Mandy Heeren

Leadership under extreme pressure - Diversity - Resilience

Mandy Heeren is an officer in the Royal Netherlands Army and has served in Iraq and Lebanon, among other places. In 2023–2024, she was deployed to southern Lebanon for the UN mission UNIFIL, where she worked as an advisor within the UN structure and Senior National Representative of the Netherlands. She fulfilled this role during a period of escalation, including an Israeli ground invasion and intense military tensions in the area. As the only Dutch military officer in the mission area, she operated at the intersection of diplomacy, military decision-making and national responsibility.

Employability:: Keynote speaker
Languages:: Dutch, English
Categories:: Behavior Change

Diversity & Inclusion

Leadership

Leadership & Strategy

Motivation

Personal Leadership

Stress Management

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About Mandy Heeren

In an environment where safety was not a given, information remained incomplete and decisions could have immediate consequences, she learned what leadership means when stability disappears. Her work was not only about strategy and safety, but also about moral considerations, protecting people within her responsibility and functioning within international political tensions.

As a woman in a predominantly male and hierarchical environment, she developed a form of leadership that does not rely on volume or position, but on substance, consistency and moral strength. She knows what it takes to build authority without losing your authenticity, to take up space without shouting yourself down, and to make a difference in structures that are not naturally designed for you.

Within the Ministry of Defence, Mandy also held positions in the areas of audit, finance and operations. She combines operational experience from international missions with administrative expertise in governance, risk management and strategic decision-making. This combination of field and system experience, both in practice and policy, gives her a keen perspective on how organisations function when pressure mounts.

With her book Blauwe Scherven (Blue Shards), she presented a personal and socially relevant story about loyalty, organisational culture and the human dimension behind performance. Her work touches on themes that are also recognisable outside the Ministry of Defence: taking responsibility when systems are under pressure, speaking up when silence seems safer, and remaining human in complex and demanding environments.

Topics

1. Leadership under pressure

About decision-making when information is incomplete and postponement is not an option. Based on my experience within UN missions during escalations, where choices had direct consequences for people and safety.
2. The illusion of control

Why organisations strive for complete controllability, while reality demands adaptability. Based on my combination of governance experience (audit, risk management) and operating in an active conflict zone.
3. Deciding without a perfect option

Leadership when every choice has consequences. Based on moral considerations in international missions and administrative responsibility within the Ministry of Defence.
4. Integrity versus loyalty

What happens when system pressure clashes with personal conviction? From my experience in hierarchical structures where speaking up is not always a given.
5. Psychological safety in hierarchical environments

How silence arises, why signals are missed, and what leaders can do in concrete terms to make room for dissent. Informed by my role as an advisor within international command structures.
6. Female leadership in traditional power structures

Building authority in environments that are not naturally designed for you. Based on my experience as a woman in military and international security contexts.
7. Crisis and geopolitical reality

What working during military escalation teaches us about risk, uncertainty and strategic acumen, translated into decision-making in complex organisations.
8. Leadership in complex systems

How individuals navigate within large institutions when systems are under pressure. Based on my experience at both operational and administrative levels within the Ministry of Defence.
9. Remaining human in performance cultures

What happens when responsibility becomes burdensome and performance is paramount. Based on my experiences in demanding environments where pressure is structural.
10. Speaking when silence seems safer

About courage, culture and recognising signs before escalation occurs. Fuelled by my personal and professional experiences within international missions.