Anyone looking at Joanna Thimme’s agenda during her first week at North Sea Port will notice one thing above all else: appointments. Introductory meetings, working sessions and consultations followed one another in rapid succession. Almost a year later, Joanna used that very same agenda in her final presentation. Not only to show how her first assignment began, but above all to demonstrate just how much had happened since then.
When Joanna started at North Sea Port, she joined Port Operations. There was no chance of a quiet few weeks to settle in. Her diary was full from the very start and she was immediately tasked with tackling various issues within the organisation.
“I felt very welcome very quickly. Even though I’d jumped on a moving train, I was brought up to speed on everything and was allowed to contribute ideas straight away on the implementation of a number of activities.”
That rapid start ultimately characterised her entire assignment. Whilst Joanna began in Port Operations, her role became increasingly broad over the course of the year. She became involved in the HavenHart programme, process management and, eventually, the new Organisational Development team. As her role broadened, so too did the level of responsibility she was given.
Understand first, then set a direction
For Joanna, the first few months were mainly about discovery. She got to know North Sea Port better and better and immersed herself in programme management and process management. This enabled her to gradually develop her role as a PMO and business analyst. In doing so, she realised she needed a clear direction – not just for her own work, but also for the projects she was involved in.
“At a certain point, the question kept cropping up: we’re incredibly busy, but what exactly are we working towards? I needed a framework and a clear plan.”
Joanna therefore began to introduce more structure. She drew up action plans, clarified who was responsible for what, and mapped out the steps needed to move forward. As a result, her own role also became increasingly clear.
From structure to ownership
An ever-increasing part of Joanna’s role centred on process management. The underlying question was actually quite practical: how do you ensure that people within North Sea Port work with processes in a clear and recognisable way?
Joanna helped to bring more structure to this. Among other things, she contributed to a process handbook and a central hub where colleagues could find information on process management. Within HavenHart, too, she focused on clarifying objectives and responsibilities.
“At the same time, a good plan isn’t enough. You can come up with an idea and facilitate it, but ultimately, organisational development is all about the people who must work with it: people need to take the initiative themselves and start doing it.”
That is precisely why a particular moment towards the end of her assignment was so valuable. During a meeting, staff members themselves began asking for the next step in something Joanna and her colleagues had been working on for some time. The initiative no longer came from the programme, but from the organisation itself.
“That’s when I thought: I’ve contributed to this. We’ve been trying to take this forward all along, and now people are taking it on themselves.”
For Joanna, that was perhaps one of the most rewarding outcomes of her assignment. Not a new document or plan, but the moment when others began to take it forward themselves. That’s precisely why she knew her work wouldn’t stop as soon as her assignment was over.
Her own opinion on the table
It wasn’t just her role that evolved over the course of the year. Joanna also noticed that she was beginning to rely more and more on her own judgement.
At first, this mainly involved pointing out what she observed. Even when she was sitting around the table with several managers, she had the confidence to identify a problem and bring people together.
“As a Young Professional, you sometimes find yourself sitting around a table with four managers. Yet I found that I didn’t find it all that daunting to say: ‘I think we have a problem here and we need to discuss it together.’”
Later, she took it a step further. Joanna no longer just pointed out what she thought could be improved but also dared to suggest a course of action herself.
“At a certain point, I also dared to say: ‘I think this is the best solution, and here’s why.’ I’ve become more confident in relying on my own judgement.”
For Joanna, this is an important lesson she learnt from her first assignment. You don’t need years of experience before your perspective can make a difference. It’s precisely as a young professional that you can ask different questions or shed light on something from a fresh perspective. But you do need to have the courage to voice what you see.
Feeling part of the organisation
That trust was also fostered by the culture within North Sea Port. Joanna describes the organisation as open and approachable. She worked with people from different teams and roles and felt there was little distance when she spoke to someone.
One brief moment in Ghent has stayed with her. When she bumped into the CEO there, he asked if she’d recently been to visit her family in Germany – something Joanna had mentioned once months earlier.
“At that moment, I really thought: he’s actually remembered this. I’m not even a permanent employee here, but it still made me feel like a real part of the organisation.”
It sums up how Joanna experienced her year at North Sea Port. She joined for her first VYP assignment but was quickly given the trust and freedom to contribute ideas and take on responsibility.
Step back for a moment
It was only at the end of her assignment that Joanna realised just how much had happened that year. For her final presentation, she plotted the various stages on a timeline. Her first fully booked diary, her work at HavenHart, the development of process management and her role in Organisational Development all came together there.
“When you’re right in the thick of things, you’re always focused on what still needs to be done. It’s only when you take a step back that you realise just how much has already been achieved.”
After almost a year, Joanna has made a conscious decision to move on to a new environment. That also means saying goodbye to an organisation where she had come to feel at home. Yet, right now, she wants to experience what it’s like to join a new organisation and tackle a different kind of challenge.
What she’s certainly taking with her from North Sea Port is the confidence to keep sharing her own perspective.
“Don’t be afraid to put things on the table.”
And perhaps that sums up her first assignment best. Joanna began by listening, discovering and understanding. Gradually, she learnt not only to bring structure to her work, but also to set her own direction ever more clearly.
About the Venturn Young Professional Programme
As part of the Venturn Young Professional Programme, Young Professionals work on specific challenges within the maritime and logistics sectors. This enables them to get to know different organisations and gives them the opportunity to take on increasing responsibility throughout an assignment. At the same time, they continue to develop through training, coaching and mentoring.
Joanna has now completed her first assignment at North Sea Port. She will take the experience she has gained there with her to her next challenge and a new organisation.