Dorthe Håhr

With 15 years of experience at the highest levels of financial service, Dorthe Håhr is an expert in leadership and digital transformation. She is Head of Nordea Ventures, one of the largest banks in Scandinavia. Dorthe also has a Doctoral degree in Leadership and Business Transformation. Here, Dorthe shares with us her deep knowledge on strategic leadership, digital transformation, and the future of financial services.

PEOPLE, THE KEY TO DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

What three words best define you?
Personally, the three words that define me the best are: hard-working, I have a passion for doing work and in particular doing work of high quality. So it’s hard-working, it’s doing work of high-quality, but it is also combined with that I like to deliver. When we agree on something, I will deliver for you, so I like to be the reliable one with the high standards, that works hard. I think that is what defines me the best when you look at how I work and how I can be defined as a person. So, by working hard I mean that I deliver as agreed, and I always aim to provide high quality in my work. Sometimes, I know we have to deliver what it’s called a Minimum Viable Product, but then we have already agreed on it. Otherwise I would go to the very best quality, because I believe that when you deliver something everyone is best served by it being at a high quality.

From Peter Thiel, what important truth do very few people agree with you on?
If I should link to that, and look at what I believe in that other people don’t see that way. Then it is, when I look at digital transformation, then it’s not only about the technology. A lot of people think, if we do the technology part, then we are home safe.

But digital transformation is not only about the technology part, it’s also about the people part. Meaning, do we have the right skills? Do we have the right people? If we don’t have the right people, how do we actually make sure that we get the right talent into the organization.

Can we up qualify some of the people we already have, or do we need to make changes? What about the organizational structure? Is that actually done in a way that supports the new technology?

So, what I see is, the complexity of digital transformation is sometimes, by some people, limited to become a more technical thing, and it’s not only about the technical part, it’s also about the people side. And that is something that is missed by quite a number of people. And that’s not supporting the digital transformation, as such. But it is important to have the people side in mind as well.

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Digital transformation is not only about the technology part, it’s also about the people

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Who inspires you?
If I should mention some people that inspires me, it’s very popular to name a few, well-known, but if I look at who inspires me it’s actually some of those people that are developing new systems, new solutions, who are, working really, really hard for whatever the passion is. I usually say they work really hard for this company, that is their baby. But I am inspired by people that work hard to develop solutions that benefit all of us, that benefit customers, and also those working with new solutions. And when they start working on those solutions nobody, most likely, believes them, and looks at them and thinks “Ok, this is never going to make it”, and they keep on, and they have this bravery, this passion. And I am really, really inspired by this, and there are numerous of well-known people who has done this. Elon Musk, with the Tesla, … There are a lot of examples, but for me we shouldn’t focus only on those that are in the media, but also on those I meet in my daily work and I see how they really, really make an effort to make someone’s life easier in the future. Now, I really admire that.

LIVING A DREAM: HER PASSION FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Who understands you?
If I should look at somebody who understands me well, I have good friends, I have people I have been working with during my career. I think I have a number of people who understands me. I really like to discuss new solutions and opportunities with those people, and we can discuss leadership, digital transformation, what we see in the market like circular economy. But I like to discuss with people that also has this outlooking to the future, of how do we see new opportunities, how can we see possible solutions to those, you could say, issues or opportunities. So to say that there is only a few people understanding me would not be right. I think I see a lot of people that I like to discuss with and who I feel really understand my way of thinking and how I like to see things.

When do you feel most alive?
If I should describe when I feel most alive, I like to work, I like to do a lot of stuff, but to be honest when I feel most alive is when I am with people who have a good sense of humour, and with whom I can discuss different things, and if we can combine it with being outside in nature, then I really, really like it. So if I should describe a part of time in my life when I felt really alive, then it was traveling, walking on the Camino, in Spain, that was really, really valuable to me and it was a way to feel really alive, seeing a lot of nice places but also get inside some of the History, while I was talking to people that I know well.

When are you most creative?
When I look at myself as a person and when I am most creative, then I have realized throughout the years that I am most creative when I am in an environment that supports me being creative, but also at the times when I have slept well, eaten well, and then I like being in the nature, so I think sometimes the creativity needs some inspiration, from nature or from other areas, to actually start working and then it might be early in the morning, it might be early at night. But I think creativity needs time to mature. You need to think about the topic, you need to think about what possible solutions could be used here, what opportunities do I see within this area, and then I think creativity comes easy to me, so is not that I find it difficult, so I don’t see as such any right time, I just see that there is a need for the brain to be rested and sleepy ready to be creative.

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I like to make sure that leaders perform in the best possible way

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What is your dream job?
My dream job is to be part of something that I find exciting. I like to work with people. I like to develop new creative solutions. I like to work with leaders. I like to make sure that leaders perform in the best possible way. And I like to do it in a context of transformation, and in particular, digital transformation. So all this together, the digital transformation, the leadership, how to develop new sustainable solutions, that is what I would say is my perfect job. To be able to combine these three different things.

If you didn’t have to work, what would you do?
If I didn’t have to work, then I would most likely still be doing what I like. I would still be developing leaders, working with digital transformation. But I would most likely also spend time doing work supporting people to actually reach their goals. I have previously lectured at different universities. And people ask me, why do lecture at the university? It doesn’t pay good. But it’s simply because I like the idea of giving something back to the young people, giving back to society. To make those attending the university, get real life examples, and also support them, and understand how they actually get the best possible working life and what’s their passion.

So if I’m asked, “what would you actually do if you didn’t have to work”, then the answer is not that I would lay on a beach. I would mostly likely do what I do today. Because I really like it. And I’m really passionate about leadership, and digital transformation, and everything that lies within that.

What would you like others to think about you?
If I should say something about what I would like others to think about me, then I know that right question is to say I don’t care what other people think about me. But actually I do. I would like people to think that I’m nice, highly skilled, that I’m an expert, but also that I’m a reliable person. That you can make agreements with me, and that’s what we stick to. So I would like other people to see me as very professional, but also as a good friend. So, as such, I think that it’s important for me, that I stand up for my values, for what I like to do, but that I do it in a way that I respect other people, and you can say that I do stuff in an orderly way, and not step on anyone’s toes, if I don’t have to. So, I think it’s a combination of being highly professional but also being a nice human being.

THE WORLD OF A FINTECH AND FINANCIAL SERVICES EXPERT

What do you read to stay on top of trends and developments in your profession?
To stay on top of trends, I actually follow a number of different people. I also follow a lot of different newspapers. But what I actually do is, I have keywords that really interest me. And that is within the digital area, it’s what’s happening in the fintech area, and then it also relates to leadership. So what I do is, I follow a number of people, and then when I see something interesting, then I click further on, to see who’s talking about this. So I’m not following just a handful of people, or newspapers, or news feeds. There is for instance, FinX. I read what they write about interesting things, like companies. But besides that, I’m really interested in following all kinds of business leaders. Well known business leaders. Looking into, what kind of books do they read? What’s a hot topic right now?

And I follow it in a variety of channels. I also do a lot of Youtube. For instance, when I did some more research on the circular economy. Who said something about that? And then I check, is it valid, what they are saying? I also look at a lot of different stuff. To form my own opinion. But also to see, where do I get the best information. So I’m not limiting it to the Nordics. I’m always going global. To see what’s going on in a more broader perspective. And in the entire world. So I would say, what updates me is a lot of news feeds, but that I then follow to see what’s actually the news behind.

What advice would you give a young person just starting out?
The best advice I would give to somebody entering into the digital world, working with transformation, working with leadership, is that the more you know about a topic - also on a more practical level, a more basic level - the better. So I would say, get as much experience as you can, and get it in different areas. If you, for instance, are employed in a large organization, make sure that you actually go cross functions. So you gain your knowledge from different areas in the company. Because that way, you are able to become a much better leader. You’re able to become much better, if you choose to work with transformation and the digital area. And also, if you at some point want to run your own business. Then you get a much broader experience in running your own business, by trying out different areas. So that would be my advice just starting who is interested in working in digital transformation, or leadership, or both. And that is actually to get as much basic knowledge as you can.

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The more you know about a topic - also on a more practical level, a more basic level - the better

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