--- title: "About Steff: AI adoption expert, trainer and author" description: "25+ years of experience, 5,000+ participants, 100+ organisations, 5+ books. As a Belgian AI adoption expert, Steff VanHaverbeke connects technology and people." language: en source: https://coachsteff.live/en/about --- # About Steff: AI adoption expert, trainer and author ## For almost thirty years I have been helping people figure out what comes next. The tools change. The questions do not. How do I stay relevant when everything around me is shifting? How do I lead when I am no longer the expert in the room? How do I use this new technology without losing what makes me good at my job? I have been answering some version of those questions since 1997. First as a graphic designer figuring out the early web. Then as an NLP practitioner and coach, working with people on how they think, communicate and lead. Now as an AI adoption expert, helping professionals and organisations find their way in the biggest shift most of us will experience in our working lives. The common thread through all of that: I translate between worlds. Between technology and psychology. Between what is possible and what is feasible. Between the machine and the human. ![Steff with a marker: where ideas hit the whiteboard](https://coachsteff.live/media/e6a9a82b992a533f.webp) ## The real challenge is not the technology. It is how people think and adapt. AI gives you speed. But your competitors get that speed too. The difference between thriving and drifting is not in the tools you choose. It is in whether you can think clearly, truly collaborate and make decisions that no algorithm will make for you. For almost thirty years I have been helping professionals and teams figure out what is coming. Today "what is coming" is the biggest shift most of us will experience in our careers. And the answer is not to compete with the machine. It is to do the work that only you can do. ![Steff leading a workshop on AI adoption](https://coachsteff.live/media/e87e50d830fccebc.webp) ## Technology meets psychology I do not believe that tools transform anything on their own. People do. And people change when they feel safe enough to experiment, supported enough to fail, and see clearly enough why the change matters. That is why my work sits at the intersection of technology and human behaviour. I look at the architecture of an AI agent with the same curiosity as the dynamics in a room full of sceptical managers. Both are systems. Both respond to intention, attention and care. AI adoption is not about investing more. It is about investing smarter in your own Human Compute: the attention, judgement and care that no algorithm can replicate. ## What I do today ### I train Practical workshops on AI adoption, prompt engineering, cognitive agility and facilitation. For Syntra Bizz, Syntra West, Cevora, The House of Coaching and organisations across Belgium and Europe. ### I write Books that bridge the gap between knowing and doing. *Finally, Superpowers!*, *Being Replaced*, *Build Bot Brains*, *Game On!* and more. Every book is made to be picked up, used and passed on. ### I build Open-source frameworks, AI workflows, automated content pipelines and agent systems. I do what I teach and I teach what I do. ### I coach One-on-one and in small groups, for leaders finding their way in AI adoption, career transitions and the identity shift that rapid change brings. ### I facilitate Visual, systemic sessions that get groups moving again. From causal loop diagrams to full collaboration days. Designed to bring out what matters and move past what does not. ## Where I come from I grew up in the Flemish countryside. I studied design. I built websites before most companies knew they needed one. I fell in love with how people think and communicate, trained in neuro-linguistic programming and spent two decades in the world of coaching and facilitation before AI made everything feel new again. The step to AI was not a pivot. It was the realisation that the same questions I was already helping people with (how do I adapt, how do I stay relevant, how do I lead in uncertainty) had just found their most urgent context ever. I live in Herzele with two pets, a home office that doubles as a podcast studio, and the conviction that the future needs people who are brave, not just fast. ![At home: where the real thinking happens (with company)](https://coachsteff.live/media/b3dcdf005d9f61dd.webp) ## In numbers ### 25+ years of experience in training, coaching and facilitation ### 5,000+ professionals trained, across sectors and countries ### 100+ organisations guided, from startups to multinationals ### 5+ published books in English, Dutch and as a co-author > Co-founder of **The House of Coaching**. Founder of **CS Workx**. Teacher at **Syntra AB**. Certified business coach, NLP practitioner and facilitator. ![On stage: making AI adoption tangible for audiences that matter](https://coachsteff.live/media/4c0b216835bbc3a0.webp) ## How I work and for whom Behind my workshops and coaching is a toolkit I built up over more than twenty years: NLP, systems thinking, facilitation, visual thinking and storytelling. And a long list of organisations that entrusted me with their teams. [Discover the techniques I use →](https://coachsteff.live/techniques) [View my references →](https://coachsteff.live/references) ## Frequently asked questions **What is Steff's background?** - Steff started in 1997 as a graphic designer and built websites for the early web. After that, she worked for two decades as an NLP practitioner, coach and facilitator on how people think, communicate and lead. Today she brings that experience together as an AI adoption expert. **What certifications does Steff hold?** - She is a certified NLP Practitioner, NLP Master Practitioner, NLP Trainer and Consultant, CBT Practitioner, Life Coach, Mindscaping Coach and business coach. For years she taught courses herself in NLP, visual thinking, facilitation, systems thinking, strategic thinking and business storytelling. **Which organisations is Steff involved with?** - Steff is co-founder of The House of Coaching, founder of CS Workx and a teacher at Syntra AB. She also collaborates with Syntra Bizz, Syntra West and Cevora. ## How do we proceed? Choose what suits you. ### Ask your question A quick question or a specific request? I will answer you personally. [Send a message →](https://coachsteff.live/contact) ### Schedule a call Thirty minutes to explore together what you need, without a sales pitch. [Schedule a call →](https://coachsteff.live/meet) ### Become a member Become a member of Learn for free and read all articles in full. If you want to go further, you can grow into Leverage and Leap. [Register for free →](https://coachsteff.live/account)