If you can learn quantum physics, you can learn management

Business understanding is a vital attribute

Imagine that you are standing in front of Jesper Buch and the other ‘lions’ in the DR programme ‘Løvens Hule’ (English: Dragon´s Den). The cameras are rolling and hundreds of thousands of Danes are watching as you start talking about the invention you’ve been geeking out about for years. And now you sincerely hope that at least one of the five investors sees it as an idea they just have to invest a lot of money and knowledge in it.

The trick, you remind yourself, is to convince at least one of the investors that your idea is not only brilliant, but also that it has a well-thought-out business perspective.
25-year-old Toke Bøgelund-Andersen – who has participated in the Future STEM Leaders programme – uses the example of a Dragon´s Den pitch to explain why business understanding is such a vital attribute for students and recent graduates with a STEM background when they are either on their way to or have just started their first job.

“It is so important not only to have a great deal of knowledge about the specific area you are trained in and take a passionate interest in, but also to have a generalist toolbox and an understanding of the business opportunities that our knowledge and work are part of. The broader the understanding and not least the ability to communicate about this, the more we, who are educated in the STEM subjects, our workplaces and our colleagues get out of our knowledge and our strengths,” says Toke Bøgelund-Andersen.

He completed his master’s degree in Business Analytics at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), building on a bachelor’s degree in maths and technology from the same university. At the same time, his student job at Bain & Co. transformed into a full-time position as an Associate Consultant in the consultancy firm.

In 2021, while still a student, Toke Bøgelund-Andersen was one of 60 students and recent graduates who participated in IDA’s first programme for Future STEM Leaders. The programme helped open his eyes to the importance of business understanding when studying or graduating in STEM subjects.

The five day programme made him even more interested in eventually taking the leadership path himself.

“I signed up for the programme because the content interests me, but also because of the networking perspective. And it was very rewarding to meet other young people with a STEM background who also have a keen interest in management,” says Toke Bøgelund-Andersen.

“My own appetite for leadership was increased by participating in the programme,” says Toke Bøgelund-Andersen, and goes on to say: “While many other young people talk about the importance of keeping the technical content of the job, while at the same time wanting to improve their management skills at some point, I see myself more as a future manager who has the technical background knowledge from my studies as one of my tools. And you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of understanding what the people you manage are actually working with.”

Toke Bøgelund-Andersen adds that the programme, which takes place twice annually, is relevant regardless of which management level you might imagine yourself being at at some point.

“The programme provides knowledge and interest in leadership, even if you’re not going to be a top manager. It’s very much about understanding the mindset of leaders and learning about concepts such as emotional intelligence and personality profiles,” says Toke Bøgelund-Andersen.

Lack of experience seen as a barrier

Leadership development consultant at IDA Lasse Dallerup, who is one of the architects behind Future STEM Leaders, does not hide that one of IDA’s ambitions with the programme is to dispel some of the prejudices that exist about management also among new graduates from The STEM subjects.

“Some people shy away from leadership because they think it’s all about power, authority and rising through the ranks quickly. We want to open the eyes of young people from STEM subjects to the fact that leadership is much more than that. It’s a tool and a behaviour that you can use as a student, graduate and in your student job – but also in your personal life. In this way, we try to take a different approach to leadership in this programme than in the more traditional introduction to leadership,” says Lasse Dallerup.

At the same time, it is IDA’s experience that lack of experience is perceived by many young people as a barrier to entering management. Therefore, the intention of the programme is to supplement the young people’s professional ballast with management skills and knowledge of management early in their careers – and the importance of business understanding, emphasises Lasse Dallerup.

“If you have the ambition of becoming a top manager at some point, it often turns out that it typically takes a very long time, and it requires serious work over many years at both the informal and formal management level. That’s why it’s important to get started early and start building the necessary competences, but also to get yourself in position and create the right network,” says Lasse Dallerup.

Too few role models to look up to

Figures from Statistics Denmark emphasise that there is room for improvement when it comes to opening young people’s eyes to leadership. The number of managers aged 20-35 has fallen by 21 per cent in the period from 2008 to 2020.

Both Toke Bøgelund-Andersen and Lasse Dallerup point to several possible reasons for the significant downward curve. Among other things, both believe that a major challenge is that students in STEM subjects and young graduates lack role models to look up to.

“There is a self-reinforcing effect in that when the media writes about leaders in large companies, it is typically men over 50, while we very rarely hear success stories with leaders in their 30s. And if you don’t have role models as a young person, leadership becomes distant and scary and not something you want to do,” says Toke Bøgelund-Andersen.

“I definitely believe that young people from STEM subjects lack leadership role models to mirror themselves in, but there is also a challenge in that many business leaders, when promoting and appointing new managers, see a special value in having in-depth knowledge of the company,” says Lasse Dallerup. “Therefore, it is often people who are already employed and have many years of experience who are offered leadership positions. But in doing so, companies also risk missing out on opportunities to gain new perspectives, new values and new opportunities for collaboration.”

The nerds in the basement

Toke Bøgelund-Andersen does not buy into the idea that young people with a STEM background should have special challenges in relation to managing:
“There are still a few people who think that if you’re a maths/physics nerd in primary school and then spend several years taking a nerdy degree programme, you’re probably best off nerding out in a basement for the rest of your life – to put it bluntly. In my experience, many young people find management exciting – and if you can learn quantum physics, you can also learn management,” says Toke Bøgelund-Andersen with a smile.

Lasse Dallerup agrees, but adds that you shouldn’t underestimate that good leadership is a difficult skill to master.
“It’s so complex because you’re dealing with people and there are many levels to be aware of. We see that many of our members who are really good at their specialty and have done well in their jobs are rewarded with a tap on the shoulder and offered a management job. However, they are often very unsure how to approach the task. That’s why we want to prepare our members much earlier in their careers to realise that they can stick to being specialists and that there are ways to advance along both the specialist and management paths. However, if the specialist path is chosen, it requires competences in informal management – and this can be trained early in the career. ” says Lasse Dallerup.