“My job isn’t to give the answer – but to ask the right questions”

What are your aspirations? How do you prefer to work? What value would you like to contribute to your team?

When a mentoring programme begins, many difficult questions are put on the table.

And neither receiving the questions nor asking them is easy.

Marina Pastore Rampazzo and Lenea Nørskov Blanc know this very well. They have both participated in Pharmadanmark’s mentoring programme as mentee and mentor.

Even though these conversations can be challenging, they both agree that the programme has given them a great deal.

“I’ve gained help in understanding where I am today and where I can go next. I have always been aware of my own ambitions, but it really makes a difference when you can reflect on them with someone else,” says Marina.

“I’ve gained help in understanding where I am today and where I can go next."

She signed up for the mentoring programme because she was looking for career development and wanted to identify which gaps in her professional toolbox it would be a good idea to work on.

“And I also wanted to learn more about Danish work culture,” Marina explains.

Learning to be more proactive

Marina is originally from Brazil, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in dentistry. She later lived and worked in the United States for ten years before moving to Denmark four years ago. For the past two years, she has worked with clinical trials at Novo Nordisk.

Her conversations with mentor Lenea have given her valuable insights into the Danish labour market.

“Navigating Danish work culture is different – for example, there is a very flat hierarchy and communication is very direct,” says Marina.

Through her discussions with Lenea, she has learned many of the unwritten rules, not least when it comes to networking in Denmark.

“I’ve learned to be much more proactive – both when it comes to networking and in general."

“I’ve learned to be much more proactive – both when it comes to networking and in general. For example, I’ve become better at asking others for feedback, and I’ve taken on some new responsibilities in my current role. The programme has definitely helped accelerate my development,” Marina says.

Listen, listen, listen

If you ask Lenea, it is also clear that something has changed during the programme.

“From the day I first met Marina until now, she has definitely become much more confident,” says Lenea.

She is a trained pharmacist with a PhD in molecular pharmacology and has worked at Novo Nordisk for the past 11 years.

Lenea has been a mentor several times and was also a mentee herself some years ago.

“I’ve personally experienced the value of having a mentor. That’s why I also want to help others and give something back,” she says.

According to Lenea, mentors also gain a lot from the programme. The focus is on reflection and conversation rather than specific outcomes – still remembering to be clear on what the purpose of the mentor relationship is.

“It’s very much about listening. My job isn’t to give the answer – but to ask the right questions."

“It’s very much about listening. My job isn’t to give the answer – but to ask the right questions. And finding those questions and having these conversations with Marina is something that also develops me,” says Lenea.

A perfect match

For both Lenea and Marina, it has been important that their conversations were open and honest. Even though they did not know each other at the beginning, they both felt there was a strong level of trust from the start.

“Hanne (career advisor at Pharmadanmark, ed.) has been really good at matching us. And that’s important, because these are conversations where you share a lot about your life and talk about all your weaknesses,” says Marina.

The mentor pair met approximately once a month. Sometimes they created their own structure for the conversations, and other times they used exercises from the mentor handbook that all mentor pairs receive.

"Of course, there’s great meaning in helping others, but as a mentor you also get the opportunity to develop yourself."

“I especially remember one exercise that was really great. It opened up conversations that we probably wouldn’t otherwise have had,” says Lenea.

She emphasizes that the entire programme is well structured and that both mentees and mentors receive the support and guidance they need.

“I really think the mentoring programme gives you something. Of course, there’s great meaning in helping others, but as a mentor you also get the opportunity to develop yourself,” says Lenea.