Some people seem to know from an early age where they are going. Others arrive somewhere impressive and then realise they are ready for something different. Tanu’s journey has a bit of both.
Originally from Siliguri, India, Tanu grew up in a family where education and achievement mattered. She did well at school and university and went on to build a successful corporate career across different continents, eventually becoming Director of Finance at FedEx. By many conventional measures, she had done very well.
But when she looks back, there is one thing she wishes she had had along the way: someone in her corner.
“Someone to guide me, to tell me right from wrong, or to challenge my assumptions and my decisions,” she says. Someone who could have helped her see possibilities that perhaps weren’t visible to her at the time.
That realisation stayed with her. So did her curiosity about people-what drives us, what holds us back, and what becomes possible when we look at ourselves differently. After years of leading teams in the corporate world, Tanu eventually decided that she wanted her work to be more directly about people. She trained as a coach.
Today, that is what keeps her inspired. Not a particular title or achievement, but the moments when something shifts for another person. A new perspective. A little more confidence. A decision that suddenly feels possible. “Whether it is big or small,” she says, “there is change. There is transformation. There is growth. There is impact.”
For Tanu, coaching is about creating the kind of space she once wished she had herself: a place where someone can pause, think, be challenged and perhaps see a little more of what they are capable of.
That can be particularly powerful at moments when we are making decisions about the direction of our lives or our work. Tanu has seen it with many of the people she coaches, including managers and leaders. When someone changes the way they see themselves, it can change the way they lead. And that change rarely stays in one place. It can reach a team, a relationship, a family or a friendship.
She calls this the ripple effect.
It is also part of what drew her to Stichting Treehouse. Tanu believes deeply that coaching should not be something reserved for people with corporate budgets or the means to pay privately. The people going through the biggest transitions can sometimes be the people with the least access to support. “Everyone deserves someone in their corner,” she says.
Working with people from very different backgrounds has reinforced that belief. Different cultures, languages, values and life experiences may shape us in very different ways, but Tanu has found that underneath those differences, there are some remarkably universal desires. We want to be happy and fulfilled. We want to make choices that feel like our own. We want to grow. We want to have something good to offer the people around us.
And sometimes, getting there means facing the things that scare us.
Tanu is optimistic that more and more people are willing to do exactly that. She sees the growing interest in coaching as a sign that people are no longer willing to simply settle. They want to change, grow and create lives that feel more fulfilling.
Her hope for Treehouse is that one day we stop asking who can afford a coach, and start asking who could benefit from one.
And if you ask Tanu what she would like someone to take away from this conversation, she does not hesitate:
“You are so much bigger than you allow yourself to believe. Stop settling for the smaller story.”
It is a simple message. But perhaps sometimes we all need someone in our corner to remind us.
Unedited Version:
Introduction
I’m originally from a small town called Siliguri in India. I come from a very middle-class family, and growing up, life was all about being around mom and dad and my two sisters. I’m the middle child, may I say, the quintessential middle child! Growing up, life was a lot about what you do and what you achieve, and what rewards flow from there. This is common for any child growing up in my part of the world. I got an excellent education, and my family was always able to create and provide opportunities that would serve us. At the same time, there was this unsaid narrative that life was as good as the job, the salary, the house, the car. It was all about the external markers in life.
That’s how I grew up, and it’s not a surprise I was one of the top students in class, in school, in college, in university, because who I was equals what I achieved. That led me to a very successful corporate career on different continents. I started my career in 2004 as a call center agent, and my last job in the corporate space was director of finance for FedEx.
This journey was full of interesting twists and turns. Now, when I reflect back, I am very aware of the fact that one of the things I missed was not having anyone to guide me, to tell me right from wrong, or to challenge my assumptions and my decisions. Had that been there, perhaps there would be different opportunities, different learnings, different ways of being.
From my corporate years, I know how valuable it is to have someone in your corner someone who champions you, challenges you, and reminds you that you’re bigger than you let yourself believe. That, plus a lifelong curiosity about people ,what drives them, what holds them back is why I trained as a coach.
And what better way to contribute to the lives of human beings than through a foundation where coaching is the fundamental cornerstone? I am genuinely pleased and grateful to be a part of this team at Treehouse, where the vision is so beautiful: to make coaching available to those who cannot necessarily afford it.
In Conversation With Tanu
1. What brought you to coaching, and what keeps you inspired today?
All along in my work life/corporate life, I have been my best version when I have worked with a team. I have been in team management positions from as early as 2006 (yes, I know that’s a long time ago, and yes, I am from that generation). And when it was time for me to reinvent myself in my career space, I really knew I had to do something which had people at its center. Because although corporate life was about working in teams, oftentimes the day-to-day work that we did (in terms of strategy, presentations, commercial discussions, and negotiations) – none of that was actually making an impact on a human being. It was having an impact on the company and its revenue, and that was great, but there’s only so much satisfaction that one can get from there in the long run.
This interest, passion, enthusiasm, and longing to work with people is what brought me to coaching, and that is what keeps me here.
What keeps me inspired each and every day is that, whether it is big or small, during the coaching session or in between sessions, whether related directly to the topic that a client has brought, or something very different in a very different aspect of life – there is change. There is transformation. There is growth. There is impact. I mean real impact. That is priceless, and that is what gives me joy. That is what makes coaching such a beautiful place to be in. (to be honest, there have been times when this whole experience of coaching has oftentimes felt like a very spiritual experience for me!! Yes , I am that woo woo kind of person from time to time ;))
2. What drew you to Stichting Treehouse and its mission?
Coaching is a beautiful thing. Being a coach is valuable, and being coached is life changing. Stichting Treehouse has this beautiful mission, to broaden access to coaching for those who might not be able to afford it- wanting to be a part of it is a no-brainer!. It’s an absolute win-win for people in the community who would benefit from it and for coaches who are willing to share their work. Part of me actually thinks now that this is such a simple concept and yet so profound. I wonder why no one’s ever thought about it in the past?
3. Why do you believe coaching should be accessible to more people?
Because everyone deserves someone in their corner- no ? Coaching has mostly been available to people in corporate roles or those who can pay for it privately and yet the people navigating the biggest transitions often have the least access to it!!! A supportive conversation at the right moment can change the direction of a life. ( i know it , because I have been there) and that shouldn’t be a luxury!
4. Tell us about a moment when you witnessed the impact of coaching extend beyond the individual.
I see this in almost all of my clients. Many/ most of them are in management roles, so when they shift – in confidence, in presence, in how they lead , that shift ripples out to their teams and everyone they work with. But it never stops at work. Coaching changes people as human beings: as a partner, a parent, a sibling, a friend. When you become a more fulfilled and balanced version of yourself, you simply have more to offer, and all of your life experiences become richer. Everything starts to flow. It’s a beautiful ripple effect , and one person’s growth touching everyone around them! Isnt that a beauty ?!
5. What does social impact mean to you in your coaching practice?
To me, social impact means making sure coaching doesn’t stay a privilege for the few. ( too many things in life already are for the few !) The support of someone who believes in you shouldn’t depend on your circumstances- whether you’re new to a country, starting out, or rebuilding life after a difficult chapter. When coaching reaches people in those moments, the growth doesn’t stop with them; it flows into their families and communities. And I am grateful that I get to be a part of this kind of impact : )
6. Many people speak about changing systems. How can coaching contribute to meaningful change in communities, organisations, or society?
Refer to the answer in question 4. It’s the ripple effect. It’s the power, the capacity, the broadening that is made available to somebody during coaching, which makes them a different human being. That has an impact on how they show up, and it touches the lives of many in society.
7. What have you learned from working with people whose life experiences differ from your own?
Each person that I have worked with has had a very different life, upbringing, cultural background, language, value system, and beliefs – compared to me. What I have learned is that despite all of these differences, there are few fundamental things that we are all yearning for, wishing for, and almost desperate for (especially in today’s day and age):
- We want happiness and fulfillment in life.
- We desire being able to make empowered choices.
- We want to grow and transform.
- We want to be good, decent human beings who have more and more to offer to those around us…
And , we are willing to go through the sometimes difficult and painful processes , and face our fears and apprehensions to get to all of the above
We really are a lot less different than we think. There is so much that is universally true in us as human beings. I know I’m getting a little philosophical here, but I wish we celebrated that more often and we saw that more often.
8. Education and learning are often at the heart of transformation. What role do they play in your work?
For me, transformation begins somewhere deeper than education. It begins with a burning desire for life to be different, a knowing in your bones that there is more for you than what you can see right now. Sometimes it begins with a jolt, something life hands you that you never asked for. Learning, though, is woven through every step of the journey. In coaching you are constantly learning about yourself: becoming more aware, reflecting, being challenged, seeing yourself with new eyes. That kind of learning, the kind that happens from the inside out, is at the root of all real growth
9. What gives you hope when you look at the future?
I love this question! In the Netherlands, there are more coaches than probably anywhere else. I remember when I was beginning my coaching training, people very close to me said, “Oh, every other person is a coach these days. Why should you become one?” It’s a very saturated market. There’s a lot of competition. I think all of this is absolute BS!
The fact that there are so many coaches out there and the fact that they’re building their practice tells me that there are more and more people who are aware that coaching has something to offer. It tells me that there are more and more people who are looking for coaches who are wanting to work with coaches. It means they are wanting to change, they are wanting to transform, they are not settling anymore. They are wanting to enhance the quality of life and become more fulfilled human beings. If that’s not hope, what is?
10. If every person had access to high-quality coaching, what might be different in the world?
We would live in a world where far fewer people settle. Fewer people staying small, playing safe, carrying old stories about what they cannot do. Imagine everyone with someone in their corner. That world doesn’t just look different, it feels different
The Ripple Effect
What is one change—large or small—that you’d love to see emerge from Stichting Treehouse’s work over the next few years?
That coaching stops being seen as a luxury. I would love for the question to change from ‘who can afford a coach’ to ‘who could benefit from one’, and for Treehouse to be the reason more people in the Netherlands answer that with ‘me’
Quick Questions
- A value you try to live by: Gratitude
- A book that shaped your thinking: my thinking is too broad and too crazy and too vast to be shaped by any one book!! That being said, 2 of my favorite reads have been To Sir with Love and Tuesdays with Morrie.
- A person who inspires you: My partner, Martien. He is this fascinating and magical contradiction – of being a very strategic and sharp finance consultant, who doesn’t go a single day without doing yoga, and whose fundamental belief in life is that everything is energy!
- A place where you feel connected to yourself: there is a wide , massive open field in the Veluwe where I have felt most myself. Also, surprisingly, in my Zumba class!! Movement and dance help me to connect to myself.
- One word that describes your coaching style: Wholehearted and Empowering
- One thing you’d like readers to remember: You are so much bigger than you allow yourself to believe. Stop settling for the smaller story.
Closing Question
Stichting Treehouse exists to help make coaching accessible to people who might not otherwise have the opportunity. Why does that matter to you?
I know from my own journey how much it changes you to have someone in your corner, someone who holds a bigger vision for you than you hold for yourself. It never felt right to me that this kind of support is mostly reserved for people with corporate budgets or the means to pay privately. The people going through the biggest transitions often need it most and can access it least.( like WTF !) Treehouse closes that gap, and being part of that feels meaningful in a way that goes beyond my regular practice.