How does a nanny working in England end up becoming a Scrum Master for a software and IoT company in Germany? Emilia initially moved to Dresden for love. When looking for a career change, a friend's comment about her skills sparked up her curiosity and possibilities. He thought that, as someone who had worked in childcare for 10 years, Emilia would have nerves of steel that would also enable her to skillfully support a team of software developers with organizational and team-motivating tasks. So, she soon gained her Scrum Master certification. At that time in 2018, Kiwigrid advertised for the position of Junior Scrum Master which fitted her qualification. Her successful application opened the door to a whole new world: IoT for renewable energy and e-mobility in a decentralized energy world. Two years on, Emilia successfully supports two teams in her role as Scrum Master with leadership responsibilities.
"It’s never too late to change, you just have to take the first step and you need some commitment. Time and patience are essential in order to make a difference. I am proud to be part of the Kiwi team and the sustainable energy world."
Emilia Lindenau
Your highlights and biggest challenges at Kiwigrid so far
Every day is a highlight, because in the role of Scrum Master you learn something new all the time. – in the team, company or individually. I count amongst my successes the great collaboration, and an ongoing good performance within my team and my personal progress, including learning how to use some new software tools like Confluence and Jira at the beginning of my professional work.
My main task is to create and maintain a stable framework for good, successful team performance and collaboration. Good team building requires a lot of sensitivity, experience, trust and time, also including outside work when we cook together, go for a drink, meet for game nights or go go-karting. Of course, we're only socializing remotely at the moment.
A big challenge for me was the language. I am originally from Slovakia, so neither German nor English is my mother tongue. Fortunately, I'm not alone in this at Kiwigrid and it’s the same for many of my international colleagues. We all support each other and also participate in voluntary German and English language courses at the company.
In one sentence: your next steps at Kiwigrid
I want to help make good teams great, keep optimizing my day-to-day tasks and continue to grow by continuously gaining new experience.
8 questions for: Emilia
- Your coffee?
- Caramel Brown - milk only or latte
- Your favorite mode of transport?
- I use everything. I prefer cycling, but in the mornings I have to take my children to two different places before work so I take the car. It can be a bit crazy, but it’s a good start to the day for me!
- Greta Thunberg, Superman, James LeBron, the Cookie Monster, Lassie (the dog from the movie) or you – who or what inspires you?
- My team would say "Cookie Monster" because I always have biscuits and snacks for everyone! I’m inspired by my colleagues and friends.
- Waste sorting, no car, your own PV plant... – what’s your personal sustainability challenge / mission?
- We only have this one planet that we should protect. Recycling was the first step for me. Now I organize a children's clothes swap, while I hopefully will soon be driving an electric car.
- Your work space?
- Team clean desk
- The best operating system?
- No matter! As long as it works ;)
- Your best working hours?
- Traditional – 8am-4pm
- Your favorite Kiwigrid product?
- I am a member of two teams: the product team in The Electrifying City area and the project teams. I don't have a favorite, though I'm deepest in The Electrifying City