Leadership, decision-making and team behaviour under pressure.

Jo Balcaen is a former pilot in the Belgian Air Force, with more than thirty years of experience in both military and civil aviation.

"I operated in environments where decisions had to be made under time pressure, with incomplete information and real consequences — including Search and Rescue operations and operational missions in complex, high-risk contexts at home and abroad.

In situations where mistakes do not cause reputational damage but cost lives, I led teams, made decisions without full information and carried responsibility without any guarantee of a comfortable outcome.

Today, I translate that experience into reflective keynotes and sessions for executive teams, management teams and SME leaders."

• Lived cases from mission-critical and operational contexts, where decision-making, doubt and responsibility converge
• A systemic view on leadership, independent of personality, charisma or heroism
• Reflective sessions that make visible what the system enables — and what it constrains
• A mature, analytical style without slogans, models or buzzwords.

"My sessions do not start from what leaders should do, but from what people actually do when things become difficult."