Portrait
The woman
Katja Staartjes is the most successful woman mountaineer in the Netherlands. She has climbed a number of peaks higher than 8,000 metres. She was the first Dutch woman to climb Mount Everest, and together with her husband, Henk Wesselius, was the first Dutch mountaineer to climb Gasherbrum 1. Katja has also been the initiator and leader of a number of challenging expeditions. Highly results-oriented in her approach, Katja understands how to get to the core of a situation. A passionate and non-nonsense leader and manager of great personal integrity, she knows how to motivate others towards achieving a common goal.
The speaker
Katja is an inspiring speaker. She presents breathtaking photographs and describes the intense experiences of her expeditions in a way that makes them relevant to others, in everyday situations. Katja combines her climbing experiences seamlessly with her extensive management skills. Through her inspiring presentations, Katja is uniquely competent in making the link between the challenges of climbing mountain peaks and the situations which her audiences experience in daily life and at work. Because she also works as a coach, trainer, and independent interim manager, Katja continues to expand and deepen her own management experience. She has written two books: Hoog spel (not available in English) and Peak Performance (translation of the Dutch book Top-inspiratie).
Passion
Do you know what your passion is? What gives you the energy to grow and flourish as an individual? Everyone has their own personal passion; their own specific sources of inspiration. Exactly what that is, is something that people often only discover by accident. For Katja Staartjes, it’s the mountains, and mountaineering. High up on the peaks, amid the silent, majestic grandeur of nature, far away from the fast-paced hectic of Western life, that’s where she feels at her best. Passion & Mountains – read more
Inspirational presentations
The presentations given by Katja Staartjes are strongly impactful. Katja takes you with her to the top, illustrating the journey with breathtaking images of the mountains. Each expedition provides an excellent metaphor for everyday situations. During a presentation, she draws clear parallels between mountain-climbing and familiar – often equally challenging – issues from daily life. Public Speaking - read more.
Background
Katja Staartjes studied foodstuff technology at the Agricultural University of Wageningen. In the 1980s she was part of a national athletics team (800, 1500 and 3000 metres). Following her studies she worked for eight years at the leading Dutch dairy company Campina Melkunie, holding management positions in the areas of quality control, logistics, and production. The merger of DMV Campina and Melkunie Holland provided experience of complex change management projects.
In 1996 Katja took a new position at the UMC Utrecht (previously the Academic Hospital and Wilhelmina Childrens Hospital), where she was responsible for the Facilities Service during the merger and the creation of the new Childrens Hospital.
Living for the mountains
In 1998 Katja resigned from her full-time work in order to dedicate herself completely to mountaineering for a time, and discover what she wanted to do with her passion for the mountains. In that year she climbed Cho Oyu (8,201 m) in Tibet and led hiking tours in the Alps. Her climb of Mount Everest, at 8,848 the highest mountain in the world, followed in 1999. After this, Katja focused on strengthening her climbing skills. While she is a competent climber, technically speaking, Katja stands out for her endurance and physical strength in the mountains, and at altitude. As she says herself: “I’m an expedition climber, and I see myself more as a hiker with lofty ambitions than as a technical mountaineer.”
Her participation in expeditions to Cho Oyu and Mount Everest provided Katja with the experience to be able to initiate her own expeditions and develop into a leader of expeditions. She has organized and led various challenging expeditions over recent years. Her regular partner on her expeditions is her husband, Henk Wesselius, and the duo form a strong partnership. Together they climbed the giant Gasherbrum 1 (8,068) in Pakistan in 2004; a peak performance and indeed, a first among Dutch climbers.
Current professional activities
Katja runs her own business: Katja Staartjes Management Inspiration. Besides offering inspiring presentations for various kinds of business events, she also carries out independent interim management projects. She has written two books: Hoog spel (High Stakes; not available in English) and Top-inspiratie (available in English: Peak Performance).
Katja Staartjes also offers unique training courses in the field of personal leadership and team spirit. She does this in cooperation with experienced management trainers. On request, Katja is also available as a personal coach.
Philosophy
The central focus of all her activities for Katja Staartjes is inspiring people. She gets people thinking. What is really important to me or to us? Am I or are we focusing on the right things? Do we share a common goal? How can we be sure to reach our goal? In a way that is satisfying and fulfilling?
Katja says about her approach:
• Integrity and open communication are the foundation for a good atmosphere, team spirit, and working relationship.
• Trust is of critical importance in a team. Trust is above all a matter of letting go – which usually means letting go of controlling impulses.
• Is your team really committed? Does it have a common goal? Do you like each other? Are you prepared to give more than you get? These are the bottom-line questions when it comes to good collaboration between team members.
• If you want to be happy and successful, you have to know what you really want. And act accordingly.
• Set yourself concrete, but achievable goals.
• To realize the goals you have set for yourself, you will have to make choices.
• Be prepared to accept the consequences of your choices, and take responsibility for your actions.
• Don’t try to take ten steps at a time, concentrate on one or two.
• If you really want something and go all out for it, you’ll find much more is possible than you thought at the beginning.
• Achievable ‘peaks’ vary per person, per team, and per organization. Peaks can grow over time. The key words are: dream, challenge, inspiration, and growth.
• It’s not only about getting to the top. Don’t neglect the process, how you get there. That’s precisely where you can find your inspiration!
