Leading better
I joined DMK as team leader in the cheese dairy nearly three years ago. I was managing production and getting to know the processes and above all, the people and functions in the plant. That was a real boost. Then I moved to another role within the plant around a year ago. Now I am optimizing production as a process engineer and am implementing projects for the cheese dairy, butter-making plant and whey processing. Thanks to the Passion program, I’m able to continue my personal development and figure out my individual strengths. Passion is a development program for junior staff of all ages and career levels, who are excited about DMK and hope to take on more responsibility later in their career as a specialist or manager. We learn about the different motives people have so we can better respond to them as individuals. That’s particularly important when there’s a conflict, or in negotiations, in team and group work, whether you’re managing people or dealing with decision-makers. After 17 months, we are in the second Passion year. We had two seminar modules that ran for several days that we attended in person, plus several online workshops, regular group meetings and I also have sessions with my personal mentor. Our exchanges help me sift through and process all that I am learning and get to know and understand other perspectives within DMK. I want to be able to better navigate the world of DMK through the program, explore new professional avenues, understand myself better and feel more trust in myself. At the end of the day, the aim is to have a good match between my expectations, my drive and what a particular post requires. Coming up, there’s another program module for me ahead plus some practical assignments in different parts of DMK. I am really looking forward to it!
Growing up on a farm in Edewecht in northern Germany, I learned early on what it means to lend a hand. I’ve always been very pragmatic ever since I was a child and I enjoy making things happen. Those abilities have really helped me a lot in my professional career. I started out with an apprenticeship at DMK, as a dairy specialist in Edewecht, then I became a master craftswoman. As I gained more and more experience, I was given more responsibility and rose to become production manager in Edewecht. I took part in further training, including as a systemic business coach, then expanded my skills as a “Quality & Business” Partner for International & Brand. When the company was looking for a plant manager at the Neubörger site, I applied for the job as it looked like it would be a challenge. The post is the highlight of my career so far and each day it spurs me on. Being flexible, thinking strategically and being able to make effective decisions are all big parts of my role. I also need to develop standardized processes to optimize our potential and our use of resources. I also want to develop a strong team and communicate and cooperate better with other departments and plants. The day-to-day operational tasks are not the hard part of the job. For young managers, the main thing is to gain the trust of your colleagues and persuade them to do new things and break new ground. That involves everyone learning from each other and needs everyone to pull together. My goal is to successfully manage the Neubörger site, to maximize our productivity, quality and efficiency. And I’m always coming up with new ideas. I would like to create a space for more open communication where people can share their concerns or suggestions for improving occupational safety, for example. As you can see, it’s all very exciting in my role which has so many different facets.
Istarted at DMK as a reception assistant in the Baby BU in 2019. I moved up rapidly after that. I joined the Service Management Team in the Global Business Service in 2021 and I work in project and process management. One of the areas that’s exciting right now is robotic process automation, where I look after our key users and am part of the decision-making committee. I model processes and join lean workshops and TIGER projects. It’s all really fun because I have a lot of responsibility and am developing new skills every day. I joined the Step up training program some time ago through my line manager Carsten Klapproth. We analyzed my potential and decided I could develop in the projects and processes area by doing a degree. Step up, formerly the Individual training program, provides employees with professional support if the measures they work on benefit the employee personally as well as DMK. Step up pays my tuition fees, which is crucial for me, as studying part-time is expensive. I’m looking forward to using the knowledge I have gained for DMK in the future.
