TALKING WITH
BEHIJA KARUP
Since January 2023, Behija Karup has been our very first Chief People Officer. Leading the development of a purpose- and value-driven culture. To her, it's all about the people at Tom Tailor. Here, you can join our talk.
Hi Behija, you are Tom Tailor's first Chief People Officer, driving our crew and value focused culture. What does our purpose 'To inspire. To be real.' mean to you?
I love the sentence ''To inspire. To be real.''
It is so simple and yet so powerful.
I see it as my calling to inspire people for Tom Tailor and to help them to find their own purpose at our company. To pursue TT’s purpose, vision and mission while remaining true to themselves. This means giving people the freedom to be themselves. And embracing diversity. This requires openness and empathy. Inspiring others to be real means encouraging them to stay true to themselves, to go their own way, to listen to their own inner voice. It is challenging to stay true to oneself, especially in a world that is characterised by strongly defined ideals and social roles. The picture of the world, of people, that we see on social media channels, in metaverses, with avatars or generative AI, is very different from reality.
That takes courage. Courage to listen to your inner voice, to yourself and remain real. But, you know what? I would like to share an interesting finding with you: Many people are unaware of their true selves.
I often find that when I ask people who they are, who they really are, I am looked at with surprised and questioning faces. People usually start talking about their job, the different roles they have in their lives. But this is not the answer I aim to receive when asking this question. Actually, I'm curious about the people behind the tasks and roles. What motivates them, what their values are, what makes them enthusiastic and inspired. What they put extra effort into.
So, if you were to ask me, What do I do to inspire people to stay true to themselves? I would simply say, Ask them who they are.