Building bridges
About me
I am Moniek Lijster. I love being on the road, going to new places and meeting new people. I used to travel a lot. Now I have a family; that doesn’t make traveling easy. But since 2022, I have found adventure again, as entrepreneur.
I’ll tell you why I started my own business. I get up in the morning to make a difference in the world. Preferably as quickly as possible. I build a bridge as I walk across it. I quickly get into the content, learn to speak the language of the various stakeholders, make the connections and take action. I don’t think outside the box, I’m not in it at all. That is only possible if I am outside an organisation, temporarily. I look as an outsider, with a fresh perspective. That is what makes me act effectively. The longer I am working for an organisation, the more I get into that box. Until I can no longer make a difference.
Teamscience
Interdisciplinary collaboration
Throughout my career I have been working in the academic world. That is where I feel at home. As a researcher, but especially as a policy officer and programme manager, I developed and shaped multi-partner programmes and projects. Want to know what I did? Then check out my CV.
No matter the role or function, I always worked at the intersection of disciplines, cultures and organisations. Interdisciplinary collaboration is both the result of and the answer to today’s complex societal challenges. Away from the pigeonholes that no longer serve us. The research world is increasingly moving in that direction. Towards team science and co-creation. This is how we make a difference. But, that is easier said than done.
disciplines
Across borders
A successful collaboration
Over the years, I have deepened my knowledge in all kinds of (professional) fields, such as organisational science, deep democracy, team development and coaching, purpose-driven work, systemic work and programme management. I also researched the do’s and dont’s of interdisciplinary collaboration, both empirically and in literature. For a long time, these seemed to be random interests, depending on what I needed to know to do my job well. But now I see the common thread: designing successful collaborations across borders. Everything I learn, I integrate into my daily approach. I don’t sell one-size-fits-all solutions, but combine different insights into tailor-made solutions. A typical trait of a multipotentialite.
Dance
Dancing is my great love. My weekly classical ballet and modern dance classes give me focus and balance. Besides, dancing is a great metaphor for working together. If everyone only learns his or her own steps, you won’t get a beautiful choreography on stage. Therefore, as dancers, you learn to pay attention to each other and to interact with each other. Shall we pay more attention to our interplay in the office too?