Do you want to develop as a leader? Do as NITO's Vice President Safina de Klerk

In the autumn of 2025, NITO's mentoring programme will be held for the third year in a row. NITO's vice president participated in the first year, and she is clear in her advice to other new leaders who are wondering whether they should participate:

Do it! And be open to being challenged on what you perceive as important and right as a leader," says Safina de Klerk.

She heads the science centre at the Museum of Science and Technology in Oslo and is the leader of a team of fifteen people.

"The most important thing I took with me was awareness of how I can best be myself in the leadership role, how I can be the version of myself that my people need. Developing as a leader is about finding out which parts of your personality you want to tone down and which you want to bring with you into the leadership role. It has been nice to reflect with someone who has done this before, she elaborates.

Had his own prejudices thrown in his face

In NITO's mentoring programme, new managers get access to an experienced mentor who acts as a sparring partner and supervisor.

Safina de Klerk was matched with John Øfstegaard who heads a global IT section in Shearwater Geoservices in Bergen. At first, she was a little skeptical about having a mentor with a completely different background than herself.

"I wanted a female mentor, someone with whom I could discuss typical challenges faced by young female leaders. And then I was matched with a white man of 50 plus who works in IT. At first, I thought that this is not what I need. But I really got my prejudices thrown in my face," laughs de Klerk.

Because it was exactly a mentor who was diametrically different from herself she needed.

"I especially felt that he challenged me on the things that can stress a young female leader. He often said: "This is a non-problem". I benefited so much from that shift in perspective.

Something worth spending time on

Safina de Klerk believes that the conversations with her mentor have helped her avoid some pitfalls that new leaders often fall into.

"The mentors have been leaders for so many years, and they have made many of the mistakes that beginners make. I have learned to be more present and to be more effective as a leader," says de Klerk.

She and her mentor had regular meetings every other week where they addressed issues that had arisen since the last time. In addition, they returned to topics they had touched on earlier, to look at developments.

"If I was faced with something that I felt I needed to talk about between the regular meetings, I could also get in touch ad hoc.

Some are worried that the mentoring program takes a lot of time. To them, Safina de Klerk has a clear message:

"It takes the time you want it to take. At the beginning of a management career, this is something that is worth spending time on.