A bit like family businesses are run. Cherishing the accomplishments, focusing on the DNA, and doing all it takes to pass the company on to the next generations. And unlike in the Anglo-Saxon model, it is not only about the stakeholders, but also about the shareholders: own people come first. Holding it together instead of outplaying or ignoring the other.

But leadership is more than vision and decisiveness. Successful leaders are empathic; they know what really matters to people and successfully relate to it. And it goes without saying that true leaders have enough communication power to get the message across and the charisma to get people on board.

Such qualities are indispensable to run a company adequately, but in politics, you will get far if you can talk with ease and, above all, with dexterity. And that is where the shoe pinches: there is too much talking in The Hague and too little listening to the country. It may sound simple but change in politics starts with the ability to really listen. "You have one mouth and two ears (for a reason)," is what my mother used to say.