About Tineke
“People shouldn’t have to change who they are to belong at work.”
Why I Do This Work
I have spent more than 20 years working in maritime and other male-dominated, culturally diverse environments. I started my career at sea as a Maritime Officer with the Dutch Merchant Navy and later moved ashore into corporate and academic roles.
I loved the maritime world. But I also experienced the other side of it.
I know what it feels like to be overlooked, misunderstood, micromanaged and devalued. To feel overwhelmed by pressure, excluded from the group, or like you have to work twice as hard to be seen and heard.
Those experiences shaped how I understand people, leadership and workplace culture.
I help maritime leaders and teams navigate conflict, communication challenges and cultural complexity, while strengthening psychological safety, leadership and human performance.
I believe people should not have to change who they are to belong at work. Different personalities, cultures, generations, genders and ways of thinking can become strengths when leaders know how to work with them.
People should not have to choose between being themselves and being successful.
That is the change I want to see in maritime.
From Sea to Shore
My career began in 1999 as a Maritime Officer with the Dutch Merchant Navy, sailing on cargo vessels. Life at sea gave me first-hand insight into operational pressure, isolation, hierarchy and the unspoken dynamics that shape how people work together.
Moving ashore gave me another perspective. I worked across maritime, corporate and academic environments, including learning design and e-learning project delivery. This taught me how to translate complex human and operational challenges into practical solutions that work in real organisations.
Completing my MPhil in Maritime Human Factors at the University of Strathclyde deepened my understanding of how people, systems, leadership and organisational culture influence behaviour, safety and wellbeing.
But qualifications alone are not what I bring into a room.
I bring lived experience.
What I Bring
I've been the officer.
I've been the employee.
I've experienced hierarchy, pressure, multicultural teams and difficult leadership.
I've also spent years studying, observing and working with the human side of organisations.
So when I work with a leader or team, I'm not standing outside the industry throwing standard coaching tools at a problem.
I've lived the environment.
I understand the pressures. I understand the personalities. And I notice what often goes unsaid.
My work focuses on strengthening leadership, human performance, communication, collaboration and psychological safety in maritime workplaces, both at sea and ashore.
I want to help create an industry where people don't have to become harder, quieter or smaller to succeed. Where leadership is not about hierarchy and control, but about creating the conditions for people to do their best work.
Where diversity is something we learn to work with, not simply something we put in a policy.
Where seafarers and shore-based professionals can feel that they belong, contribute and are valued.
Strengthening the human side of maritime workplaces, so people and teams can perform at their best, together.
“Tineke masterfully balances coaching and mentoring, knowing exactly when to listen, when to ask the right questions, and when to offer clear, practical guidance.”
Professional Qualifications & Development
MPhil Human Factors in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering – University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
Transformational Coaching (AC & ICF aligned) – Animas Centre for Coaching
Bachelor of Maritime Operations
BSc Applied Sciences – University of Applied Sciences, HZ Zeeland, The Netherlands
APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) – Association for Project Management