Empowering diversity as a Millennial female leader | Nora Beckershaus, Director Operations & Growth, Refinery29

#MillennialsAtWork — Humans Of New Work

What does work mean to you?

One word? Purpose.

One thing you like or dislike about your job?

The ability to be innovative is my job’s greatest privilege. I’ve never set out to follow in someone else’s footsteps. For me, being digital means being adventurous. Launching Refinery29 Germany can be compared to sitting in a swing carousel ride; beautiful without any ground under your feet, so addictive it makes you dizzy until you almost can’t take it anymore. And then around again you go.

How is the human placed at the core of your work?

In every aspect. Humans are the protagonists of our stories, hence it’s their personalities and narratives that make up our DNA.

One thing you’d like to change about the work system?

I care about empowering diversity and characters.

Nora Beckershaus is the Director of Operations and Growth at the Millennial magazine Refinery29 Germany. Before being given the opportunity to launch the U.S. lifestyle platform in Germany together with the Editor-in-Chief Cloudy Zakrocki, Nora, a Gen Yer herself, followed a multi-faceted career path that took her from law studies to Axel Springer. Because of her South American looks, growing up in idyll Northern Germany Nora often had to perform as King Balthazar in the yearly nativity play, though she would have much preferred to play Maria. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why she felt so drawn to the diversity aspect at Refinery29. Before choosing her creative career, she studied law in Munich while working as an assistant at Burda Style Group and the Editor-in-Chief of Bunte and InStyle, Patricia Riekel. Nora’s story in many ways conjures up images of the film “The Devil Wears Prada.”

“My first job as night assistant to Patricia Riekel gave me both insight into the industry and the feeling of being at the right place. I quickly realized that I wanted to become a journalist, so I started as an editor at InStyle. Then, I took the next step by joining the youth magazine Bravo, where Philipp Jessen gave me perspective beyond journalistic training. She taught me to see creating content for the mainstream as a privilege. So I started telling stories. Every Monday morning I had a blank double page that I allowed myself to fill — my blank canvas.”

Leaping into the digital media world, Nora joined Katja Kessler’s blog “Katjas Kladde” in Berlin. At the age of 25, Nora’s next adventure was calling this time in print media. The last page of the BILD edition turned out to become another springboard for her involvement in Axel Springer’s startup think tank AS Ideas Ventures. Another blank canvas for Nora to fill, a place where she could merge her creative and analytical skills.

Today, as part of the youthful dual leadership at Refinery29, Nora grows with each task.

“Being too far away has something incredibly calming and gives me wings. Having a backup for consulting, supporting, and mutual criticism is the opposite of ‘It’s lonely at the top’”.

As a Millennial leader, Nora rises to her daily challenge of creating an individual space of personal growth for her 15 employees. That’s where she continually finds that, in today’s work life, self-realization and freedom have taken the place of income and safety.

“Living empathy and zeitgeist through leadership is most important for me. The young generation finds it essential to have a mission with which they can identify. They want to stand and advocate for something meaningful which has led to a shift of what it means to have a traditional job. Millennials expect their employer’s value system match their worldview. Refinery29 wants to celebrate women’s diversity and individual life models complying with the here and now of our readers and employees.”

Throughout her unusually diverse career path and still today, it’s the storytelling that drives Nora. She seeks out exceptional, untold stories that, thanks to digital formats such as gifs, Instagram, and branded content, can always be delivered in new, exciting ways. So, every day, Nora takes her color palette to her canvas and invents.

Originally published at www.humansofnewwork.com.