Linda started working at Danske Bank’s Corporate and Institutions on the trading floor as a derivatives sales specialist. Now she is Head of Wealth Advice & Distribution in the Nordics. She is a strong believer in leadership and getting rid of obstacles to make her employees shine.
“I believe that a leader is there to make employees successful. I believe that I just borrow my employees for a while, support and teach them in the best possible way for them to succeed in their careers”, she says. Linda has herself been a leader now for more than 14 years and believe that she has learned a lot about do’s and don’ts.
“I believe that good leadership is all about believing in your employees and involving them in projects and decisions”, she says. “I believe that I am very engaged as a leader. I do have high demands on my employees, but I also have high demands on myself and want to be engaged and supportive at the same time”.
Linda became a leader the first time when she was on maternity leave. She was very positively surprised that she was promoted as Head of Derivative Sales at a relatively young age and still being at home with her kid. It made her feel that she was appreciated.
“I have today been a leader for many years and one things that I have learned is about asking questions. We often assume, but I have learned that the best thing is simply not to assume but try to understand. Asking questions like what is hindering you, what is not working or what is someone’s inner drive makes all the difference. The questions usually gives me many answers”, she consider.
“Simon Sinek is an inspiring person that I follow. He is talking much about the why and simplicity. Being a leader is to me very much about seeing the bigger picture”.
In her Nordic role, Linda is collaborating cross-boarders and together with many other leaders at Danske Bank. She is a strong believer in building relationships and networks.
“We have great colleagues and I am happy to see that it is easier to collaborate nowadays. In the past we had some unnecessary hierarchy and things were easily escalated, but I see that this has changed and will change even more with the new Better Bank initiatives”, she believes.
“Ultimately I think that being a leader at Danske Bank is a lot of fun. You constantly learn new things, have to adjust and get to work with great people. I think that you quickly understand that it’s a constant learning curve and that you are never complete – but that is also the beauty in this”.
