Two Vintura consultants, Sharon and Bart-Jan, are to work with palliative care charity PalliaLiefje as part of their leadership development program. They will be helping to identify where its work and its symbol, the PalliaLiefje “daisy”, can add value, and how best to organize that.
Motivated by our mission
Vintura partner Remco Bervoets explains the thinking behind the collaboration. “Motivated by our mission statement, ‘Creating meaningful impact in healthcare together’, we are happy to help a good cause with huge potential impact on a pro-bono basis. But it’s important that any organization we choose to support really inspires us, both in what it does and in the commitment of its team. We first made contact with PalliaLiefje through one of our clients and we’ve become really enthusiastic about the charity and the opportunities available to help it take its next step.”
What does PalliaLiefje do?
The PalliaLiefje daisy symbolizes the organization’s efforts to make palliative care a subject people in the Netherlands can talk about openly. It believes that this option should become an integral part of the medical “road map” for patients with terminal conditions. Palliative care options should be discussed at a much earlier stage than is usually the case now, when they tend to be the final possibility offered in a program of treatment. In other words, PalliaLiefje wants to break the taboo surrounding palliative care. Its aim will be only achieved once patients are prepared to talk frankly about this alternative, fully aware of the choices available to them rather than simply accepting whatever course of treatment they are offered.
What are we doing for PalliaLiefje?
We have defined the objectives of our partnership in collaboration with the board of PalliaLiefje. Put briefly, they come down to the joint compilation of a plan of action for the next two to three years. This will set out exactly what PalliaLiefje is: why it exists and for whom, what it offers, and how it is organized.
The process is divided into three phases:
- Identify what unfulfilled need PalliaLiefje wants to – and can – address.
- Clearly define its future position: who it is for, what it offers, and how it is organized.
- Devise follow-up activities: a strategic plan and a communications plan.
“Each of us is going to devote about five working days to this job,” explains Désirée van der Heide. “We’re also going to spend a day at a hospice so that we better understand the needs of the client group and can experience for ourselves what PalliaLiefje stands for.”
What is the leadership development program?
Professional development is a priority at Vintura. Not just for our clients, but also internally. This is why we are giving three experienced consultants, Sharon, Désirée, and Bart-Jan, the chance to advance their careers through our own leadership development program. This has already been under way for about two years and is now in its final phase. Program components have included an assessment, courses in commercial skills, coaching leadership, and effective communication, peer-to-peer coaching sessions, and individual training.
The program is now ending with a pro-bono project for palliative care charity PalliaLiefje, allowing the three consultants to apply all they have gained from it to achieve a lasting impact. “This program has accelerated my development as a professional and my leadership skills,” says Désirée van der Heide. “I also find it really special that I’ve been able to experience the process alongside my own colleagues.”
