A Summer Morning with a New York Gentleman.

It was one of those early summer mornings when the city still felt shy, the light hesitant to spill across the streets. I arrived with my camera in Amsterdam, ready not just to take a portrait but to witness a story. This is what we do at Business Photo NL: we create Stories That Shine, portraits that reveal the human philosophy behind leadership.

The office where we met held a quiet dignity, and in the corner, I saw a clock in a way that instantly reminded me of Grand Central Station.

And then there was Fons Trompenaars himself, one of the world’s leading experts on cross-cultural leadership and organizational culture. Elegance in his gestures. A man who carries intellect lightly, as though wisdom is best offered with a smile rather than a lecture. My first thought was simple: a New York gentleman, sitting here in Amsterdam.

This is what I often see during executive portrait photography and team branding sessions in Amsterdam. When people let their guard down, their leadership is revealed not in what they say, but in what radiates through presence, eye contact, and the ability to truly be there.

Culture and Connection

We spoke of why even brilliant CEOs sometimes fail to connect with their teams. He explained how mission and talent often stumble when leadership lacks the chemistry of listening.

The business machine slows, not because the mission itself isn’t noble, but because leaders forget to hear the human heartbeat inside the workflow.

Our conversation shifted toward culture, the invisible fabric we all wear, often unnoticed until we step outside of it. Two people talked about business, art, and geopolitics. Present, seen, and heard. I’m sure that when we do all these three things, there is no space for misunderstanding.

I paused. Because I see this too, behind the lens during personal branding photo shoots. People sit in front of my camera and bring with them entire oceans of unspoken culture: the way they were raised to smile, or not smile; the way they think of authority; the way they carry pride or humility in their posture. They rarely name it, yet it surrounds them like water. And when they step outside that water into another country, another team, another language, they suddenly feel the depth of what has always held them.

This is where photography and leadership intertwine: both reveal the cultural water we swim in.

When Chemistry is Missing.

One phrase that made me curious sounded like this: if there is no chemistry between leadership and a team, no matter how wonderful the mission or product may be, there is no flow.

Fons smiled, eyes glinting, and said with the simplicity of someone who has dedicated his life to this field:

“The international manager reconciles cultural dilemmas.”

Not by solving. Not by choosing sides. But by reconciling, by holding the tension between opposites and finding a way for both to live, breathe, and even thrive together.

This is not easy work. It is tender work. To reconcile differences is to accept contradiction as fertile ground, not as a battlefield. It is to see that Paris can live in the same heart as New York — Paris with its elegance, New York with its energy. Grace and drive held together.

When he told me of his love for those two cities, it all became clear. He doesn’t just speak about reconciliation, he carries it within him. He embodies it.

What Shines Behind the Lens

That morning in Amsterdam, what I saw through my lens wasn’t just a portrait of a renowned thinker. It was a philosophy of leadership: soil, water, reconciliation.

Because in the end, leadership is not about crowns, or titles, or theories. It is about soil. It is about water. It is about listening. 👂

And when leaders remember that, the machine of business doesn’t just work.

It breathes.

This is why Business Photo NL believes that photography for leaders and teams should go beyond “just a headshot.” Our portraits help people feel seen. We empower people with the values they choose and how those values connect to the work they do. Often, we are so lost in operations that we don’t see our spirit anymore; that is when we create space for it with the camera and capture it.

Stepping into Imagination

After the photo session, I felt the need to ask Fons three more questions. I am a big fan of legends and archetypes, so I wanted to step into the realm of stormy fantasy:

🙋‍♀️ If a CEO were a magical creature, how would this creature look, and which magic skills would it have, and why?

💫 You can go as far as possible with the fantasy, no limits!

😔 And if a dilemma were very sad, which keys can save her so she thrives?

And here was Fons’s answer, pure and sparkling with myth.

It carried my inner child all over the world and revealed philosophy in a simple and yet complex way.

And the cherry 🍒 on top: his answer showed me where I fail most of the time and where my own field of development lies. That is exactly why I love Stories That Shine! They nurture my curiosity and passion. I love to learn from people, their wisdom, and their expertise. That’s why it makes me very happy to lead my business with a marketing campaign that fulfills those needs.

Fons Trompenaars:

“Let’s dive into the realm of endless imagination”.

If a CEO were a magical creature, the CEO would be a Celestial Phoenix-Dragon;

Wings of a Phoenix → endless rebirth: the power to reinvent the organization and rise from crises stronger than before.
Heart of a Unicorn → creating purity of vision and the ability to inspire trust, even in the darkest times.
Scales of a Dragon → resilience, protecting the organization from external threats.
Eyes of a Hawk → foresight, spotting opportunities and dangers long before others.
Voice of a Siren → charisma to align people and motivate them to follow a shared purpose.
Hands of a Weaver → the ability to connect opposites — tradition with innovation, people with technology, profit with purpose.

Magic Skills:

Time-bending Vision → can see the impact of today’s decisions decades into the future.
Reality-Shaping Presence → turns abstract visions into tangible realities — ideas become living ecosystems.
Harmony Spell → merges conflicting forces (profit vs. purpose, centralization vs. decentralization) into higher-value integrations.

If a Dilemma were very sad… 😔

Imagine a dilemma as a fragile, weeping 😢 spirit torn between two powerful but opposing forces. To help her thrive, you need Keys:

The Key of Listening → unlocks her voice so both sides are truly heard.
The Key of Respect → validates both opposites as equally valuable.
The Key of Curiosity → asks, “What can I do with X to get more of Y?”
The Key of Courage → dares to step beyond “either/or” thinking.
The Key of Imagination → transforms her tears into new possibilities.
And let me consciously end with the Key of Love → makes the dilemma feel safe, so her polarities can dance together instead of fight.

When these keys turn together in the lock of paradox, the sad dilemma transforms her sorrow becomes laughter, and her opposites weave into a powerful new harmony.

✨ Stories That Shine is a series by Business Photo NL – where portraits become stories, and where stories remind us that behind every person is a philosophy worth seeing. Based in Amsterdam, we specialize in executive portraits, business photography, and personal branding photography for leaders and teams across the Netherlands.

📚 Quotes in this story are drawn from the published work and spoken reflections of Fons Trompenaars, including Riding the Waves of Culture and his lifelong teaching on cross-cultural leadership.