What does your career path look like at Sibelco?
I started as a Laboratory Engineer at the Stjernøy site in Norway, in 1997. Two years later, I was asked to take on the role of Quality Engineer, in combination with my work in the laboratory. Shortly after, I was appointed as Health & Safety (HS) Coordinator on top of my other responsibilities. In 2007, I transferred to the Shipment Manager position for Stjernøy, leading the bagging/shipping dept and the lab. I have been asked to step up as Acting Site Manager twice, when other Site Managers left the company. In 2018, I joined the Bright Site Productivity (BSP) team at Stjernøy as the Local Change Agent. My last role change was in March 2020, when I accepted the Production Manager position at Stjernøy.
I have been very fortunate and have been given lots of new challenges and opportunities along the way. Some of these changes have challenged me to learn about new aspects of our business that I was not familiar with before. This has given me many valuable insights into different areas of the Stjernøy operation as well as increased knowledge about Sibelco.
What’s the most important career lesson you learned?
Sometimes the offer of a new role or task seems very daunting, but challenging myself and stepping out of my comfort zone has made my career path very interesting. My experience throughout 24 years at Sibelco made me realise that work-life balance is also important to me. In the long run, some roles are not a good fit from that perspective. Saying no is not always easy, but sometimes it is the best option.
What was the biggest challenge you dealt with, when you look back at your career?
I was asked to step up as Acting Site Manager for a three month period in 2009. That question caught me by surprise, and I did not feel very confident walking into this role. We were short staffed in the management team at Stjernøy at that time, and I still had to cover my Shipment Manager's position as well as being the Acting Site Manager. Fortunately, my colleagues and I managed to solve this together as a team and supported each other. I learnt a lot about myself and my co-workers during those three months.
Diversity is a ‘hot topic’. What do you feel we can do better at Sibelco?
I have never felt that I have been treated differently compared to my male colleagues at Stjernøy. However, we still have only a few women in operational roles, even in Norway, where diversity has been high on the agenda for decades. During the hiring process it is easy to ‘play it safe’ instead of trying something new. This is important to keep in mind. We recently hired our first female Process Operator at Stjernøy. 2020 also brought the first female Mechanic to the Stjernøy island. Hopefully these inspiring women will pave the way for more to follow.
What advice would you give yourself if you were just starting your career today?
Don’t spend too much time and effort striving for perfection. Young women can sometimes be too tough on themselves, thinking everything needs to be perfect all the time. Doing a good job does not necessarily mean that every little detail needs to be perfect.
