Horizontal Leadership at Pleysier College Zefier

Horizontal leaders on the Zefier (The Hague, The Netherlands).

The student council sits together in a handicraft classroom. I agreed with the school director, Nathalie Pravda, to attend a meeting of this group. They are working on all kinds of initiatives and do this in a wonderful way. They sometimes also use IMO’s ‘seven beacons’ approach. During the conversation I see them as the ‘young generation horizontal leaders’. And they don’t contradict it!

I asked them if they could share examples of projects they are working on. They mention the complete renovation and new design of the foyer. As serious contractors, they have been able to realize this from A to Z. They’re pretty proud of it, and by the way, everyone at school. That’s why we’ll take a group photo in the foyer at the end of this conversation.

Another example is the layout of the schoolyard. In a beautiful ‘horizontal way’, i.e. openly and in consultation with everyone involved, they take the new design step by step further. Nathalie explains that the student council is becoming more and more independent and mature. They come up with really well-developed plans and handle the budget nicely. All she has to do is say yes to their proposals and she can be confident that things will work out. But she has also sometimes rejected a proposal. The student council came up with a proposal to be able to hold laser games at school and Nathalie didn’t think that was appropriate in terms of safety. There was a robust conversation about that and the students accepted the outcome. One of the students said, “We’re treated like adults here.”
A side effect is also that other students at the school, who have all sorts of ideas to make Zefier better, are turning to them. For example, there will be vending machines for sanitary pads and such in the restrooms. And those toilets, by the way, have also been made gender-neutral at the request of the student council. Nathalie and her management council would not have thought of that herself.

I enjoy the stories and ask if they are ever frustrated about something. Oh, definitely! One of the students talks about an architect who would design something for them. But they didn’t get along with that person at all. And that’s what they say. Another student adds: if we notice that people do not want something or that something is not possible, then we have to accept that. We’re not going to put energy into what we can’t influence anyway. How wise!

The website of the Zefier states that education is offered here to special students. I got that in this conversation, they are all special. Horizontal leadership, you can’t start early enough.