Nico Schellingerhout is a trainer, consultant and change practitioner with a background in product development, innovation and Agile transformations. He helps organisations perform better by looking at problems differently, breaking through ingrained patterns, and focusing on what is actually possible.
His background in product development gives him a perspective that differs from many traditional Agile coaches. Product organisations face different challenges from service organisations, and that often calls for different solutions. Nico combines his knowledge of SAFe, Agility and organisational change with years of practical experience in research, development and product innovation.
At Connected Movement, Nico delivers training, workshops and advisory programmes in SAFe, Agile Transformation, leadership and organisational development. He never treats frameworks as ends in themselves. For Nico, SAFe is not a destination — it is a means to help organisations change, collaborate more effectively and deliver more value.
He is known for his direct style, sharp analysis and his ability to cut through complexity and get to the heart of the matter. His training sessions get participants thinking and challenge them to explore new perspectives.
“I say it as it is. I don’t have many filters, and I enjoy naming what I actually see. My background in product development also sets me apart from many other trainers and coaches. Product companies face challenges that service organisations don’t. That means you can start from the same Agile principles and still arrive at very different solutions.
Beyond sharing knowledge, what I really want to do is spark change. For me, SAFe is the means, not the end. I enjoy getting people thinking and helping them break out of fixed patterns. It’s usually easy to come up with ten reasons why something won’t work. The more interesting question is: what could work?
Learning to see situations differently is, for me, the foundation of organisational change.”
“I learn a great deal from participants myself, and sometimes there are real gems among them.
A participant once shared research on children’s behaviour in a school playground. When a playground has clearly defined boundaries, children actually play more freely than when those boundaries are absent.
That insight stayed with me because it mirrors what you see in organisations. Employees and leaders also need clarity and a sense of safety. When you reduce direction, a form of certainty often disappears with it. That raises the question: how do we fill that gap?
Those kinds of insights, coming from unexpected angles, are what make training so genuinely valuable for me.”
“Connected Movement brings together independent professionals in a network built around sharing knowledge. Everyone brings their own expertise, experience and perspective, and it is precisely that combination which creates something greater than the sum of its parts.
My own background is in research and product development, while other colleagues have built their experience in IT, government, financial services or other sectors. Bringing those different perspectives together creates a far richer learning environment.
I enjoy working alongside other trainers and consultants, not only to offer participants a broader perspective, but also because I genuinely want to keep learning myself. That openness, curiosity and willingness to share knowledge fits well with how I approach my own practice.”
“As a child, I was hugely curious. Toys were only interesting for as long as I could learn from them. Once I’d worked out how something worked, I’d move on to the next challenge.
That curiosity has never really gone away. I’m drawn to new problems, new ideas and new possibilities. By nature, I’m more of a starter than a finisher. There’s energy in discovering things, analysing them and getting change moving.
My strength lies in making sense of complex situations and getting to the core of what’s happening. I often quickly spot connections between different parts of a system, and I look for solutions that are both practically workable and get people moving.
Two threads run through my entire career. The first is making research, design and development smarter. The second is creating products that genuinely matter. Right now, I’m particularly driven by questions around sustainability, the energy transition and reducing our footprint.”
“My first major Agile transformation at Philips.
A department had ground to a halt because multiple internal customers were constantly making conflicting demands. The result was long lead times, frustration and very little predictability.
It was during an Agile training that things clicked into place for me. After that, I started a transformation of the department. Together with management and the teams, we went through an intensive change programme that ultimately led to the first successful Agile Release Train within Philips.
The results were impressive. Lead time dropped from around 240 days to roughly 100. Delivery frequency increased from once or twice a year to five times a year. At the same time, motivation, quality and compliance all improved significantly.
What I’m most proud of, though, is that the change kept reinforcing itself. It didn’t become a temporary improvement — it became a new way of working that is still delivering results years later.”
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