Meet Kathrin Munz

Interview transcript

Growing alongside Genioo

00:06
After I finished my degree, I was considering a trainee program in supply chain management, but then got an introduction to the founders of Genioo. They had just started, and the rest is history.

00:21
You know, I had the good fortune to grow alongside Genioo, and it was always in one of the areas where we were expanding the company: new functions, new processes, new ways of working. There were a lot of people along the way, obviously, that made that happen.

00:40
And I have learned personally so much. And I feel we have come so far because of these different human beings coming together and bringing their unique abilities. And I'm grateful for these past 10 years.

Facing challenges outside the comfort zone

01:02
I am fortunate enough to not yet have faced challenges in the sense of not being given opportunities because of who I am or where I come from. But clearly there were challenges, and they had a lot to do with growth being outside of my comfort zone. It was taking on new challenges, new initiatives, solving a problem that was really critical and important.

01:25
I felt people were looking from the sidelines and thinking, now she's out of her depth. Now she doesn't know how to continue. That can really get you off track, and it can put you in a mental loop that does not allow you to remember your personal strengths or, in that moment, to reach out and lean on those people who are there to lend you a hand.

01:54
My lesson learned is, in these moments, to take a breath and not get distracted too much by those who are looking, giving you the mental space and oxygen to remember your own strength, your tools, that all of us have at our fingertips.

Diversity and inclusion at Genioo

02:21
Diversity and inclusion at Genioo is a topic that I believe will evolve together with us. It has been part of our DNA, part of how we do business, in my experience, from the very beginning. And we made an effort to codify that in our culture playbook and in our values.

02:46
We put in a lot of love and effort, together with the full team, to describe what we mean by these values. And we did that so that as we were growing and evolving as an organization, and as we get bigger, we have that North Star. For us, it's a great foundation to continue the conversation of how we live that. How is it not just a book on a shelf? How is it not just a poster on the wall?

03:11
Whether it is through trainings, whether it is through reading, whether it is actually talking to people that have a different background, have grown up in a different culture, are just different from who you are. It brings you so much perspective and allows you to see the world through different lenses.

03:34
Like all the things we do at Genioo, it is, in my mind, going to be a dialogue as to how living diversity and inclusion every single day at Genioo should look, now, in a month, in a year and in the future.

03:49
And at Genioo, we do put a lot of emphasis and a lot of effort, and pay a lot of attention to that. We always make sure there is a place, a format, a way for people to provide their feedback, their reactions, their perspective: how they feel about it, what it triggers for them, questions it brings up for them.

04:11
And that has always been my favorite part of when we get together at the end of our collaboration, because that's where you get what matters to people. That's where you learn how you can make the biggest difference, how you can provide a great workplace environment, how we can solve problems together. And the richness and the value you get in this moment is unbelievable. It's a very important part of how we work internally, and also with clients.

Three pieces of advice

04:54
The first one is know your goal. Know your personal goal, not your targets or your annual objectives, but know where you want to go, what you want to learn, what you want to achieve. It just helps you to stay true to yourself, number one.

05:08
Number two, don't be afraid to ask for help. Being able to lean on others, having the courage to ask for help. You don't have all the answers. And I think it enables you to reach your goal, go where you want to go, much faster.

05:24
And the last one is take care of yourself. Take time for the things that recharge your batteries. Make sure you have input so that you can provide output. It makes you not only a better human, but I think it also makes you a better colleague, a better mentor, a better boss for the people around you. So it's for you, and it's for others as well.