From trainee to Director of Nursing: Dominik talks about his career at Helios and his experiences in the trainee and management programme in Leadership in Progress. 

Dominik has been part of Helios since 2022. Today, the 36-year-old is Director of Nursing at Helios Klinik Schleswig and can look back on an impressive career. In Leadership in Progress, he talks about how the trainee and management programme shaped him on his path to becoming a manager, which experiences have particularly inspired him, and what tips he would give to future trainees.

As Germany's largest hospital operator, Helios was my first choice for the next step in my professional development. After completing my studies in management, vocational training in healthcare and subsequent professional experience, the trainee programme offered me an ideal opportunity to advance my career. The prospect of taking on a management role in the near future was particularly attractive to me. I also found the close cooperation with the nursing directors in the clinics and the structured support provided by the trainee and management programme exciting. 

During my assignments at various hospitals throughout Germany, it was always exciting to see how similar the challenges and opportunities were despite regional differences. I was able to apply much of the experience and projects I had gained at one hospital to other institutions and initiate visible positive changes there as well.

The change in role from trainee to junior manager, the resulting increase in responsibility and the opportunity to always have the next step in my development in sight. Throughout both programmes, I was always given a clear perspective. I knew what the next steps might look like and how my path to my target position as Director of Nursing would unfold. 

I try to bring my personality to bear as much as possible in my role as a manager. Employees quickly notice when someone is trying to play a certain role that doesn't suit them. Through authentic, honest and transparent leadership, I want to motivate people to go along with development processes and actively participate in them. During my time as a trainee and junior manager, I got to know a wide variety of managers. These experiences helped me to develop my own understanding of leadership and to consciously put it into practice.