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Mechanical engineer Jaap Krekel-Schuit (34) wanted to reach a managerial position as soon as possible after his studies - something he managed to do at the age of 27 - but that didn't make him happy. This experience was a tipping point, after which he embraced a polyphonic identity. His business card now mentions employeneur, consultant, game changer, trainer, facilitator & teacher . The multi-talent also sees himself as a spider in a web that ties all kinds of things together and sees new opportunities everywhere. By combining his childhood interests into his career, he embodies the young professional of the future. My advice to others is: Realize that you are part of a whole and try to make a difference within it.

The best choice

Already in the second year of his Mechanical Engineering studies, Krekel Schuit doubted whether this was the right choice for him. My father and grandfather were both engineers, so the technical side ran in the family. Initially, this broad study therefore seemed to me to be the best choice. During the course on the analysis of manufacturing systems, where factory processes were optimized with simulation models, the penny dropped. I experienced the same fascination as I did in my youth when I watched the Discovery Channel's program How it's Made. In it, they showed how a product is made from all parts in factories. Eventually, I graduated from Manufacturing Networks in 2015, which later became Manufacturing System Design.

Ambitions

According to the mechanical engineer, the bar was set quite high for him at a young age. I always wanted to be among the best in the class and even after my studies I strived to be a manager as soon as possible. These ambitions arose from his need to make an impact. If you are in a certain position, you have influence and then you can indicate the path we are all going to with your vision at that strategic level, he explains his drive.

Tipping point

When he started working as a production engineer at DAF after his studies, he managed to achieve his goal within two and a half years. As a production supervisor, he led three teams in production, a total of 120 employees. Although he really loved working with the people on the floor, the responsibilities and the difference in opinion with his manager who focuses on work were difficult for him. One sees work as a financial transaction in which people receive a salary for performing tasks and the other sees work as something that provides meaning and other human needs. The tipping point came after a year and a half because I realized that the differences between our visions were too substantial to overcome..

Human aspect

This experience was the beginning of a quest in which he got to know himself better and better and where he looked for ways to combine caring for employees with achieving results. Because if your machines are overloaded, they also become unstable. I wanted to pay much more attention and care to the human aspect. I believe that everyone has the potential to be a hero.

Multifacited identity

Five years ago, he made the tranisition to TMC, where he could work as an employeneur: as both an employee and an entrepreneur. This formula enabled him to develop a multifaceted identity that allowed him to work in various roles. For example, one day he works as a digitization consultant at a company, the next day as a wicked skills trainer to teach professionals skills and competencies for the future.

Wicked problems

After he had followed the training, devised by psychologist Rudy Vandamme, he became so enthusiastic that he decided to guide others in these skills. According to him, learning these skills opens up new possibilities to better deal with wicked problems. Wicked skills help to develop an adaptive, agile attitude. Because if you know yourself, he says, you can position yourself better within a group, which contributes to stronger group profiling and a more effective handling of systems, he explains. In addition, the training focuses on making the best possible use of your own abilities such as heart and gut feeling, facilitating groups and mapping complex systems. As a trainer, I try to train people within organizations and companies with these methodologies so that we can help them bring about the changes that are needed. In this way, a social movement can arise that consists of enthusiastic professionals who want to make a difference in their immediate environment.

Adapting

While the focus as a mechanical engineer was more on a technical production line, now as a consultant at an organization he looks more at the whole instead of the separate parts and how all those separate parts can be connected as a whole. My approach is more holistic and systemic. I focus on how we can use social innovation methodologies to bring structure. After all, we cannot solve major social challenges with technology alone. We will also have to adjust our behavior, because some habits no longer fit in this time. That is why a social change must also take place, he believes.

Inspiration

His fascination for fantasy - which arose at a young age - is now a great inspiration for his career choices: as a hybrid teacher at Summa where he helps develop education towards the future. But also, at game company Enversed Game Studios where he is working to help companies with social transformations through games. I see myself as a Gandalf from Lord of the Rings, a travel guide to the unknown, a kind of magician who looks at trends in the world, but who also looks ahead to what developments are emerging and how we can use them. Imagination is essential here, because it allows me to let people experience, for example in a game, what consequences changes bring.

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