sense of perspective, and the ability to consciously celebrate both successes and learning moments together with the team. It brings lightness, strengthens the team dynamic and makes sure everyone is seen. I find that important, and I enjoy it enormously. Humour, and being able to laugh together, including at yourself, is part of that for me.
Which way of leading costs you energy, and why?
Managing too much through process. Processes matter, but they support, they never lead. If you end up concluding ‘We followed the system, but we did not achieve what it was for’, you lose value for the customer, for the company and for the team. To me, leadership is about giving direction, granting trust and taking responsibility. Not about ticking boxes.
Which leadership quality is structurally underestimated?
Craftsmanship, and a real understanding of the business and the sector. Not in order to manage the details, but to recognise signals early, positive and negative, above all from customers and users, and to translate them into strategic choices and growth opportunities. Good leadership is listening to both the organisation and the world around it, but above all understanding what is not being said or asked out loud.
Which insight about people do you wish you had understood ten years earlier?
That behaviour is rarely about the moment itself, and almost always about the experiences, motivations and context someone brings with them. Taking the time for that first, and sharing each other's perspectives, is what builds connection. Back then it would certainly have given me more calm and more confidence.
“Listening to what is not being said is often the most underestimated skill of strong leaders.Marit van Egmond
Finally, how do you look at the future of leadership?
The coming years will be defined by leaders who embrace technology and, at the same time, use humanity as a strength. Not one or the other, but both side by side. Leaders who are approachable, who stay close to themselves and to others, and who make their choices with the customer and society in mind.
The leadership of the future is not choosing between technology and humanity, but seeing both as one strength.
Bright Leadership, according to Marit.
For Marit van Egmond, talent begins with curiosity and shows itself above all in behaviour. Leaders should stop steering from hierarchy, because talent creates progress, and stop excessive process steering, because processes support and never lead. One shared mission and one sharp growth plan give both direction and room. Craftsmanship, and listening to what is not being said, are the underestimated qualities. And the future is not a choice between technology and humanity, but seeing both as one strength.
Thank you, Marit, for this inspiring conversation.
