Min vej som leder – Martin Thorborg's book about leadership
Min vej som leder is a practical Danish book about leadership told through my own mistakes and experiences from companies including Jubii and Dinero. It’s about choosing the leadership role, giving employees responsibility, creating a mission, making difficult decisions and finding a sustainable everyday balance. I began with doubts and reluctance about responsibility for employees. Written with Anders Gisselmann, the book was published by Gyldendal Business in 2022.
Here you can read what the 14 chapters cover and choose the edition that suits you. The descriptions are based on the book’s contents.
Who is the book for?
For anyone managing employees, considering becoming a leader or building a business. The book addresses responsibility, recruitment, the working environment, employees’ freedom, innovation and the balance needed to sustain you as a leader. You get concrete stories and choices from a leader’s everyday life rather than a general textbook of models.
What do others say about the book?
Dontt’s review of Min vej som leder gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars and highlights how the experiences can be used in workplaces beyond entrepreneurial businesses. Plenum from Skolelederforeningen describes it as worth reading, with advice applicable to public-sector leadership too. Readers have rated the book 4.5 out of 5 on both Mofibo and Saxo (checked on 27 September 2026; ratings may change). Both offer current reader reactions.
Chapter by chapter
1. Min vej som leder
From early experiences at a petrol station to responsibility for employees. Martin describes starting as an insecure leader and gradually finding a way of leading people that suited him.
2. Strong leadership makes a difference
Why leadership can be felt throughout a business and why the role isn’t a title that automatically makes anyone better than others. A leader’s choices affect both employee motivation and the customer experience.
3. Should you become a leader?
It’s worth exploring whether you actually want the responsibility. The chapter covers choosing leadership, finding your own style and acknowledging the mistakes you’ll inevitably make. Read more: Should you become a leader?
4. Responsibility, influence and freedom
Freedom requires trust, and trust requires a leader willing to let others make decisions. Martin writes about delegation, his own mistakes and assessing work by the value it creates. Read the story about freedom with responsibility.
5. Recruitment, salary and bonuses
How do you attract people who fit the business? Martin discusses job adverts, different employees’ needs and his thinking on pay and rewards.
6. A good workplace
Premises, food, learning and layout matter to everyday working life. The chapter shows how the setting can support different ways of working and make goals and leadership visible.
7. Working life in a time of change
Working from home, flexibility and debates about working hours gained new significance during the pandemic. Martin discusses how freedom can work in practice and what leaders need to take responsibility for when work changes form.
8. The mission
A mission should be felt in the work and make sense to employees and customers. Using Dinero as an example, Martin writes about turning values into action rather than slogans people can simply repeat. Read more about missions and motivated employees.
9. What leadership requires
Leaders need to care about people, dare to make decisions and build trust. The chapter covers honesty, employees’ decision-making power and balancing closeness with professional responsibility.
10. Focus on innovation
Development requires trying ideas and listening to customers and employees. Martin explains using a simple first version of a product and the danger of ignoring suggestions for improvement.
11. Take your visibility seriously
Leaders need to be present and available to employees even with a full diary. The chapter covers everyday conversations and spotting problems before they grow.
12. Invest in your leadership
Employees need to develop, and so do leaders. Martin describes what he’s learned from board work, discussions and meeting people who see the business from different angles.
13. Find your balance
Private life, stress and energy come into work with you. The chapter covers looking after yourself, taking holidays and building an organisation that works while the leader is away. Read more about balance as a leader.
14. Keep an eye on the world
A leader can’t settle for knowing their own business. Martin writes about reading, following new technologies and trends, asking questions and imagining how a new competitor would challenge the business.
A few lines from the book
"For me, leadership is a craft that needs to be learned and practised continually."
Martin Thorborg, foreword, p. 6
"Values aren’t something to remember; values are something you live."
Martin Thorborg, chapter 8: The mission, p. 155
Read reviews of Min vej som leder
See selected coverage of Min vej som leder, with short extracts and links to the originals.
Facts about Min vej som leder
- Author: Martin Buch Thorborg, written with Anders Gisselmann
- Publisher: Gyldendal Business
- First published:
- Language: Danish
- Print book: 256 pages, ISBN 9788702386653
- E-book: ePub, ISBN 9788702386660
- Audiobook: narrated by Martin Thorborg, ISBN 9788702386677
Also read about the author Martin Thorborg and see all my books.
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