After completing studies, the journey has only continued, forward and upward. Today, she is a respected leader in Knightec’s larger teams.
“Working with people has always been important to me. I want to be able to be a role model for others. My commitment started early. During my years of study, I got involved in various networks, mainly to interact with other women in a fairly stereotypical male-dominated educational environment”. Actively getting involved and networking is something that Jolene attaches great importance to, even in her role as a leader.
“My leadership style is about focusing on the people. For example, I never use the word boss. My role is to lead people to achieve something bigger. This is best done by listening and getting involved while understanding other individuals. Their needs and views on things”. Being a part of changing the narrative through diversity is an important driving force for Jolene. It lies in questioning old structures and ways of working, but above all, in actively working with diversity.
“Diversity means so much to me. Diversity can be different personalities as well as different nationalities. In my business, it is evident that better results are achieved with a good mix of people”. To find those synergies between employees, Jolene conducts in-depth research on each employee who will be part of her team. She is interested and asks questions to get a good and fair image of each individual.
“I want to get to know their culture and what it means to them. Based on that, I can coach in the right way, which creates a deeper understanding and, in the long run, a successful and productive team where everyone feels a sense of belonging and security.”
Today, Jolene runs a significant operation at Knightec, and she leads her group according to the motto “We take it forward together.”
“My firm belief and policy is that you never get anywhere alone, but it is important to have a team and interactions.” Always seeing the benefits and opportunities for collaboration in emerging situations seems to be one of Jolene’s recipes for success.
“I look positively at most things. Take my background, for example. For my part, I have never seen any disadvantages in it, only advantages. Over the years, I have chosen to develop my skills as a leader and attend several coaching programs to increase knowledge and awareness of what lies in being a good leader. I have always felt that my background can add even more understanding and insights that are good to have when leading others”.
The commitment to being a good and driven leader makes Jolene an esteemed employee. And in her role as a leader, she wants to contribute to society and be a role model for others.
“I want my employees to feel that we have a common platform that we stand on. We are a team that works towards the same goal, and in that context, you should dare to raise questions and thoughts. That is what creates opportunities and improvements. That is my firm conviction, and therefore it feels incredibly inspiring to belong to a company that has a consensus on this”.