Podcast: Wouter Weeda on football, magic tricks and enjoying work in turbulent times
Wouter Weeda became the new scientific director of the Institute of Psychology in December. But he is also a football coach, bass player in the Thursday Evening Band and chairman of the National Magic Association. Get to know Wouter in 13 minutes.
English transcription
Intro quote WW: A metaphor that is often used is that we are a kind of container ship that needs to be steered. But I really do need everyone sailing on that container ship with me, to help see whether we are still on course.
KK:
What do football, a disappearing act, a guitar, and the Internationalisation in Balance Act have in common?
You will hear that in this podcast, where we introduce you to Wouter Weeda, the new Scientific Director of the Institute of Psychology.
My name is Karlijn Krijgsman, from internal communications at Psychology.
And Wouter, I would like to warmly welcome you.
WW:
Thank you very much.
Getting to know Wouter
KK:
It’s great to have you here for this introduction, so that we can get to know you a bit better. Could you tell us something about yourself?
WW:
Yes. My name is Wouter Weeda, I’m 45 years old. I live in Haarlem with my partner and our 14-year-old twins.
I’ve been working in Leiden since 2015, and I still really enjoy it. I studied at the University of Amsterdam, where I actually completed two specialisations. At the time, this was called psychonomy, which would now be cognitive psychology and methodology. What is now Methodology and Statistics here, essentially.
I then completed my PhD in Developmental Psychology, focusing on new analytical methods for brain data. That is also the topic I have been working on here in Leiden for the past ten years.
Before that, I worked for several years at Communication Science at the UvA and in Clinical Neuropsychology at the VU, mainly providing methods teaching and research support.
Football and coaching
KK:
What is your connection with football?
WW:
At the moment, quite a lot actually. But growing up, I never played football myself. I didn’t come from a football family at all.
My children, who are now fourteen, really wanted to play football when they were about eight. I enjoyed standing on the sidelines and watching. Then, last year, the coach of their team left, and there was suddenly a vacant coaching position. Nobody really wanted to do it.
I thought, well, I’ll just give it a go. So since then I’ve been coaching their football team, which is actually great fun. At the beginning I had absolutely no idea how everything worked, but fortunately they are now old and wise enough to explain it all to me.
This year it really feels like a new team: a group of great lads, all very different.
KK:
And what makes a good coach?
WW:
What I noticed—and I find this quite amusing—is that it doesn’t matter that much how much you know about football. What matters more is that you support the boys in their process.
A lot of it is about emotions on the pitch. They want to play in a position they enjoy, they want to play good football, but during a match there is a lot coming at you. That includes other people who may be quite vocal and try to provoke you.
KK:
So are you more focused on that than on winning matches?
WW:
I do really want to win. But I think enjoyment of the game is more important. After a match, I give them all a high five and compliment them on what went well. I also emphasise that it’s okay if you’re not having a great day.
Some of them might have taken fourteen shots on goal and none went in. Then I’ll say: yes, but you took fourteen shots on goal. That means you were getting into good positions. I always try to pass on that kind of perspective.
Magic and disappearing acts
KK:
Something completely different. You’ve been asked more than once: “Can you make me disappear?” How did that come about?
WW:
That actually started during the COVID period. I was incredibly bored with all those online meetings and felt I needed something to do. I occasionally came across magicians online doing card tricks, and I thought: I just want to understand how that works. That’s the scientist in me waking up.
As soon as it was possible again, I bought a deck of cards in a shop and started practising a bit. Then it turned out that my partner’s grandfather was an amateur magician. I never knew him—he passed away in 2017, a year before I met my partner—but he had been a member of the oldest amateur magic society in the Netherlands.
Through his wife, my partner’s grandmother, who is now 100, I was invited to have a look at his old magic room. It was full of magic books and props. Whenever we visited, I would lock myself in that room and happily read and practise.
Through various contacts, I eventually met his best friend, who is still a member of that magic society. He invited me to come along and see whether it was something for me. And since then, I’ve been a member of that society.
KK:
That’s a wonderful story.
WW:
Yes, isn’t it?
KK:
How did you take it further from there? And what is your favourite magic trick?
WW:
I mainly enjoy card tricks. What’s interesting is that if you really look closely at magic, the trick itself isn’t the most important part. What matters is the story you tell and how you tell it.
I enjoy thinking about that: how do you turn something that is essentially just a deck of cards into a little moment of wonder? The standard trick is: “Pick a card and I’ll find it again.” But how do you turn that into a story that feels magical?
Music and the Thursday Night Band
Music playing
KK:
Now we’re going to listen to something together, and afterwards I’d love for you to tell us a bit about it. What did we just hear?
WW:
That was the Thursday Night Band. I’ve been playing in that band since about 2007. The line-up has changed a bit over the years, but we’re still called the Thursday Night Band because we rehearse on Thursday evenings.
I originally played guitar—classical Spanish guitar, so a lot of finger work—and later electric guitar. Then I was asked to join a band that needed a bass player. They asked: can you do that? I thought: no idea, but I’ll give it a try.
I enjoyed it so much that I just kept doing it. Sting once said: “It’s not a C chord until I play a C.” As a bass player, you often play the root notes. If the guitarist plays a C chord, I can play a C on the bass, which is very harmonious. But I could also play an F underneath it, which creates a completely different sound.
Sting was very good at seeing this as a form of control: until I decide which note I play, I determine how it sounds. That actually suits my personality quite well.
Scientific leadership and the coming years
KK:
Looking ahead to the coming years in your role as Scientific Director: how do you see that? What do you find important?
WW:
It’s a turbulent time at the moment. There are several developments that are not particularly pleasant: the Internationalisation in Balance Act, budget cuts. All of that is difficult and creates uncertainty, which directly affects job satisfaction.
Uncertainty is very unpleasant, especially in an already uncertain world like science and academia. I hope to create some sense of calm and ensure that people can continue to enjoy coming to work.
I think it’s very important to focus on what is possible, and on the things that make our work enjoyable. One of my main tasks is to safeguard people’s work happiness and to help ensure that everyone is in a place that suits them.
Words from colleagues
KK:
I’m going to read out a few words and phrases from colleagues about you. Could you then pick one that stands out most to you? Here they are:
Socially and societally engaged.
A healthy dose of self-mockery.
A very organised character.
Very good at enthusing people, and therefore a pleasant leader and colleague.
Attention for your surroundings and for people’s wellbeing.
Helpful, connecting.
You ensure, in a pleasant way, that everyone stays on course and that collaboration runs smoothly.
WW:
That does make you quiet for a moment. They are very kind words.
KK:
Is there one that stands out for you?
WW:
I think “self-mockery”. Not because I’m constantly putting myself down, but because I try to see the lightness in all the things that come at you.
It’s easy to get stuck in everything that doesn’t work and everything that is negative. And there are many things we simply can’t change, but that still weigh heavily on job satisfaction. And then you will hear me make a humorous remark sometimes, just to bring a bit of lightness back into the room.
Just to laugh for a moment and say: we’re all doing our best. Let’s focus on how we can get as much enjoyment as possible from our work.
That also connects to being social and connecting. I try to drop by, have a chat, keep my door open. My role as a director is not to tell everyone what to do, but to make sure everyone can do what they are good at.
That does require a certain level of steering. The metaphor is often used: we are a container ship that needs to be navigated. But I really need everyone on board to help see whether we are still on course.
That is the strange thing about academia. We are all little islands within our own scientific domains, in a competitive world. In the past especially, you had to publish constantly or you wouldn’t survive. I think those times have genuinely changed.
There is much more focus now on what we can do together, and on the possibilities beyond research and teaching—areas where people may excel and find real satisfaction. The question is: how do we make sure everyone is in the right place?
Closing
KK:
Thank you, Wouter, for this very personal introduction.
And to our listeners: thank you very much for listening