my Story
Leading with Heart:
From Breakdown to Empowered Leadership
MEET Kristel Xena Van der Wilt
Eleven years ago, I took a leap of faith, leaving behind my home, family, and a successful life to follow my biggest dream: building a career in an international environment. I moved to the Netherlands to become Country Retail Brand Manager for one of the world’s most influential fashion retailers.
I was driven, passionate, and ready to prove myself. But soon, my health and soul paid the price. Constant stress, long hours, lack of boundaries, and no self-care slowly took their toll. Then came the wake-up call: a pulmonary embolism. Alone in a hospital room, hearing from doctors that I could have died, I knew something had to change.
What began as a dream had quietly become a trap.
Still, I didn’t want to quit. I loved my job. I loved leading. But I had lost myself. Deep down, I knew there had to be another way a way to lead without burning out. That’s when I made the most important decision of my life:
I hired a coach.
Not to fix my career, but to heal myself.
Through deep coaching, I went through a profound transformation. I reconnected with who I truly am. I developed emotional self-mastery, rebuilt my resilience, and embraced a new leadership style rooted in presence, authenticity, and trust. I stopped leading with pressure, and started leading with balance, intention, and heart.
Today, as Head of HR and Executive Coach for one of the most important retail brands in the world, I support and empower over 1,700 employees in the Netherlands. I’m guiding and developing leaders to understand that true leadership isn’t about control or power it’s about creating space where people feel seen, heard, and safe to grow.
That kind of human centered leadership is exactly what the world is craving right now. Because leadership isn’t about controlling people:
It’s about connecting with them.
It’s about inspiring them to believe in themselves.
It’s about leading from the heart.
It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being real.
When I began to openly share my own needs and emotions, something shifted. My team no longer saw just a leader they saw a human being. And that changed everything. Trust grew. Belonging deepened. The culture transformed.
Today, I coach and develop leaders not just to perform but to transform. To master themselves.
To connect with others.
To lead consciously and courageously.
Because true leadership isn’t only about performance or strategy.
It’s about emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and connection.
It’s about knowing when to lead with strength and when to lead with softness.
It’s about mastering yourself so you can lift others.
People thrive. Teams transform. Businesses grow.
No matter how brilliant your strategy is, without a tribe that trusts you, nothing moves forward. But when people feel safe, seen, and inspired They move mountains.
Kristel Xena Van der Wilt