Rising Strong: Katharina Sparre’s Path to Success
The story of Katharina Sparre is one of resilience—born in a small village and raised by her father from the age of 11 after her mother left, she defied the odds to carve her path. Her father instilled in her the courage to believe in herself and persevere, no matter the hardships. She pursued higher education in HR development, management, and controlling, all while continuing to work and build her future.
She embarked on her professional journey in the HR world by taking up HR roles at temporary employment agencies. Soon, given her professional acumen and fortitude, Katharina ascended to executive roles at financial services and automotive firms. In these roles, she transformed teams and implemented innovative HR strategies, leaving a lasting impact. Today, she is the Head of HR at Seghorn GmbH, Strategic Partner at Skillgainer GmbH, and Chief People & Culture Advisor at Executives Diary Inc.
Over the years, Katharina has built an impressive career in HR field, adding multiple achievements as feathers in her cap. She created an innovative mentoring program at Skillgainer, leading HR digital transformation projects with the help of a dynamic team, and successfully opened and expanded a new branch.
Katharina recounts how numerous professional and personal challenges lingered throughout her journey. However, her steadfast belief that nothing is impossible with efforts enabled her to break through the wall of impossibility and turn it into achievement.
With such dedication, finding an equilibrium between work and personal life can be difficult. Early in her career, she often worked long hours at the expense of her personal life and work-life balance. Her full focus was on professional growth and proving her worth. However, with time, she realized the importance of maintaining a balance between work and personal life.
Katharina wants to lead by example, and says, “I wanted to be a role model for my employees, showing that success doesn’t have to come at the expense of personal well-being.” She optimizes her time now to strike a healthy balance between work and personal life. Her approach is to prioritize organization and efficiency to ensure overtime is an exception, not the rule.
As a woman navigating leadership, she shares wisdom gained through challenges and triumphs. She says that many corporations are making strides in supporting women, but there is still significant progress to be made. Initiatives like mentorship programs and flexible work schedules are positive steps. However, challenges persist, such as unconscious bias, limited access to leadership roles, and the perception that women are ‘softer’ or less suited for strong leadership positions. This mindset must change.
She firmly believes that having women in leadership positions is essential. As per Katharina women bring diversity to leadership, offering different perspectives and approaches that drive innovation and better decision-making. Organizations should create enabling environments sans biases and prejudices, empowering women to aspire to leadership roles and trust in their capabilities.
As a woman in leadership, Katharina has encountered and surmounted several challenges. The most crippling was the notion of self-doubt and perfectionism. However, soon she realized that leadership isn’t about perfection but about courage, resilience, and the willingness to grow. Once she took this leap of faith, breaking through the barriers that held her back, there was no looking back.
Katharina derives inspiration from Sheryl Sandberg (former COO of Meta, Author of Lean In). Sheryl’s emphasis on empowering women in leadership and her advocacy for workplace equality have deeply influenced Katharina’s approach to fostering inclusive and diverse teams. She also takes inspiration from Simon Sinek , Steve Jobs, and Judith Williams.
Katharina believes that her fortitude and resilience in the face of challenges are her greatest strengths. She narrates how in the past she struggled with self-confidence and found it hard to be proud of her achievements. Navigating this period of self-doubt wasn’t without challenges. However, she discarded the pursuit of perfection and over time learned to trust herself, accept her flaws, and celebrate her accomplishments.
When she’s not ruling the HR realm from her cabin, she’s busy connecting with nature and finding her balance. Katharina enjoys hiking in the vast expanse of nature with mountains and water bodies around.
Her Saturday routine de-stresses her while making waves with her leadership prowess on LinkedIn. She unwinds with yoga and workout sessions and preps her LinkedIn posts for the week ahead.
Katharina finds her passion in empowering people to reach their full potential and creating better work environments where individuals can thrive. Her message is simple: Believe in yourself, embrace challenges, and never stop learning.
