Dr. Boela de Waal
Consulting Associate & Executive and Leadership Coach
Dr. de Waal is a registered Industrial Psychologist and Narrative Counsellor in South Africa (HPCSA Reg. No. PS 0058041). He is based in Cape Town, Western Cape.
Career track record
With over 35 years of experience as an Independent Management Consultant, Boela has partnered with organisations across the mining, Petrochemical, Construction, Logistics, Retail, and Academic sectors. His work spans Human Resources, Training & Development, Industrial & Organisational Psychology, and Management & Leadership Development, helping clients to diagnose challenges, design interventions, and embed sustainable change.
Personal philosophy
Passionate about people development, Positive Organisational Behaviour (POB) and engagement, Boela believes in unlocking, aligning and optimising the unique potential within every individual. He employs a blended approach, grounded in sound theory and enriched by narrative counselling, to deliver high-quality learning and development opportunities tailored to individual and organisational needs. Emphasising strengths over deficits and resilience over vulnerability, he views coaching as a proactive method to enhance performance, foster well-being, and create lasting meaning for both people and businesses.
Focus and Strengths
Management & Leadership assessment, development & coaching (self-insight, derailers, potential clarification)
Change Management & Culture Change
Team performance enhancement & development
Supervisory and Leadership development interventions (face-to-face & online)
Performance Coaching skills training & behaviour change
Organisational culture research and growth through leadership and engagement
Psychometric assessment for selection and development
Coaching style & approach
In today’s “new world of work,” Boela champions an inclusive, participative leadership paradigm instead of command-and-control. He uses a blended methodology, underpinned by narrative counselling and Positive Psychology, supplemented, when appropriate, by internationally validated instruments (e.g. The Leadership Circle 360, targeted selection interviews). His role is to facilitate developmental conversations in which clients discover for themselves what to change and how to shift behaviours to deliver extraordinary results for themselves, their teams and their organisations.