JEAN PHILIP DE TENDER

8L12 is an office on the 8^th floor of VRT, the Flemish public broadcaster in Belgium.  I spent quite some time there, and the vibes of that office still resonate with many, even today.  My career started in that place, and 8L12 is part of my DNA.

I have been a manager for over 25 years but talk show host Jan Van Rompaey was the first to ask me to take on team responsibility. I was surprised when he asked me, but I said ‘yes’ because I trusted my peers would accept me as the lead. Since then, I have worked with many teams, but no bonding is as strong as with this group. 

In the meantime, we all moved on. Jan has been retired for over twenty years. Some left the VRT, and unfortunately, Stefan and Gust passed away. It’s no different than any other team.

We have circles of friends (kindergarten, university, first job, families, …), but then we move on. And we forget. We forget that they were our best friends. Our best friends then are no longer the ones today because we have others. The more circles of friends you have, the more you distance yourself from them because you know that other people and events may come between you, and you learn to cope with it.

But the 8L12 team stayed in touch. We celebrate each other’s successes and touch base every so many years. 

Unexpectedly, an 8L12 Academy Whatsapp group was created. Murielle, who had departed from the VRT, is now giving cooking classes, and it was decided that we would cook together at Ann’s home under Murielle’s leadership. I already had a busy weekend and wasn’t sure what to expect, but the moment we met, we were thrown back 25 years back in time. We touched base, discussed each other’s endeavours, commemorated the losses, and welcomed new love in the group: instant love and connection.

I wasn’t in charge this time. Murielle and Ann were leading, and I was happy for their steer.  There were ingredients on the table, three teams and recipes. But we all let go, working hard on the food, and checked in on a gap of over sometimes 10+ years. Ultimately, there was great food on the table, and I was so proud of my friends for what we had achieved.

Should we restart a professional relationship? I don’t know, but what I do know is that we will cook together again.