Semcon StoriesLife Science
From finance to life science
With experience of both finance and health care, Louise Axzell is currently heading for the next stop on her journey: project manager within life science.
Securities administration – that was one of my fields of expertise during my many years in banking. At one point, something triggered inside me when an incident occurred involving a system I was responsible for. All our committed and dedicated staff joined forces and focused together to solve the problem. I reflected over the degree of engagement and dedication; we just performed CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) on a transaction, and I thought: what would CPR on a person really be like? I I felt an urge to find out, and get out there and spread my wings; since 2016 I am a registered nurse and have worked in the health care sector for a couple of years.
Nursing, and the miracles performed on a daily basis, have always fascinated me. So that is why I look forward to future roles within life science. I hope to be able to make a difference in my project management role at Semcon and guide organisations through their work on projects and portfolios. I also look forward to evolve as a lecturer on Project Management (XLPM) within the Project Excellence offering. If I had to choose some take-home messages from the course, I would choose:
Sustainable usage of resources
Make things simple for yoursel
Listen
Semcon’s Project Excellence offering has become an inspiring haven for me.
I am a positive person with a solution oriented mindset. When faced with tricky challenges, I strive for cooperation and communication. Regardless of whether you’re dealing with incidents in business-critical systems or tricky situations in projects, cooperation with colleagues is the key to success when it comes to getting the job done. The highlight of the day is when everybody works together towards a common objective and they manage to pull it off. To listen and put myself in other people’s shoes is a take-home message from my nurse education. I always want to create a better understanding and challenge myself to be open for other perspectives. But of course, that is easier said than done. My positive, team-promoting mindset is not always an asset for me, especially in environments lacking leadership and structure. These situations open up for alternative cultures, people want to fill the gap and there are times when this is not done with the best interests of the collective or the organisation. Here I have to learn how to navigate and be low-key.
Focus on the people. I chose Semcon due to its human-centric approach. As a project manager, I find the human perspective to be both interesting and important – and it is captured well in XLPM, which makes it an attractive project methodology. The most valuable asset of any company is what makes it turn around 24/7 all year long; the people. It is essential to create an environment of engagement where people feel enthusiastic and committed. It is all about teamwork. I enjoy my work most when deadlines are looming and I get to fly together with my colleagues.
About Louise
Title: Project manager
Education: Political scientist, nurse
Worked at Semcon since: September 2020
I have most fun at work when: I get to work with people who are committed and have drive and want to find solutions.
