J.C. (Jan) Lelie

Senior Management Consultant

Jan Lelie (1957) introduces himself by “I facilitate; by disrupting conversations”. He is known for his confusing way of working. He lives in The Hague, The Netherlands with his spouse. They’re the parents of two (grown-up) children.

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He has a degree in Experimental Physics (MSc) and Business Information Systems Design (MBA). He has been taught by several teacher, amongst who Will McWhinney is the most important.

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He has been working as a facilitator even before he knew it was called facilitation – he used to call it “catalysation”. He worked for AT&T and Philips Telecommunications in several (managerial) roles, always facilitating his teams. He for instance invented what’s now called Agile in the late 80’s.

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He has worked for several consulting firms, the Dutch Institute for Societal Innovation.

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He was one of the earliest in computer supported facilitation, around ’95, also with his own approach. He founded mind@work VOF in 1994, a company dedicated to facilitating. They developed their own methods and techniques, with (serious) gaming, constellations, systemic work, configurating and working with metaphors. He introduced using Tarot cards in facilitating meetings.

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He co-founded the Dutch “chapter” – there were no chapters at that time - of IAF and we introduced CPF in Dutch, the first non-English program. He has conducted bespoke workshops in over 20 Dutch and international facilitation conference.

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He has participated in and organised European Consultants Camp, a 5 days meeting of facilitators and change agents based on Open Space.

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Together with other facilitators in a COP, he developed methods and techniques at the RWS LEF Future Center. It culminated in a book titled: “Body of Practice”. With others he developed and conducted about 15 5 days facilitator course, based on Action learning.

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Gelling Publishers published his illustrated book “Faciliteren als Tweede Beroep” (in Dutch), a metapraxis of facilitating change. Gelling also published a book he co-edited with targeted 24 cases on facilitation by (mostly) IAF-members both in Dutch and an international edition.

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He is member of the Dutch Jungian Society for Analytical Psychology. He has been CPF for over 12 years and is now recognized CPF|M.  He has a certificate in the Psychology of Metaphors.