Building a new service and leading your own mentors

Erik took on his very first leadership role as team manager of an entirely new service: Customer Accounting Services. The challenge was considerable. Employees from various existing departments were brought together into one new team, with the task of building a new service for internal clients, external clients and government bodies such as social security and the tax authorities. There was an extra dimension on top of that: several team members had considerably more experience than Erik himself. Some had even trained him when he started his career.

Instead of relying on hierarchy, Erik chose a pragmatic and people-focused approach. The experience and expertise within the team were deliberately used as a strength. Through a shared focus on the customer, open communication and mutual respect, a close-knit team with a common goal grew step by step. Together they developed processes, working methods and solutions for the challenges that arose along the way, always with an emphasis on simplicity, quality and customer focus.

What began as an ambitious reorganisation grew into a successful and reliable service for both internal and external clients. The experience was not only an important milestone for the organisation, but also the foundation of Erik's further development as a leader.