JANE ARIFA BADOELLA: LIFE IS NOT ONLY ABOUT BUSINESS!
With her education and work experience rooted in the Netherlands and Suriname, Jane has diverse roles under her belt. She has a perspicacious eye for culture which has seen her promoted to the heights as Chairperson of a social foundation, a position not taken by many. Women need representation and Jane does not shy away from assuming that responsibility. A strong advocate for self-integration, she excels for that purpose at imparting her knowledge and expertise in Human Capital Management. Jane has a master’s in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) which she puts to good use in her professional life. She believes on leading by example and the importance of daring to take chances and make mistakes, find your untapped genius and bet—all-in—on the empowerment of women across the globe.
My education and work experience in the Netherlands and Suriname, have enabled me to develop expertise in various roles and gain a keener perception and understanding of culture. This is clearly visible in everything that I do. I have developed this proficiency, time and time again, through finding opportunities to explore the globe beyond my comfort zone, fantastic opportunities indeed.
The platform which launched my career was the Municipality of Amsterdam. Starting in 1990, I fulfilled various roles which I devoted myself to in various capacities and was rewarded by a large degree of success. These were functions such as Career Advisor, Project Leader of Parking Facility Controllers and Supervisors, and Vice Chairperson of the Managing Diversity Platform.
This turned into a key opportunity to prove myself and flourish early in my career.
In 2010, I decided to work on a freelance basis as I had found my purpose and passion as a consultant and a socially engaged worker in the field of my competence.
I have “broken the mould” of mediocrity and continue to contribute to mental health campaigns towards global progress and support.
As Chairperson of a social foundation and having held a former position on the board of a society club I got ample opportunity to witness first-hand the lack, on a global level, of women in higher positions. I am most grateful for my talents as a wordsmith which I express through poetry. I am thrilled to have already released two albums of poetry: ‘What is Love?’ and the soon to be launched ‘Divine Sundays’ under my pseudonym and brand name Jay A. Lecton.
In 2020, motivated by my desire to help bring about change, I moved into the dynamic domain of politics—took to networking life a fish to water and immediately started to grow. Today, as a member of the Democrats 66 (D66), I am proud of my political progress. I believe one ought to be a participant instead of just complaining from the side-lines and work towards concrete results rather than merely a vague vision. One of the visions I pursue is to count among the innovators, the true agents of change and be a global trailblazer.
In which domain? The sphere of motivating women to engage more in politics. I believe women ought to be represented at home and abroad. Sure, we have booked some progress along the way but now is the time to examine the stones we left unturned along the way which are, today more than ever before, crucial for the good functioning of our society and our world. The stigmatised section of health – mental health in particular – is such a stone. I have thrown myself whole-heartedly into helping remove that stigma and this has greatly contributed to my recent success. I participate in workgroups that build mental resilience and promote mental health.
I expect great change within this group which has been largely neglected till now and also in the role of women on a macrocosmic scale: the sky truly is the limit! I also serve national workgroups: Accessible Politics and More Women in Politics.
My personal Motto is: “Dream dreams never dreamed before… Walk paths never walked before!”
My ambitions are, to put it succinctly:
- To achieve a key position within politics to serve the citizens of the Netherlands.
- To create a future as a writer.
My personal motto: “Dream dreams never dreamed before… Walk paths never walked before!” centres around innovation, creation, and a spirit of steadfast diligence. How can you possibly feel whole and proud of yourself if you are not actively working on fulfilling your dreams? I firmly believe our purpose in life is to integrate our deepest dreams with our image of self, using every tool at our disposal. When we open ourselves to all the resources available, the horizon broadens and shimmers with opportunities.
So how did I get to this vision and purpose? I would say by observing, noting the gaps, by reading and by expanding my world through various courses.
Seven of the most crucial courses I taken and completed are:
- All-round Diversity Management
- Neuro Linguistic Programming (Master level)
- Communication & Presentation skills and techniques
- Business reading & writing ++
- Management within Educational Institutions
- Effective networking and acquisition
- Time Management
My expertise is diverse as I am an intensely curious person. I am passionate about Human Capital Management, the process of acquiring, training, managing, and retaining employees. What I love most about it is the human impact, first of all on the employees personally as it helps them recognise their worth, develop their skills and grow in their work but also the impact on the organisation, getting the maximum results with a workforce which is committed and effective and active in the right place for them.
My Master’s in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) taught me how to use a scientific approach to examine the inner workings of the mind. NLP examines how our thoughts, emotions, actions and even language work as a whole and affect our behaviour and personality.
I have searched for further education in many areas and taken courses in communication, presentation skills, and techniques; business reading and writing; also, -p0’on management within educational institutions; effective networking and acquisition; and last but not least, time management.
I combine my expertise in Human Capital Management which lends itself to managing diversity, with my NLP skills and knowledge in my career as a Business Process Redesigning coach. You may be familiar with my area of expertise; we refer to it as inter-disciplinary specialisation. In other words, the scope is broad and suits perfectly the openness of my mind which I put to good use in my studies and professional world. This is the very spirit of a Polymath – a person of wide knowledge or learning – something which befits many women and guarantees our future at the forefront of society.
My hobbies and interests are just as varied in my personal life. I don’t shy away from lengthy discourses on History or Politics and enjoy the challenge. I love music and travelling around the world, and you can often find me hiking through the countryside, fascinated by all I encounter, glowing with a profound feeling of deep tranquillity.
Lost in our work and what we see as obligations, we often miss out on the simple things in life, such as educating yourself, developing your strengths in sports for example, investing time in family and friends— yet these are important factors for a successful life.
‘Life is not only about business’ is an affirmation close to my heart which I share as much as I can. The way most live nowadays is a real curse, some sort of competition to the busiest schedule, with self-imposed gruelling and demoralising routines, and all of that to follow drab visions. Lately the warnings against getting lost in this nine-to-five mentality have become louder, a battle taken up by many motivational speakers, including Mel Robbins who left her career as a lawyer to pursue a better life, catapulted to success by a TEDx talk in 2011.
We are all blessed with creativity. I believe we all have our dose of personal genius and untapped potential, and we owe it to ourselves and the world to discover it before it is too late. It is crucial, in order to be whole and fulfilled, that we explore our creative abilities. Then one must do something with them, market them, promote them but first we need the knowledge. It takes concrete knowledge in order to impart concrete knowledge. Where do you start? By looking at your roots, your past and what that past means for your future, where are you going and what do you want to be?
Let us do a fun exercise! Picture in your mind a rainbow stretching across a sunny horizon. Discover more about who you are by answering the following questions:
A fun exercise follows. Picture a rainbow stretched across a sunny horizon in your mind. Find out more about who you are with each answer:
Where is the end of that rainbow?
Where is that pot of gold?
What is that pot of gold?
How do you want to get there?
What are the necessary steps to take?
Who do I need?
What do I need?
Sharp focus is needed at every step and every decision towards ‘getting you where you want and need to be!’
You have to be ONE with yourself! Accept yourself as you are, in your entirety, without disguising certain aspects of your attributes even if you think they are not aligned with your business. Do not hide what you see as your defects or flaws, show them, and let people see how human you are, that you are not afraid to fail as you fall forward. By falling you do not fail. You just learn how to do things better! Be true to yourself and let it show! In business, people pick that up, it instils trust. It shows how inspiring and motivating it can be to work with you! Honest authenticity sells! Sometimes your path changes for the better by showing ALL of who you are despite your doubts.
As a single mom of a great 26-year-old son I have learnt to let my son act on his own so that he may become a better person. He needs to make his own mistakes so he can learn from them. I believe in mental health and united conscious leadership! Core to my way of being and one of my principles is working together by talking about the feelings we share, without letting petty differences get in our way.
I believe in the freedom of choice. I let people be who they are without forcing them to become someone else. I believe in dialogue and not in war. I believe in nourishing positivity and steering clear of negativity. I never back out or down! I believe in the powerful female figure and the empowerment of women!
I believe in “Global Women”! I choose to be whole and ONE with myself and hope to inspire all global women to do the same. Will you make the same choice today?
