I built my self-trust
myself.

Everyone is needed

My father came from a small village in the south of France and was the only one in his family who got to go to school. He became a cultural attaché and university lecturer in Sweden, a poet and a socialist at heart, with an old red knitted scarf he wore on the barricades in 68. My mother grew up on a farm in Småland. My grandmother had to leave school at twelve to work as a seamstress, and her dream was that her children would get an education.

At home we had dinners with artists and senior officials, and I came along to every one. I went to a private school but spent just as much time with young people from completely different backgrounds, as much at home with reggae as with metal. Later, in France and Monaco, we were a crowd of every nationality who became like one big family. That is where I learned what shapes everything I do today: it is our differences that bring out the best, and everyone is needed.

Outside the norm, in bright colours

I have dual nationality and was often told where I came from. I was big throughout my childhood and tried to hide my body as best I could, yet I still dressed in bright colours and in my own style. Later I weighed far too little and was told “look how slim and pretty you are”. My body has always been something others had opinions about.

I was diagnosed with ADHD at 46, and my daughter has it too. It explained a lot, and today I have found the calm I searched for for so long. The ability to think outside the box and find new ways forward is still there, and I am still often early with ideas. The difference is that I have learned that patience and good communication are everything. An idea makes no difference until others understand it and want to be part of it, so today I take the time to bring everyone along.

I have worked with many people with neurodivergence, from leadership teams to the factory floor, and I know how much strength can lie behind a different way of functioning.

Three times I have started over

My greatest driving force is to grow, to challenge myself and to help others do the same. Three times I have worked my way up to a good position and a fine title. And each time I felt I could no longer contribute, that the job no longer gave me the energy I need, I chose to leave. Then it was back to square one, rolling up my sleeves and working my way up again.

I have lived with both a full wallet and nothing at all, counting every krona. Honestly, it is when I am at the bottom that I get the most energy. The fewer things I own, the freer I feel. The challenge itself is my mojo.

Trust that comes from within

A senior position brings exposure and status. You are surrounded by people, you get plenty of likes and people call. When the title is gone, you become a bit of an outcast. Few get in touch. The phone goes quiet. Then you only have yourself to rely on to get back up.

That is where my self-trust has grown. Not from other people's approval, but from the evidence of everything I have actually managed. I make the most of the days when things go well, to see the glass half full instead of digging myself down. I am still happy and proud when others appreciate what I do, and that appreciation drives me far more than any bonus. But I do not depend on it to know my worth. That security lets me be myself, and then others can relax and be themselves too.

A healthy bank balance is rarely enough

I meet so many leaders in senior positions whose energy is not at its best. They stay because it is expected, and other people's expectations have grown bigger than what they want themselves. Slowly they lose energy, until they no longer have the strength to move on. It shows at home, it shows for the children and it shows at work. The salary and the title are there, but the inner joy is missing. A healthy bank balance is very rarely what brings real satisfaction.

Life is too short to waste. We get many chances in a lifetime, and what you do for one period is not always what you need to do for the rest of your life.

Find what truly drives you

Everything I have been through has led to Hero. When you know what you are passionate about, what gives you energy and what you need to feel good, you also have a choice. You can seek it out and tell the people who can give you the right conditions. That is when you perform at your best, find your role in the team and contribute with what you are genuinely good at.

That goes for the leader stuck in the wrong role, the young person searching for self-trust, the one whose profession is being changed by new technology, the senior professional who has lost their job, the woman on her way into the leadership team and the person who has come from another country. We are all different, and that is exactly why we complement each other.

The self-trust is already there in all of us. Sometimes we just need help to see it.