A way of life
Changing the world, one negotiation at a time – that has long been my drive.
The dream started early. Growing up in Keerbergen, the eldest in a vibrant, multicultural family, I was a bridge between contrasts. My parents were both strong and inspiring—yet radically different. Between them, I became a natural diplomat.
When my little sister arrived from India, I helped her find her place in a completely new world. At home, among friends, across cultures—I gravitated toward connection.
My mother taught me to look inward: to search for authenticity and sense what lies beneath the surface. My father taught me to look outward: to understand that truth often has more than one side.
I learned that negotiation wasn’t about dominance or control.
It was about listening, perspective, and the art of shaping space between difference.
This realization stayed with me.
Exploring negotiations
This early experience led me to study diplomacy—and eventually, to dedicate my PhD to negotiation and conflict management.
I was fascinated. Negotiation revealed itself not just as a skill, but as a way to relate to the world. In an interconnected and fast-changing society, our power lies in the ability to align, influence, and create synergy.
My academic journey took me to Harvard, the European University Institute, Sciences Po, Ghent University, and Vlerick Business School—where I now teach and lead research. My focus: the human factor in negotiation.
How do we use the space between action and reaction? What can we influence—through what we say, what we do, and how we show up? That’s the heart of my work.
Private negotiations
At 22, I met my future husband Marc. We quickly discovered our shared hunger for learning, exploring, and shaping impact. During a walk in Tervuren, we made a promise: we would always seek our way to contribute.
That promise carried us across Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the U.S., and back to Belgium.
Our relationship, like many long-distance journeys, was one long series of negotiations—between dreams, careers, decisions, and values.
We learned that to build a life together means building alignment again and again.
Learning from our children
When we became parents, the journey deepened. Our children are among our greatest teachers.
They remind us that negotiation is everywhere: in the way we respond to tears, the way we discuss bedtime, and the way we model respect.
Each interaction is a chance to tune in, reflect, and lead—by being.
Negotiation is not just something we do.
It’s who we are becoming.
At the junction of research and practice
I found my calling at the intersection of academic insight and real-world impact. First through Prospex. Then by founding NegotiationWize.
For over 25 years, I have trained and advised thousands of leaders, professionals, and decision-makers—from boardrooms to international institutions.
What I saw again and again:
We often stand in our own way.
We fall into patterns that disconnect us from our goals. But if we learn to see those patterns—and reshape them—we unlock something powerful.
The real negotiation is not only with others. It starts within.
Rewriting the negotiation narrative
This is what inspired me to develop Negotiation Intelligence (NQ®):
a new paradigm for 21st-century negotiations.
NQ® builds on IQ and EQ, but it goes further. It offers a systemic, science-based, and transformational approach—grounded in real-world practice and behavioral insight.
It equips us to connect better, create more value, and shape outcomes that last.
With NQ®, we are not simply aiming to win. We are aiming to change the game.
To lead with clarity. To negotiate with purpose.
This is my mission.
This is what drives me.
One negotiation at a time.
Now available…
The book ‘Negotiation Intelligence’ by our founder, Prof. Dr. Katia Tieleman, is now available in bookstores and online.
Discover how to lead breakthrough negotiations and build lasting impact with the new NQ® approach, developed at the crossroads of science, practice, and innovation.
