What Is Leadership Development? Camiel Gielkens on helping leaders grow through a personal and context driven approach

Camiel Gielkens on helping leaders grow through a personal and context-driven approach

Leadership development is too important to leave to off the shelf solutions. Yet many leaders still take part in generic programs that are disconnected from their day-to-day reality. According to Camiel Gielkens, CEO of Schouten Company, that is a waste of both time and potential. True leadership development is personal, tailored to the context, and focused on behaviors that make a real difference in practice.

“What works for you may not work for me. One size fits nobody.”

What is leadership development?

For Camiel, leadership development is not a three-day course but an ongoing process in which leaders get to know themselves, build new behaviors, and apply those behaviors directly in their work.

“We make leadership development personal. No generic approach. It is an individual journey with multiple interventions over time.”

It starts with awareness: which patterns am I repeating without realizing it? Where do I get stuck? What still works, and what no longer serves me? From there, leaders practice small changes in behavior, test them in real situations, and refine them.

Leadership development does not stop at the individual level. It is always connected to the environment you work in. That means the organization must move along with you. Managers, teams, and strategy all need to support the process; otherwise, change will not last.

“You can train people, but if the context does not change, it will not stick. You will fall back into old habits.”

At Relevance, the in-company leadership and talent development partner of Schouten Company, we work with Needs-Driven Leadership. This approach helps leaders align their style to four fundamental team needs: results, people, progress, and shared values. The journey follows three phases called "Wake Up," "Grow Up," and "Show Up," linking personal growth directly to what the organization needs at that moment.

Want to learn more about the model? Read: What is Needs-Driven Leadership?

What makes leadership development effective?

Camiel sees three factors that make a leadership journey truly impactful.

1. Learning starts with reflection

Good leadership begins with self-awareness. That means knowing not only what you do well, but also what you need to unlearn. Old habits that once brought success can get in the way in a new context.

“If you want change, it starts with a wake-up moment. What do I stand for? What are my values? And what do I need to stop doing?”

Camiel uses assessments, reflective questions, and candid conversations to hold up the mirror. Sometimes that is uncomfortable, and that is exactly where growth happens.

“Without discomfort there is no growth. We actively seek that discomfort in our programs.”

2. Turning insight into action

The second stage is about turning awareness into new behavior. Leaders practice different ways of communicating, giving feedback, and making decisions under pressure.

“We do not focus on ten things at once. We look for the one or two behaviors that will make the biggest difference for that leader, and we build from there.”

This practice does not happen in a vacuum. Learning takes place on the job, with real people in real situations. That is how new behaviors become tangible and repeatable.

3. An environment that supports growth

Self-development alone is not enough. Leadership development works only if the environment supports it. That is why Camiel always involves the leader’s manager, the team, and sometimes change managers in the process.

“You can be willing to change, but if your manager shuts you down the moment you try something new, you will stop.”

Here, spacing is key. This means deliberately spreading learning and practice over time rather than cramming it into a single event. This gives leaders the chance to try new behaviors, get feedback, and adjust. The repetition and reflection make the learning stick. Spacing can be supported by a coach, an AI tool, or peer coaching.

“We make sure people keep practicing with content, with conversations, and with timely prompts so learning deepens and turns into action.”

Leadership development requires balance

Camiel sees leaders sometimes overrelying on one style. For example, when everyone focuses solely on coaching, no one dares to decide. That backfires.

“I believe strongly in balance. You need to be able to switch between directing and listening, between focusing on results and focusing on people, and between short-term and long-term priorities.”

That balance is at the heart of Needs-Driven Leadership. It helps leaders continuously adjust to what their environment needs, instead of sticking to a preferred style.

Personal leadership is never complete. It is about constant reflection, adjustment, and choosing what is needed in the moment. That is what makes leadership both challenging and rewarding.

“If you want to keep everyone happy, sell ice cream. Do not become a leader.”

Blended learning: high-tech and high touch

Technology makes leadership development more scalable. Think adaptive learning platforms, AI coaches, and microlearning. But Camiel is clear: technology should support, not lead.

“We are social beings. We learn together. Technology helps, but trust and openness only come when you meet in person.”
That is why Relevance works with a blended approach: personal conversations, peer learning, and feedback combined with technology that accelerates and enriches the process.

“We create a mix of high-tech and high touch. That way we reach more people without losing the quality of learning.”

About Relevance

Relevance is the in company training partner of Schouten Company and has been a specialist in leadership and talent development for over forty years. With an international network of more than nine hundred facilitators and over one hundred thousand participants each year, Relevance helps organizations make leadership tangible, applicable, and future-ready. Always personal, always adaptive, and always evidence-based.

Ready to take leadership further?

Want to explore what leadership development could mean for your organization? Book a free session with one of our leadership advisors. We’d love to explore what’s possible for your people and your goals.