Renée Nieuwboer

Thrown in at the deep end, but in the right place

Eight years ago, I started at Nedap in Healthcare as a specialist. I had no background in healthcare, but that wasn’t a problem. They said, “You’ll learn. People work here from all sorts of backgrounds.” And it was true. Those first months were intense. I came from the financial world and entered a non-hierarchical environment where everyone was open and approachable. It took some adjustment.

This is where my strength lies

I started as a specialist for the Ons® suite and mostly learned by doing. When I began coordinating webinars together with a colleague, something clicked: creating oversight, setting direction, connecting people, thinking long-term… That energized me! Later, I got to lead a project in the Backoffice tribe*, which confirmed what I already felt: this is my role. Not just reacting to today’s issues, but bringing structure and shared direction.

But… the role of project lead didn’t exist. There were plenty of projects, but everyone just ‘did them on the side’. That led to inconsistent quality and lost time. I thought that was a waste and saw how it could be done differently.

I was convinced Healthcare needed project leads. So, I explored what was required, wrote a proposal, and pitched it. Not everyone believed in it, some even said there was ‘no future’ for project leads in our business unit. But I kept going because I saw the difference it made. Fortunately, others saw the potential too.

The power of structure in an agile environment

Working in a Scrum-heavy environment requires good coordination. There was some hesitation, understandably, since planning and milestones can feel rigid. But big projects need direction. Without an idea of where you’re headed, you can’t manage expectations.

“It’s always about finding the right balance to move the project forward.”

I see project management as complementary to Scrum: managing risks, looking further ahead, but without taking away agility. You plan long-term without boxing in the team. That’s its strength. Sometimes I deliberately stay out of the content to leave space, and other times, knowing the content really helps.

Nowhere near finished

In the meantime, my role has changed and I’ve started as Tribe Lead Back Office. It feels like a natural next step. My focus shifts from leading individual projects to strengthening the broader context in which those projects take place. I’m responsible for the direction and health of the Backoffice tribe. That means aligning priorities, safeguarding a sustainable pace, and supporting collaboration across roles and disciplines.

“My ambition is to make deliberate, sustainable choices that strengthen both our product and the way we work together.”

To me, it feels like we’re only just beginning. There’s so much to develop, improve, and organize more smartly. And that’s what I love, that’s what drives me: building something step by step, strengthening it, and bringing others along in the process. I don’t need to do it all at once, as long as we keep moving forward. So: keep learning, keep building, and keep progressing.

* What are tribes and guilds?

Within Healthcare, we work in tribes: your ‘home base’, the community where you work on a specific product domain. A guild cuts across this structure: it’s a group of people with shared expertise or a desire to develop in a particular area. You can belong to both: work in a tribe and join a guild to share knowledge, learn, and strengthen a field of expertise together.