Thierry Dentice has over twenty years of progressive professional experience in national government advisory boards, multi-country donor institutions, and humanitarian organizations. During his career, Thierry has always appreciated the importance of leadership to delivering results in the most efficient and effective manner possible, and he has always been convinced that there is no “magic combination” of characteristics that makes a leader successful, and that different characteristics matter in different circumstances.

This appreciation and this knowledge have motivated him to recently darn a Harvard Executive Leadership Programme Certificate. While the prospect of studying after working hours was daunting, Thierry understands that – while some leadership traits are innate and instinctive – others can be learned : leadership for Thierry has nothing of heroic, or mythical, and he therefore wanted to learn more, further improve and contribute even better to organisational goals.

Thierry Dentice has utilized his leadership knowledge and demonstrated his leadership ability throughout his career. He is an avid reader of leadership books and articles, but while he realizes that leadership is probably the most frequently studied topic in the organizational sciences Thierry also believes in pragmatism and practicality. That’s why he is a fervent admirer of the “situational leadership”: Thierry knows that whenever a decision is needed, an effective leader does not just fall into a single preferred, by-the-book style, but manages to adapts to the situation, to its challenges and opportunities but – especially – to the strengths and weakness of his/her team members.

Within the above-mentioned context, and having worked since 1996 for various development and humanitarian organisations all over the World, Thierry has consistently managed multi-cultural teams of more than 60 people and he is convinced that a well-managed diverse workforce breeds a more creative, innovative, and productive workforce and, as a result, a more efficient and effective organization. 

Thierry has always loved working in multi-cultural environments, and has consistently managed to bring the best out each of his teams, and team members. In similar cases, the ability to communicate clearly to team is a vital skill for any effective leader. Thierry’s fluency in four different languages including French, Flemish, Italian, and English and his diversified experiences in working in four Continents have served as a useful tool when dealing with multicultural teams : he has always strived to be supportive of individuals of different background by making the most of their respective skills.

Thierry Dentice also understands that leadership is a very composite affair. Beyond the need to quickly and effectively adapt to different situations, Thierry believes that a good leader is not just a person with specific, individual traits and skills and capacities, but a real person living and working in a complex environment with supervisees, supervisors, colleagues and peers and that they all make – or, consequently, break – the leader. In short, for Thierry, a leader is also somebody who is capable of developing and maintaining an elaborate mosaic of different relationships at all levels ; somebody who is able to interact, listen, and make it real for everybody he/she talks to. 

Leadership for Thierry Dentice is a reflection of one’s true self, of the leader’s honesty, and empathy, but also of the leader’s capacity to be able to act beyond the cliches, the statements and the data that comes from books, articles and leadership courses. Thierry is indeed a pragmatic individual and as one of his favourite articles on leadership theories says he is a firm believer that « the act of great leadership… should be informed by smart research, yet it should be shaped by on-the-ground experience.  By all means read the theories, attend seminars, and talk to luminaries. They provide a solid foundation. But then ask yourself, what do I believe makes a great leader?  Trust your gut and experience. Don’t worry about making it perfect. Worry about making it a reflection of what you truly have found to work.”

While not in the office, Thierry Dentice is an avid foodie. He loves cooking a variety of cuisines, and enjoying new restaurants. He also is quite the travel enthusiast having visited such destinations as Mozambique, the Seychelles, Morocco, Thailand, the Maldives, Singapore and many others across the World.