Tarra Nilsson about curiousity, the experience of being burnt out and being a football nerd without any talent for ball sports

Hello, who are you? 
My name is Tarra. Originally, I am from Malmö, but I have been living in Stockholm for a few years now. I'm a bit of a football nerd, even though I’m not talented with ball sports myself. I devote a large part of my free time to football and like to travel around the country to follow Malmö FF. As a person, I am spontaneous, happy, and curious. I like a full day in town, a musical/theater performance as well as reading a book or taking a walk by the sea or in the woods.

"Most people who know me would probably add that I'm a bit stubborn and that I have a real winner mentality." 

Most proud of in your life?
That I don't give up and that I'm an incurable optimist.

Tell us about your career at Lantmännen? 
I started out at Lantmännen Agriculture’s customer service in 2012. At that time, we were located at “Tre Skåne” in Malmö. During the three years that I worked at Lantmännen Agriculture, I managed to work with order reception, delivery issues, invoicing, and contracts. In 2014 I was on sick leave due to fatigue syndrome, an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone, but which taught me things about myself that I now benefit from every day. 

"At first, I had no understanding of why I had been put on sick leave, and I kept myself busy with various projects from morning to evening. After a few weeks, I collapsed completely, the stress had shut down my body, my speech was affected, and I lost words."

I had symptoms such as extreme fatigue, poor memory, and great difficulty with crowds of people. This was followed by months of visits to the doctor, psychologist, and occupational therapist to regain functions in my body and mind. I received fantastic support from support functions around me, not least from my manager, and devoted the sick leave period to really heal myself. For that I am enormously grateful. During the time I was on sick leave, I had to learn new ways of coping with stress and learned to sense my body's signals – and respect them! The experience of being burnt out has helped me to set boundaries, both for myself and others.

"If you feel like it's too much, my best tips are to talk and listen. Talk to your manager and colleagues about how you are doing and dare to listen to your body and the signals it gives you. Nothing work related is so important or urgent that it's worth breaking down yourself for it."

When I came back to work, I felt that I wanted to do something new. A position as an administrator for Product Support at Lantmännen Machinery opened and I applied. I started that position in 2015 and stayed there for about three years. During those years, I worked with warranty processes and was responsible for the trainings of our mechanics, foremen and workshop managers.

In the autumn of 2017, I attended Lantmännen's leadership training where I got to know several exciting and wonderful people. One of them contacted me in 2018 and asked if I was interested in applying for a position at IT, Group Functions. On December 1, 2018, I started as Service Delivery Manager Telecom and in connection with that, I switched office from Malmö to Stockholm. Since then, I have had three different roles within Group Function’s IT; Service Delivery Manager Telecom, IT Platform Manager Telecom and my current role as Manager IT Support Center.

What experiences do you bring with you from your previous roles? 
The network of contacts and the understanding that Lantmännen is a large Group, with different focuses in different operations, but above all that we help and support each other regardless of role. I have the sense that everyone wants things to go well for Lantmännen and for our Swedish farmers – our owners. Another aspect I take with me is to dare trying new things. Lantmännen has so many exciting challenges and opportunities. You just need the courage to ask!

Tell us about your current role! 
In my current role, I am responsible for our support functions; Service Desk, On site Support (Stockholm and Malmö) and Telephony Support. The team is located in different locations, Stockholm, Enköping, Gothenburg, Malmö and Sundsvall. I would say that my most important responsibility is to create the right conditions for the team to work on. They are the stars and provide our colleagues with fantastic support every day!

"My days consists of meetings, emails, and Teams. It may sound a bit boring and monotonous, but I have a lot of fun at work and my days are rarely the same. Although the days consist of many meetings, their content differ quite a bit. It can be anything from budgets, processes and routines to new technical solutions, discussions about projects and initiatives, improvement work, etc."

Describing my days is not easy. I'm usually in the offices in Stockholm or Malmö, and I like to have physical meetings if possible. Between meetings, I like to talk to colleagues in the house, offer a joke, an anecdote or just have a spontaneous coffee. 

The most fun part of the role and the most challenging?
The best thing about my job is that I can use my experience from previous roles to improve and develop our support functions. To bring experience from "reality" to IT, quite simply.

"The most challenging part is that Lantmännen is such a large Group and so complex. What works for one company might be completely wrong for another. Finding the balance and "just right" is not always easy, but I like the challenge and complexity of it."

What qualities are important for success in your current role? 
It may sound cliché, but Lantmännen's values of a holistic approach, drive and openness are important. To understand the big picture and see synergies between our companies, at the same time dare to act and set the framework for what support means at Lantmännen and to also be open about what we do and why. The difficult thing might not be to say what we do, but more to describe what we don't do. It is important to be responsive and flexible, but also clear and straightforward.

Tell us about a time when you used one of the values openness, a holistic view and drive to move forward in projects/decisions? 
Wow. I would like to say that I do this on a daily basis. Everything from adapting upgrading applications not to clash with for example spring tillage or harvest to strategic decisions about how and what to work with. Within the team, we often talk about seeing the whole of Lantmännen and making decisions accordingly. That's our superpower.

What drives you to develop? 
My curiosity. I want to know how things work, why you do things in a certain way or how you can do things in other ways for better results. I really enjoy learning new things and gaining new perspectives to build a broader picture.

What do you hope will be your next step within Lantmännen? 
I hope that I continue to develop as a leader within Lantmännen, as I enjoy the values and corporate culture. I would like to continue working in IT, although I also think that the food and energy sectors are exciting. These are areas I haven't worked with, so I would have liked to learn more.

What are your best tips for others who want to make a career at Lantmännen? 
Dare! Dare to be open about what you want. Dare to ask questions and dare to try new things, and perhaps most importantly - always do your best where you are and have fun at work!

What is your best tip for a person who is a new employee at Lantmännen? 
Read on Inside, there is lots of good information and it’s a good entry point for learning Lantmännen concepts. Also ask for help from colleagues and our support functions. We're here to help you and get you off to a flying start.

The best thing about Lantmännen?
Lantmännen is a large Group, but with the feel of a family business. At Lantmännen you can work with almost anything, for as long as you want.