Gábor Kosztolánczy

I spent much of my childhood in a kayak. Paddling home against the wind after a storm, soaked through and exhausted, while trying to help each other by using one another’s wake, was a good lesson. I learned early that although the paddle is in my own hands, a well-timed gesture, attention or question from someone else can sometimes help more than we might expect.

Perhaps this is why both achievement and curiosity about people have accompanied me throughout my life. I was already teaching mathematics and physics while still at secondary school, and later worked as a kayaking and ski instructor. I have always been interested in how to pay attention to someone and communicate in a way that makes what they are dealing with understandable and useful to them.

My career eventually took me into the worlds of culture and leadership. I started at the Madách Theatre, later became Finance Director of the Centrál Theatre, and since 2011 I have been Deputy CEO of Müpa Budapest. More than twenty years of senior leadership experience have taught me what it means to carry responsibility, lead people and organisations, handle conflicts, make difficult decisions and keep moving forward in uncertain situations.

Alongside my leadership career, I became increasingly interested in what happens to people and groups beneath the surface of everyday functioning. Through coaching, team coaching, organisational development, supervision and Gestalt therapy, I have learned to look at the same fundamental question from different perspectives: what is happening now, and what could help create meaningful change?

Today I work with leaders, teams, organisations, helping professionals and individuals. I do not believe that I have other people’s answers. What I can do is help them see their situation more clearly and find the next step that genuinely works for them.