I am Kirsti Mijnhijmer, Head of Secretariat for an EU funding programme called Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic. It funds regional development projects between several countries in Northern Europe and the Arctic, especially remote and sparsely populated communities. Before my current leadership role, I was a communication manager for 10 years.

I have a Master’s degree in International Business Communications, which is a mix of communication studies, management, and business English. I specialised in intercultural communication.

I would describe myself as an ancient history nerd, rooted in my classical school education with Latin and Ancient Greek. I have been singing for many years, although admittedly less so in recent years. I was a member of a jazz choir in Østerbro. In the last 18 months, I have been part of an outdoor training class on Amager Strand, and yes, we keep going during the winter. Not being particularly athletic, I find this both challenging and a lot of fun. I love feeling strong.

I came to Denmark in 2004 from the Netherlands. I had just finished my university education there, and I was eager to move back to Scandinavia, after having done an Erasmus exchange in southern Sweden during my university studies. Before I moved to Denmark, I found a job in Viborg, where I worked for a European Union funding programme, first in a supporting role, and later as a communications officer. I mostly socialised with my Danish and international colleagues, and the few other internationals in town.

I arrived in Jutland and found myself in a small town, quite similar to the place I had grown up in – a small town called Veghel in the province of Noord-Braban- and that I had left to live in a bigger town. Viborg is very historic and pretty, but it was a bit of a challenge to move to a provincial town in my mid-20s. Viborg felt a bit too provincial for my taste, and more importantly, there were very few people my age (mid-twenties) at the time. It was really a place for families with small children and older people. Everyone my age was in the big city. Furthermore, there were very few people of colour, and mostly they were refugees from Africa. The local Netto close to where I lived did not really cater for an international cuisine, especially compared to what I was used to from the Netherlands. People were friendly enough, but as we know, it is difficult to break through in Danish social circles. Learning the language helped, but I also realised early on that I would never be viewed as a Dane. So after 4 years in Viborg, I found a job in Copenhagen, and I still work for the same organisation now. After 20 years in Denmark, I still see myself as a 100% Dutch person, but I do consider myself as a Copenhagener (whether they like it or not).

Looking back, some of the key choices I made was whether to leave or stay.
Moving abroad, from the Netherlands to Denmark was necessary to gain some distance between myself and my family, and to really try to fly on my own. It was necessary for my growth, although it was not always easy to start all over again and find a sense of belonging.

After some years in a small society in Viborg, again came the decision whether to leave or stay and again, I chose to leave this time to another city in Denmark, Copenhagen. Even if it was an internal move, it required yet again uprooting and starting over.

But I am really happy I decided to stay. It took quite some time to find my tribe, my sense of belonging, and l am the quintessential late bloomer. But it was worth the wait.

My greatest achievement was to step out of the shadows and go for a leadership position. It required that I took up my space, and used my voice, both of which did not come so naturally to me. But I realised that even before I took my current leadership position, that I was in many ways already fulfilling leadership roles, and being recognised for it. But it took a leap of faith and a bit of a push from people in my circle to actually go for it.

Once I got the position, I had a chance to really make the position my own, and give oxygen to parts of myself that had really wanted to come to the fore. I feel more fully myself in this role.

I don’t have any children, but I imagine there are some similarities between leadership and parenting, in the sense that you never really feel that you’re doing a great job at the moment, even though you’re trying your best every day. There is always a small voice of doubt, which I believe is healthy, as long as it is not counterproductive. And then there are these rare but rewarding moments, when you realise that your way of leading has actually left a positive impact on a situation or person.