Trine Dyhr Hansen

In my early years in the workplace, I put a lot of emphasis on meeting other people’s expectations of me. It was central to my self-image what my colleagues and managers thought of me and my deliverables. Despite the fact that I received a lot of praise – which gave me energy and drive in everything I did – it meant that I set other people’s goals and their reactions to them as a success criterion for myself. As a child, I was fascinated and inspired by Pippi Longstocking and Ronja the Robber’s Daughter – they became my role models in life: Ronja for her curiosity about what lies outside her own “castle” and other people. And Pippi for her approach “I’ve never tried that before, so I can probably do it!”. Both made sense to me and to this day I have a habit of jumping into new things with both drive and a sense of adventure. At the same time, I know that all new challenges require self-discipline, prioritization and energy. I have taken Ronja and Pippi with me into my working life. This has made my criteria for success my own, and they consist of seeing meaning and progress in learning about new areas, influencing what I can control and developing myself as a person along the way. I occasionally make a misstep, and I’m not sorry when I do, because it always brings with it learning and deeper personal development. I can ultimately control very little of what happens around me, but as both a leader and a person, I decide how I react. This to me is the greatest form of power.