The interface between production, sales and purchasing: that was my last role as Supply Chain Manager in the pharmaceutical industry. In this role, I began to take an increasing interest in sales and I quickly realized that a company like Coca‑Cola HBC could be the next step on my career path. After an equally intensive and professional application process, I joined the Vienna Field Sales Team as a sales representative in 2018. About two years later I was allowed to take the next career step: As Sales Manager, I am now responsible for consulting and supporting our Viennese gastronomy partners with a dedicated team and for the availability and activation of our portfolio in the market.

As stereotypical as it sounds, in my current function there is simply no "typical working day". I currently spend two days in our head office in Vienna to exchange ideas with the team or other departments or to clarify strategic and organisational details in the background. The rest of the time I am out and about in the market to maintain the bond with customers and the team and to provide advice and support where I am needed.

My top priority and at the same time the biggest challenge is to always be there for my team and to find the right balance between trust and control. Every character - and there are so many different ones in every team - has his or her own style of work, different expectations and ideas that he or she wants to bring to the table. That's fine, but it needs to be strategically steered into the right direction from time to time. This is an ongoing process in which I have to keep my eyes and ears open and, in the best case, only intervene where it is really necessary.

What I really like about my job is being able to watch personalities grow and to make this growth possible. I am convinced that it is important to give people the freedom to develop their own ideas and approaches. It is logical that not everything can always run smoothly. However, according to the motto "learning from others", one should be open to sharing not only success stories but also less successful experiences. After all, knowledge about mistakes can also be strategically valuable.

One piece of advice I would give to a new member of my department or team is that to function as a team, you need initiative, communication, transparency and no fear of asking questions. As a team member as well as a supervisor, it is important to approach people proactively and get honest and constructive feedback. And: You must never stop working on yourself. You don't need to keep reinventing the wheel, but you should not be afraid to learn from others and successfully apply these experiences to your own (professional) future.