Meet our candidates: Dorte Krogh

As a board member, as former owner-manager, working as a Culture Transformation Strategist, and as an arranger of hiking trips to Greenland for board members, I experience a trend becoming increasingly clear: the development and anchoring of organizational culture are increasingly recognized as strategically important and crucial for value creation as organizations must navigate in even more complex landscapes.

To succeed in development, progress, diversity, and the recruitment of employees with different mindsets who can offer something new, we must dare to think differently. And in new ways.

Visions, values, culture, and behavior become guiding stars in the long run, while structure, and actions needs to be adjusted within shorter horizons. I experience those trends and tendencies increase in both Danish SMEs and larger Danish and global companies I have worked with, since I sold my company 12 years ago.

Do you have any specific experiences in a board context that you would like to highlight?

Among the most important aspects I bring to the table is my experience as an owner-manager for 20 years. I chose to start my own a business before turning 30. The company Krogh&Co developed and executed brand strategies for companies such as UnoMedical /Convatec, Royal Copenhagen, Danisco, PenSam, Royal Greenland, the Heart Association.

The learning-by-doing experience I gained from building, developing, and leading a company for twenty years has provided invaluable first-hand knowledge of managerial challenges and solutions –this includes learning from the sale of the company, such as due diligence, inclusion, and expectation management. I use this knowledge when working with leaders and companies as board member and advisor.

Culture should be a strategic focal point and a key component in the management's annual plan. Cultural changes often prove to be the answer to the challenges many CEOs must address; dedication, smooth onboarding, increased productivity, well-functioning collaboration, expertise in navigating in volatile environment able to maintaining course...

Developing an excellence model on slides is one task, getting it to come to life in everyday operations is a harder achievement. As a board member, I have been involved in engaging leaders enabling them to become team players sharing common goal, common commitment and common responsibility – without micromanagement from top management.

What do you see as the biggest obstacle for companies to succeed?

Nihil ex se ipso venit! Nothing comes by itself! In my twenties, I was a member of the Danish National Squad as sports-shooter for a decade. In the world of sports, it's said that the more you train, the luckier you get. The same applies to many aspects of life. – When a company wants to succeed in its ambitions, perseverance, engagement, delegation of responsibilities, etc. similarly be core elements that are trained. Companies must perform every day, year-round, year after year.

However, going forward, companies can effectively strengthen employee engagement, increase delegation, and boost teams. It's about including and involving. The desire for development and innovation, and the ability of each employee to contribute to effective processes, arise when engagement is high, and when communication is clear. This creates insight, understanding, and essential support for the entire organization to follow its vision, strategy, and tactics.

If the company fails to achieve inclusion, engagement, and communication, then all the draining factors dominate; misunderstandings, silos, limitations, inefficiency, frustrations, and lack of innovation and collaboration. Therefore, the focus should be both in the boardroom, with management, in teams, within and across all departments.

What is it about board work that excites you so much?

Contributing with experience, learning, and skills is central for a relationship-builder like me. A network is only strong if it contains a high degree of generosity and mutual understanding. Therefore, I constantly seek to share know-how, bring in experts, and connect people with different competencies and various backgrounds.

It energizes me to contribute to the society I live in – whether it's as a board member, or as a voluntary mentor for startups (at Scion DTU). I have been a scout leader, initiated the establishment of the trade association for design companies (designdenmark.dk/), and during four years, served as chairman – building the danish board network for Bestyrelseskvinder.dk in Zealand and the Islands

A few times a year, I organize – together with a partner – hiking trips in Greenland for board members. In the outdoors we discuss board-relevant topics. We know what nature can do, and we want to share that with others. It's about bringing people together defining and redefining goals and meaning. Basically, it is helping others see what relationships, culture, and communication can do for value creation.