“Changes should be seen as opportunities for daily learning”

Vlatka Komaric, Head of Quantitative Risk Management at Axpo, sees changes as opportunities. Her team of nine is international and diverse – and it is precisely this factor, that drives their success.

The transformation of the energy sector requires a quick and dynamic mindset. How do you handle this as a team?

The energy sector is evolving quickly and dynamically. For us to provide our customers with optimal and sustainable energy solutions, our front-line colleagues must be capable of making decisions and responding quickly. This also requires us, the Quantitative Risk Management team, to act quickly in order to put together appropriate solutions in good time. As a quantitative team, we think more analytically rather than pragmatically. This means we have to strike the right balance between mathematical accuracy, efficiency and experience.

What is your aim as a manager?

Changes are often associated with uncertainty. As a manager, I need to be able to correctly assess each situation and the responses in my team, and establish confidence. I always see changes as opportunities for daily learning: on the one hand, this promotes the development of employees; on the other hand, it allows me to always assign them to the right tasks and make effective use of their strengths. I believe that involving employees in our daily creative and decision-making processes is a key intrinsic motivator. Recognising their efforts with adequate feedback, such as praise and constructive criticism, is an important driver for further development. I also believe that you should celebrate individual successes as well as team successes. 

You manage a team of nine employees. To what extent do you feel that diversity is beneficial in your work?

To me, diversity within a team means different levels of seniority, genders, skills, experiences, opinions, personalities and linguistic and cultural differences. My team has grown a lot and become more diverse in recent years. I think it’s important to have a good mix of junior employees, who can and should continue to develop at Axpo, and senior employees with plenty of experience and responsibility. Our team members come from across the globe and our working language is English – our specialist background is really the only thing we share in common. Most of the colleagues working in my team have a mathematical/analytical background. The diversity within our team means we can challenge each other’s opinions, and this allows us to provide our customers with more innovative and sustainable solutions. This is an advantage for both me and my team members. 

Image: Simone Schuldis