In the latest episode of the Culture Sand podcast, “Trust and product at the core of leadership”, we had the great pleasure of speaking with Mikko Teerenhovi — CEO of Xolo, the fast-expanding, pan-European business admin platform purpose-built for solopreneurs.

With Mikko, we explored what it takes to lead a fast-scaling, product-first company in today’s complex landscape — and what kind of leadership mindset actually works.

As the business environment shifts rapidly, the leadership models and operating principles of fast-growing companies are becoming increasingly relevant — even for more traditional organisations.

We focused on three defining principles shaping Mikko’s approach:

Together, these principles reveal a modern blueprint for scaling with focus, conviction, and humanity — even across borders, cultures, and uncertainty.

One early assumption: they didn’t know their best-fit customers well enough

Mikko, thank you for joining us and sharing such valuable insights on modern leadership. I truly enjoyed the conversation!

Tintti Sarola is a strategist, transformation lead, and culture expert who believes the journey defines the outcome. With a background as a national team-level dressage rider and a track record of podium finishes up to the European Championship level, she brings the same intensity, focus, and commitment to business as she once brought to elite sport.

Her career spans law, tech, strategy, and transformation – from her early days in contract law and IPR to leading digital transformation, business development, and culture-powered change initiatives. Tintti has helped build successful start-ups, scale family-run businesses, and reshape how established organisations think, behave, and operate.

She specialises in helping leadership teams rewire how they work – aligning strategy with behaviour, shifting entrenched patterns, and building the human systems that make change stick. Sharp on strategy and fluent in human dynamics, Tintti is known for cutting through noise, connecting the dots, and helping companies move – fast and together.

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In the latest episode of the Culture Sand Podcast, “Leaders’ inner dialogue is an untapped cultural force” we had the great pleasure of speaking with Diane Moody, Global Lead for Inclusion and Diversity at ASML — the innovation leader in the global semiconductor industry.

Leadership and culture are being reshaped faster than ever. In this episode, we explored what a “good” organisation looks like today — what works, what unites people, and what enables real performance.

We focused on three major forces driving the shift:

From a leadership perspective, the challenge is sharper than ever:

Today’s leaders are navigating what organisational theorists once only warned about — extreme volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. The COVID-19 era accelerated these shifts, but it didn’t stop there. Geopolitical instability, AI disruption, and workforce aging are converging.

Today’s workforce spans multiple generations with wildly different expectations. Younger workers seek flexibility, autonomy, and purpose — they see work as a two-way deal, not a lifelong commitment. Older workers are focused on relevance, sustainability, and re-skilling as their careers extend.

The top-down training era is fading. Organisations now expect employees to drive their own development. Learning is no longer delivered — it’s enabled. But not everyone has been taught how to take ownership.

The shift from compliance to self-direction demands a culture that supports autonomy without assuming it. Younger workers may jump in with confidence. Others, shaped by hierarchical systems, may need help redefining their role.

Leaders must strike the balance: support without spoon-feeding, clarity without control. Empowerment isn’t a switch — it’s a build.

The role of the leader hasn’t changed: results still matter. But the approach must.

Hybrid work isn’t just a logistical choice — it reveals what companies truly value. Some CEOs push for full office returns. Others embrace flexibility. These choices are rarely neutral. They reflect unspoken beliefs about trust, culture, and control. New work models are a litmus test for organisational values.

Culture happens — even if you don’t design it. Every group forms norms, rituals, and expectations. But when leaders don’t pay attention, those norms reflect habit and hierarchy, not strategy.

A strong culture can be designed. But it requires awareness — of what people are experiencing, how inclusion really plays out, and who is being left behind. In hybrid environments, even well-meaning values can translate into exclusion if visibility and access aren’t consciously managed.

In a world of complexity, simplicity is a competitive edge — and a cultural asset. When work is smooth, frictionless, and well-supported, people move faster and feel more motivated. When it’s chaotic, people shut down.

Empowerment is often talked about, rarely defined. Real empowerment isn’t about giving permission — it’s about helping people understand what they own, where they can act, and that they’re trusted to do so.

It takes three things: clear boundaries, real competence, and psychological safety. Without all three, people hesitate, second-guess, or burn out trying to figure out what’s expected.

In fragmented, hybrid, multi-generational organisations, values matter more than ever — not as slogans, but as decision tools. When structure is loose and visibility low, shared values keep people aligned.

But even values are surface-level unless leaders examine the assumptions beneath them. Culture is ultimately shaped by what leaders assume to be true — about work, people, and power. If those assumptions go unexamined, they silently drive decisions and behaviours. To truly shape culture, leaders must surface and question their defaults.

Trust in leadership is falling — and one overlooked reason is opacity. Employees hear decisions, but not the thinking behind them. They see the what, but not the why.

When leaders make their inner dialogue public — sharing the reasoning, tension, and values behind choices — they build clarity and connection. It shows integrity. It invites followership. Culture shifts when leaders speak from the inside out.

—–

Tintti Sarola is a strategist, transformation lead, and culture expert who believes the journey defines the outcome. With a background as a national team-level dressage rider and a track record of podium finishes up to the European Championship level, she brings the same intensity, focus, and commitment to business as she once brought to elite sport.

Her career spans law, tech, strategy, and transformation – from her early days in contract law and IPR to leading digital transformation, business development, and culture-powered change initiatives. Tintti has helped build successful start-ups, scale family-run businesses, and reshape how established organisations think, behave, and operate.

She specialises in helping leadership teams rewire how they work – aligning strategy with behaviour, shifting entrenched patterns, and building the human systems that make change stick. Sharp on strategy and fluent in human dynamics, Tintti is known for cutting through noise, connecting the dots, and helping companies move – fast and together.

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In the latest CultureSandPodcast episode “A case for intentional culture management”, we had the great pleasure of speaking with Helen Rosethorn, a recognised thought leader in organisational culture and employer branding.

Helen Rosethorn is a recognised thought leader in organisational culture and employer branding. With over two decades of experience, she has helped global organisations align culture with business strategy to drive meaningful change.

She’s the author of The Employer Brand: Keeping Faith with the Deal, a seminal book in the field. Helen is known for bringing sharp insight and practical frameworks to complex culture challenges, and regularly contributes to the wider conversation through publications and speaking engagements.

In this podcast, we dive into how cultural thinking in business has evolved — and how to truly harness the power of people. We explore the critical alignment between strategy and culture, the role of leadership, and why culture must be part of the work system and everyday decisions. We also unpack the post-Covid reality, the growing distrust in leaders, and the rising expectations from Gen Z.

00:00 Helen’s springboard into culture

02:56 How cultural thinking in business has evolved

03:26 Tapping into the power of people at work

05:04 Shifting to an adult-to-adult work environment

07:03 Employee engagement and the idea of discretionary effort

09:01 New business models and the entrepreneurial employee

13:00 Culture is a work system — and shows up in every KPI

16:01 Behaviours as visible outcomes

16:37 Beliefs and systems as the forces surrounding behaviour

19:14 Culture, explained through a high-performance car metaphor

20:44 Is culture right, wrong or fit?

21:17 Align strategic and cultural intent

22:07 Case: Amazon and its cult(ure)

23:21 The value exchange between people and business

26:48 Culture fit, personality fit, and leadership fit

27:59 Aligned leadership sets the tone

31:19 The middle management brings it to life

33:07 Hybrid strategies need hybrid leadership

35:37 Building a transformative counterculture

36:04 Beware of unintended consequences

36:41 Case: When compliance grew bigger than the customer

39:10 Culture’s chicken-or-egg dilemma: people or systems first?

40:21 How to intentionally shift your work system

40:43 The CEO’s role: understanding what drives behaviour

42:40 The delicate balance between business and employee interests

44:22 Trust, change and generational tensions

44:22 The worrying decline of trust in leaders

46:40 A harsh truth: business leaders are seen as liars

48:10 Post-Covid reality and Gen Z pressures

49:42 Double trouble: both the business model and the work system are broken

51:41 Trust: the foundation of work and life

54:55 How “forced” trust and autonomy during Covid changed the game

57:17 Like a clock, your work system must move forward — not back

1:00:00 Performance in the era of invisible workforce

1:03:25 The relevant question trust in the value exchange

1:06:19 The need for future-looking narrative

1:09:15 Culture is work — not a separate thing

1:09:54 Dynamic culture supports dynamic strategy

1:11:45 Leadership alignment and shared ambition is everything

1:12:50 Nothing changes unless leaders model it, the middle supports it, and the system enables it

1:14:17 A case for intentional culture management

Tintti Sarola is a strategist, transformation lead, and culture expert who believes the journey defines the outcome. With a background as a national team-level dressage rider and a track record of podium finishes up to the European Championship level, she brings the same intensity, focus, and commitment to business as she once brought to elite sport.

Her career spans law, tech, strategy, and transformation – from her early days in contract law and IPR to leading digital transformation, business development, and culture-powered change initiatives. Tintti has helped build successful start-ups, scale family-run businesses, and reshape how established organisations think, behave, and operate.

She specialises in helping leadership teams rewire how they work – aligning strategy with behaviour, shifting entrenched patterns, and building the human systems that make change stick. Sharp on strategy and fluent in human dynamics, Tintti is known for cutting through noise, connecting the dots, and helping companies move – fast and together.

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In the latest Culture Sand Podcast episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Sarah Sarkis, a licensed psychologist and certified Executive Leadership Coach. Sarah helps CEOs, athletes, and other high-performers navigate the psychological game of greatness.

We explored the critical role of #LeadershipBehaviours in shaping a culture that drives #BusinessOutcomes —and how they can become either a costly liability or a valuable asset to the organisation. Through first-hand experience, she knows that companies often don’t need costly #CultureTransformationPrograms if leaders are open and committed to transforming themselves.

• In culture building, the buck stops with leaders.

• Know thyself first. Leader should not move to interpersonal skills until they’ve developed critical intrapersonal skills.

• Trust is the bedrock of leadership effectiveness.

• A sense of fear, safety, control, surrender, resistance, willingness, and motivation are all deeply tied to the trust systems in our brain.

• All business outcomes are influenced by trust—or a lack of it.

• Resistance is a sign of a healthy organisational system and should be applauded (except when it is pathological).

• Leaders often ignore their own resistance while focusing on others’ resistance.

• It is our reaction to resistance where things get murky.

• Motivate people to change by giving them pockets of autonomy required to perform their work effectively and build their ability to assume larger responsibilities.

• An unfortunate by-product of psychological safety is an overfocus on safety, with too little attention on dissent, friction, and conflict.

• Only high levels of intellectual friction and low levels of social friction drive companies forward.

• We must train ourselves to be knocked around and to become anti-fragile. Intellectual friction creates high-learning situations, and exposure to hardships builds resilience.

• Remember, exercise breaks you down muscularly before it has additive and reparative effects.

• Team dynamics change fast.

• You can transform how your team operates in 365 days.

Tintti Sarola is a strategist, transformation lead, and culture expert who believes the journey defines the outcome. With a background as a national team-level dressage rider and a track record of podium finishes up to the European Championship level, she brings the same intensity, focus, and commitment to business as she once brought to elite sport.

Her career spans law, tech, strategy, and transformation – from her early days in contract law and IPR to leading digital transformation, business development, and culture-powered change initiatives. Tintti has helped build successful start-ups, scale family-run businesses, and reshape how established organisations think, behave, and operate.

She specialises in helping leadership teams rewire how they work – aligning strategy with behaviour, shifting entrenched patterns, and building the human systems that make change stick. Sharp on strategy and fluent in human dynamics, Tintti is known for cutting through noise, connecting the dots, and helping companies move – fast and together.

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The post Leadership behaviours: A cost or an asset? appeared first on An execution capability company.

Failure is not just essential – it’s the core of learning, growth, and change. Yet, failure is often seen as a terrifying prospect that brings blame. An organisational culture that clings to the idea of perfection is a major obstacle, limiting both the company’s potential and the growth of its people.

Our guest, Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra, CEO of Parry Enterprises – a fast-growing group with net sales of INR 74 billion (EUR 8.1 billion) – is a true believer in the tremendous potential of human beings. He believes that a strong work culture, which drives personal growth while providing clear boundaries within which to operate, is key to unlocking that potential. After all, it is people who make the strategy happen, and culture shows the way to reach the goals.

When stepping into a new organisation, Rashmi assesses his team—understanding their skills, experience, educational background, and personal motivators. Recognising that employees have been following established patterns for a long time is crucial. It’s essential to evaluate whether those work patterns align with the direction he aims to grow, or whether there are gaps, which will lead to resistance and friction. Both are natural and should be embraced as part of the journey to take your team along.

When entering a new organisation, Rashmi goes beyond the written code of conduct and guiding values to uncover the unwritten code—the unseen and unsaid cultural elements that truly define how the organisation operates. This involves observing how conflicts are managed, how stakeholders interact, and the behaviours displayed across formal and informal settings, such as corridor conversations or canteen discussions. These cues reveal the organisation’s actual culture and its alignment with stated principles.

How leaders can uncover the unsaid? Leaders should engage actively, remain present, and build trust by walking the talk, especially since they will be closely scrutinised, particularly if they are new. Understanding the emotions and reactions of team members is crucial, as these often reflect underlying grievances or resistance, rather than a direct rejection of new ideas. Leaders must connect on a personal level, going beyond surface-level interactions to genuinely understand and align with their teams. In some cultural contexts, such as in India, where people may not always be candid, reading between the lines becomes even more essential.

Typically, a small percentage of innovators (2–15%) will adapt quickly, while the majority—about 60%—remain steady and resistant to change, requiring gradual engagement.

Rashmi pays a lot of attention in communicating his thought process and the big picture. For large organisations, it’s critical to ensure alignment between what the CEO, board, and management understand and what is conveyed to employees at every level. This message must remain consistent and unfiltered.

To achieve this, leaders should utilise every communication avenue—whether town halls, emails, or personal interactions—while consistently exuding energy and ensuring the message reaches the ground level in its purest form.

Rashmi drives his teams into a state of flux, helping them embrace both the thought process and the big picture with their hearts and minds.

A state of flux is a transitional phase where the team becomes more open and aligned with new ideas and directions. It’s a period when the team becomes more receptive and malleable.

Leaders can sense this shift through subtle cues, such as team members starting to ask new types of questions or engaging with the bigger picture being presented. This state often emerges after initial efforts to build understanding, like introducing industry trends, the need for relevance, and long-term goals. For example, transitioning to automation may initially cause resistance, but with time and clear communication about its benefits, the team begins to align and participate.

Leaders must be patient, recognising when the team is ready for deeper change. The goal is to guide them through this flux with a roadmap, milestones, and active involvement, allowing the team to feel confident and invested in the transformation. Only when the team reaches this flexible state can leaders effectively implement significant changes.

As a leader, Rashmi emphasises the importance of embracing failure as part of the learning process. Leaders always should make it clear to the team that they should never fear failure. In change processes, they have to try new things, and failure is inevitable. It is a leader’s job to ensure that the team feels psychologically safe by reassuring them that failing is not only okay, but it’s part of trying something new. It is important to celebrate failures because it encourages openness, learning, and accountability without blame. This approach fosters a culture where people feel safe to experiment and grow.

It is also important to remember tha when people see success stories, like five successful brands or organisations, they often overlook the fact that behind those successes, there are usually around 120 to 125 failures that paved the way for those achievements.

Rashmi believes in the concept of transient advantage rather than long-term competitive advantage or disruption. As a leader, he focuses on incremental improvements every day, always striving for positive change. While they operate within a framework, they must be aggressive in pursuing new ideas, even if it means risking failure.

The qualitative process sets the tone for how they operate across different sectors, whether it’s in service, manufacturing, or future tech. When the qualitative aspect is strong, the outcome is reflected in the data. The data is simply a business process outcome, showcasing the strength of the qualitative foundation.

When measuring culture, Rashmi focuses on the observable differences in the system, people, and organisation. If employees are passionate about the big picture and act as brand ambassadors, it reflects a strong culture. This energy in the workplace leads to tangible results, with growth indicating a sustainable culture. Every touchpoint with the organisation, whether internal or external, should exude this energy. It’s crucial to connect both mind and heart, as this creates positive energy that spreads across the team. Ultimately, employees should feel energised, motivated, and excited to return to work the next day.

Rashmi believes that tools like Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and similar methodologies only psatisfy a scoring pattern, provide surface-level metrics and don’t truly reflect the depth of culture. NPS may indicate whether someone is convinced about the culture, but it doesn’t capture its essence.

Any leader, regardless of their position in the organisational hierarchy, must understand that they are ultimately working with people. Processes and systems are essential, but they need to be embraced by individuals with both their hearts and minds. If team members don’t genuinely engage, they are like robots, and no meaningful results will come from that. Leaders must ensure that every team member is committed and aligned with the vision and strategy, even through ups and downs. Only then can they deliver. Leadership, therefore, is about managing human beings, not machines.

Rashmi believes that humans possess immense untapped potential, often unbeknown to themselves. A leader’s role is to understand their team, identify their strengths, and help propel them forward. This process brings a deep sense of achievement, not from hitting targets, but from seeing the next generation of leaders surpassing expectations. A great leader takes pride in seeing team members grow and exceed their capabilities, rather than fearing competition or insecurity.

Healthy competition encourages each team member to perform better, while unhealthy competition is driven by a desire to outshine others. A true leader nurtures the potential in their team, helping them achieve things they never thought possible. This “Eureka” moment, when team members realise their own growth, is a powerful and rewarding experience for both the individual and the leader.

A vision statement defines what an organisation wants to become, but for Rashmi, the crucial question is how to get there. While the “what” is easy to state, the “how” is critical, and it lies in the organisation’s culture and values. Culture is key to achieving strategic goals, as it drives sustainable business outcomes. Without a strong culture and values, strategies are unlikely to be executed effectively, leading to a misfit. As Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Tintti Sarola is a strategist, transformation lead, and culture expert who believes the journey defines the outcome. With a background as a national team-level dressage rider and a track record of podium finishes up to the European Championship level, she brings the same intensity, focus, and commitment to business as she once brought to elite sport.

Her career spans law, tech, strategy, and transformation – from her early days in contract law and IPR to leading digital transformation, business development, and culture-powered change initiatives. Tintti has helped build successful start-ups, scale family-run businesses, and reshape how established organisations think, behave, and operate.

She specialises in helping leadership teams rewire how they work – aligning strategy with behaviour, shifting entrenched patterns, and building the human systems that make change stick. Sharp on strategy and fluent in human dynamics, Tintti is known for cutting through noise, connecting the dots, and helping companies move – fast and together.

Subscribe to our newsletter

The post Strong leaders unlock potential; weak leaders fear failure and competition appeared first on An execution capability company.

The shifting sands of the market have never moved this fast, leaving CEOs and the C-suite searching for new ways to address increasingly unexpected market changes. One could argue that active culture building has never been as crucial as it is now.

Our guest, Theo Papadopoulos, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Bank of Valletta plc, is the ideal person to explore what culture is and what culture change truly requires. Alongside his banking expertise, Theo is also a certified professional leadership coach, bringing a unique perspective to the discussion.

In this episode, we dive into Theo’s favourite topic—the importance of human skills and cultural competence among the C-suite, as well as the pressing need to foster an adaptable, collaborative mindset within the workforce. Theo offers invaluable insights into why change—whether personal, professional, or cultural—is challenging yet rewarding.

Leaders impact people, their well-being, and their professional futures through their everyday actions. It is critical to understand the footprint leaders leave on others; to always remember how your behaviour impacts others, as this influence defines the outputs that ultimately drive financial results.

Ultimately, leadership is about taking people to places they have not been; it is about fostering the personal growth of others.

Leading people is not about pleasing them. Leadership is about being honest regarding an individual’s performance, and it often takes both the leader and the receiver of feedback into a zone of discomfort.

To be at the service of others does not come naturally to many. Therefore, leaders must work hard on themselves before they can truly serve others.

Culture, as a concept, does not exist without people. The first question for leaders to ask is: considering where I want to take this company, what kind of workforce do I need? One that innovates? One that just executes? Leaders must have a clear vision of the shared values, beliefs, and collective mindsets that influence how people work, interact, make decisions, and execute them.

The goal and benefit of building a good culture are simple: if you create a work environment that values people and supports their professional growth, they will be more willing to align with what we want to achieve and go the extra mile to reach goals.

If leaders fail to strike the right balance between focusing on financial performance and culture, it will ultimately cost the business.

People are wired to seek comfort, which stems from habits and stability.

Both individuals and organisations suffer from a “wish-commit” gap. It is easy to embrace the idea of becoming a better version of ourselves or creating a better work culture. However, it becomes much harder when it is time to turn that wish into an actionable plan. It takes significant effort to identify exactly what needs to change in our thinking and actions, to unlearn what must be left behind, and to learn, step by step, what will replace it. The further you go in this process, the greater the discomfort.

Individually, changing the lenses through which we interpret the world is one of the hardest things to do. Organisationally, change is a collective effort, and everyone must own it. It is the collective nature of change that makes it so challenging.

“No gain without pain” is a cliché, yet it holds true. What is the pain, then?

Change does not happen without honest self-reflection, and this is hard work. Not everyone is open to it. People, especially leaders, often feel trapped if they let their current position define them, rather than the other way around.

Leaders also need to create a space for others to go through the same process: to understand where the gaps lie between organisational goals and individual behavioural performance, and why those gaps exist.

You have to give up something to gain something. If we are not clear about what needs to be given up, the steps towards something different or better will not happen.

Change always comes with an element of grief. It means letting go of a part of your identity. Culture change requires both leaders and employees to be open to evolving their professional identities.

Finally, change happens in small steps, requires consistency, and takes time.

Any change, including cultural change, is hard because being human means making mistakes, and change never happens without failures.

Error tolerance and seeing failures as learning experiences are prerequisites for change and innovation.

The lower the error tolerance in an organisation’s culture, the harder it is for people to evolve professionally and for the company to respond to external changes.

In the corporate context, the challenge lies in walking in the shoes of others to articulate what’s in it for them.

Interestingly, if you are not open about the current problems that negatively impact the emotional climate or hinder work from being done effectively—i.e., the issues the change seeks to address—it becomes difficult to make a compelling case.

The point is that the sustainable reasons for cultural change, on a personal level, are rarely financial. They are about addressing the problems most people experience in their daily work. Remember, people love the idea of being part of something that makes things better.

As Voltaire said, to lead change, you have to be part of it; you cannot stand against it. The most self-serving approach is to cling to the past and resist change.

As a leader, you must embrace the evolution of the values of society and people. You need to decide which side you want to be on: the side of the past or the future.

Strategy might look impressive in a PowerPoint presentation, with compelling long-term projections. But without culture, it’s nothing more than a fantasy.

A brilliant strategy is meaningless without the right mindset, behaviours, and environment to bring it to life. Culture ensures that strategy is understood and acted upon. Without culture, execution is doomed to fail.

Culture is not only a strategic topic but also an essential leadership competence. It helps maintain the relevance of both leaders and the companies they work for.

Tintti Sarola is a strategist, transformation lead, and culture expert who believes the journey defines the outcome. With a background as a national team-level dressage rider and a track record of podium finishes up to the European Championship level, she brings the same intensity, focus, and commitment to business as she once brought to elite sport.

Her career spans law, tech, strategy, and transformation – from her early days in contract law and IPR to leading digital transformation, business development, and culture-powered change initiatives. Tintti has helped build successful start-ups, scale family-run businesses, and reshape how established organisations think, behave, and operate.

She specialises in helping leadership teams rewire how they work – aligning strategy with behaviour, shifting entrenched patterns, and building the human systems that make change stick. Sharp on strategy and fluent in human dynamics, Tintti is known for cutting through noise, connecting the dots, and helping companies move – fast and together.

Subscribe to our newsletter

The post Great leaders guide people and teams to new places appeared first on An execution capability company.

Expert organisations are defined by high education levels, deep expertise, and a strong focus on research and innovation. While personal growth drives experts, this same drive doesn’t always extend to embracing organisational change or exploring new territory.

The language of this episode is Finnish. Read the article in Finnish.

Leaders of expert teams must navigate the delicate task of aligning employees’ personal aspirations with the organisation’s strategic goals. This often involves balancing resource allocation, maintaining the autonomy that experts value, and ensuring decisions serve the broader interests of the company.

If courage is born from fear, does the leader’s most crucial role in an expert organisation become helping individuals and the organisation confront and overcome their fears? And if so, how can this be accomplished?

Our guest, Mika Toikka, is an experienced leader in developing expert teams and organisations. For him, leadership is not an either/or decision but a both/and approach, balancing people and initiatives.

We spoke with Mika about why experts are often misunderstood, especially during times of change, and the challenges of developing expert organisations. We also discussed the role of work culture in driving change and how the “Listen and You Will Be Heard” management principle fosters the courage needed to embrace change.

Critical thinking and analytical reasoning are hallmarks of expert organisations, often misinterpreted as resistance to change. Rather than reflecting resistance to change, they represent a built-in skepticism essential for thoughtful evaluation and decision-making.

Culturally, expert work often conveys a sense of permanence. Overcoming this requires deliberate, sustained effort to cultivate thought and behaviour patterns that encourage renewal.

A people-centric leader focuses on everyday interactions, recognising that people—not processes or tools—drive solutions and results. After all, it is people who create the solutions that deliver results. The goal of a people-oriented leader is clear and timeless: “People today work better than they did yesterday.” Their continuous development manifests in four areas: how they discuss issues, how they address challenges, how they resolve conflicts, and how they follow up on progress.

The deep undercurrents of a company can only be understood by engaging in conversations and listening without a personal agenda. It is essential to understand how individuals feel while working in this organisation and what the prevailing mindset is.

The change plan is influenced by three inputs: the collective mindset, outcome capacity, and shareholders’ strategy. It consists of two levels: Culture and identity building, and strategic choices related to geographic markets, categories, and segments. Building culture is the most challenging aspect.

Culture building requires shared moments where the future is discussed. Established group dynamics must be changed, and new perspectives and ideas need to be introduced. It is essential to help people recognise alternative approaches.

Most people strive to do their job well, approaching it with seriousness and passion. However, presenting new alternatives is often misinterpreted as criticism of familiar ways rather than an opportunity to explore whether they could be improved.This set-up, often seen as a critique of one’s work or expertise, can evoke fear.

The best way to address people’s fears is to listen to them. Listening is a fundamental requirement for being heard as a leader.

Behavior change always takes time. It is gradualle reflected in several areas: How we talk about issues; whether our attitude toward the future is more optimistic; if we recognise our undeniable strengths and trust in them; whether we dare to be open to an uncertain future; if we approach progress with courage instead of fear; and whether our energy levels are higher and our posture is improved.

Leaders often face the dilemma of whether to be “tough first, nice later,” or vice versa. The prevailing wisdom typically leans toward starting tough. However, in practice, the most effective approach is likely a balance of both, though it remains one of the most challenging methods to implement. A leader must understand how the company’s culture influences people’s reactions to changes and decisions that deviate from their familiar ways of working. Only through concrete change situations and potential crises can a leader truly assess the organisation’s adaptability and resilience.

Asiantuntijaorganisaatiolle tyypillisiä piirteitä ovat korkea koulutustaso, vahva yksilön asiantuntemus sekä tutkimukseen ja innovaatioihin suuntautuminen. Asiantuntijat arvostavat korkeaa autonomiaa, pyrkivät jatkuvaan ammatilliseen kasvuun ja hakeutuvat merkityksellisiin projekteihin.

Asiantuntijaorganisaatioihin liittyy myös vahva ristiriita. Asiantuntijuuteen sisäänrakennettu tarve kehittyä koskee omaa ammatillista kehitystä, ja näin ollen kiinnostus ei aina ulotu itselle uusiin tai tuntemattomiin asioihin, tai organisaatiotasoiseen kehittämiseen.

Asiatuntijajoukkoja johtavan täytyy näin ollen varmistaa, että työntekijöiden henkilökohtaiset tavoitteet ovat linjassa organisaation strategisten tavoitteiden kanssa. Se on usein jatkuvaa tasapainoilua resurssien jakamisen, asiantuntijoiden vapauden ja yhtiön kokonaisedun kanssa.

Jos rohkeutta ei ole olemassa ilman pelkoa, niin onko muutostilanteissa asiantuntijaorganisaation johtajan tärkein tehtävä saada ihmiset, ja organisaatio, ymmärtämään ja voittamaan pelkonsa? Jos on, niin miten kuinka se tehdään?

Vieraamme Mika Toikka on kokenut asiantuntijatiimien ja -organisaatioiden johtaja ja kehittäjä. Keskustelimme Mikan kanssa miksi asiantuntijat tulevat muutostilanteissa usein perusteetta väärinymmärretyiksi, mikä tekee asiantuntojaorganisaatioiden kehittämisestä hetkittäin haastavaa, mikä on työkulttuurin rooli niiden kehittämisessä ja kuinka “Kuuntele niin tulet kuulluksi” johtamisen periaate auttaa tarvittavan

Kriittinen ajattelu ja analyyttinen päättelykyky ovat asiantuntiaorgamisaatioiden tavaramerkki, joka tulkitaan usein väärin. Kysymys on sisäänrakennetusta skeptisyydestä, ei muutosvastarinnasta.

Kulttuurin näkökulmasta tarkasteltuna asiantuntijatyöhön liittyy pysyvyyden elementti. Uudistumista tukevien ajattelu- ja käyttäytymismallien rakentamiseksi on tehtävä aktiivisesti ja paljon töitä.

Ihmiskeskeinen johtaja inspiroituu arjen tilanteista, joissa johdetaan ihmisiä, ei pelkästään asioita. Ihmiskeskeisen johtajan maali on selkeä mutta ikuinen: “Ihmiset tänään tekevät töitä paremmin kuin eilen”. Jatkuva kehitys ilmenee neljällä osa-alueella: Miten asioista puhutaan; Miten tekemiseen tartutaan; Miten ongelmiin puututaan ja Miten asioita seurataan.

Yrityksen syvät pohjavirtaukset ja kuinka se vaikuttaa ihmisiin, ymmärtää vasta kun menee keskusteluihin kuuntelemaan ilman omaa agendaa. Olennaista on ymmärtää, miltä ihmisistä tuntuu kun he tekevät töitä tässä organisaatiossa ja mikä yleinen vallitseva mielentila (mindset) on.

Muutossuunnitelmaan vaikuttaa kolme syötettä: Kollektiivinen mielentila, tuloksentekokyky ja omistajan tahtotila. Siinä on kaksi tasoa: Kulttuurin, eli toiminnallisen identiteetin kehittäminen ja strategiset valinnat esimerkiksi maantieteellisestä markkinasta, kategorioista ja segmenteistä. Kulttuurin kehittäminen on se vaikein asia. Sen rinnalla moni muu asia muutoksessa on melko suoraviivaista.

Kulttuurin kehittäminen edellyttää yhdessäoloa ja huomisesta keskustelua. On muutettava vakiintunutta ryhmädynamiikkaa. On esitettävä uusia näkökulmia ja ideoita. On saatava ihmiset näkemään vaihtoehtoisia tapoja.

Suurin osa ihmisistä haluavat tehdä työnsä hyvin; he suhtautuvat siihen vakavasti ja intohimoisesti. Uusien vaihtoehtojen esittäminen tulkitaan usein väärin, siten että työ olisi tehty huonosti sen sijaan, että pohdittaisiin, voisiko sen tehdä entistä paremmin. Tämä omaan työn ja asiantuntemuksen kritiikiksi koettu asetelma herättää pelkoa.

Paras tapa voittaa ihmisten pelot on kuunnella heitä. Kuuntelu on perusedellytys sille, jotta itse tulee johtajana kuulluksi.

Käyttäytymisen muutos tapahtuu aina hitaasti. Se näkyy usealla eri alueella: Miten puhutaan asioista; Onko suhtautuminen huomiseen optimistisempi; Tiedämmekö kiistattomat vahvuutemme ja luotammeko niihin; Uskallammeko olla avoimia epävarmalle tulevalle, Suhtaudummeko kehitykseen rohkeudella pelon sijaan; Onko energiatasomme korkeampi ja ryhtimme parempi.

“First tough and then nice” vai jtoisinpäin on johtamisen ikuisuuskysymys, johon yleensä vastataan “first tough, then nice”. Käytännössä näiden yhdistelmä on todennäköisesti toimivin, mutta jälleen kerran se haastavin toimintatapa. Johtajalle on keskeistä ymmärtää, miten yrityksen kulttuuri saa ihmiset reagoimaan muutoksiin ja päätöksiin, jotka poikkeavat totutusta. Vasta konkreettiset muutostilanteet ja mahdolliset kriisit antavat todellisen tuntuman organisaatioon ja sen muutoskyvykkyyteen ja resilienssiin.

Tintti Sarola is a strategist, transformation lead, and culture expert who believes the journey defines the outcome. With a background as a national team-level dressage rider and a track record of podium finishes up to the European Championship level, she brings the same intensity, focus, and commitment to business as she once brought to elite sport.

Her career spans law, tech, strategy, and transformation – from her early days in contract law and IPR to leading digital transformation, business development, and culture-powered change initiatives. Tintti has helped build successful start-ups, scale family-run businesses, and reshape how established organisations think, behave, and operate.

She specialises in helping leadership teams rewire how they work – aligning strategy with behaviour, shifting entrenched patterns, and building the human systems that make change stick. Sharp on strategy and fluent in human dynamics, Tintti is known for cutting through noise, connecting the dots, and helping companies move – fast and together.

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The post Change starts where fear ends and courage begins appeared first on An execution capability company.

Yesterday’s best practices are often today’s slow-downs and tomorrow’s obstacles. The familiar past makes us feel safe, but letting go of it is one of the hardest things for people to do, even when it no longer serves their own or their employer’s best interests.

The language of this episode is Finnish. Read the article in Finnish.

One of the most challenging questions for leaders is how to help people let go of the familiar and embrace something new, while also engaging the whole organisation in this process.

Our guest, Riikka Kämppi, describes herself as an entrepreneurial do-gooder and an impatient leader, for whom focusing on things comes more naturally than leading people. She says that she has learned the importance of people-centred leadership the hard way. Riikka took on the role of CEO at the think tank Libera in the autumn of 2024.

We spoke with Riikka about the role of culture in building a more competitive Finland, her own leadership journey, and the aspects of Finnish societal and work cultures that are currently holding us back as a nation, as companies, and as individuals.

Think tanks serve as catalysts for new ideas, driving cultural renewal and sparking important societal and business conversations. Culture plays a pivotal role in driving this process.

Work culture is built on unwritten, often unspoken rules. These rules shape the thinking and actions of individuals, driven by economic, social, and psychological factors. They also act as subtle forces that influence behaviour.

Culture is like layers of sediment, built over time through experiences, decisions, and shared moments. This ‘cultural memory stack’ forms a collective identity, guiding group thinking and action. It tells us what is valued, what’s right, and what’s wrong.

An individual’s identity, shaped by their culture, influences the ideas they generate. Work culture, often operating on autopilot, determines how these ideas are received. The more static the culture, the more conservative the ideas.

Crises force people out of their comfort zones, triggering rapid and sometimes uncontrollable shifts in culture. Leaders who frame situations as crises can catalyse a sense of urgency and encourage transformation, guiding people toward new ways of thinking and behaving.

In the absence of crises or proactive culture management, cultural shifts are slow and often imperceptible. External factors influence our thinking and behaviour far more than we realise, subtly shaping culture over time.

Finnish business leaders are profoundly shaped by the broader Finnish culture. Many of the core beliefs, values, and practices they follow today trace back to bygone eras. Prevailing cultural patterns such as excessive caution, perfectionism, undervaluing effort, and envy, hinder the ability to embrace change.

Finnish culture must redefine concepts like entrepreneurship and the role of an employee. It’s crucial to foster entrepreneurial skills throughout society and cultivate collective pride in Finnish achievements—across business, culture, and sports—rather than allowing envy to undermine progress.

Building an entrepreneurial Finland requires bold new ideas and essential structural reforms. Changes to taxation and labour market flexibility are key. We must create an environment that attracts and retains talent, both local and foreign.

In business, cultural transformation occurs one company at a time. Leaders must model the changes they wish to see in others. Change is emotionally challenging for most of the workforce, and strong, human-centric leadership is essential to guiding them through this process.

Human-centric leadership and systematic culture-building are essential competencies for the future. These skills shape the everyday lives of leaders and their teams in the following ways:

Eilisen hyvät käytännöt ovat usein tämän päivän hidasteita ja tulevaisuuden esteitä. Tuttu on turvallista ja turvallisesta irti päästäminen on yksi vaikeimmista asioista ihmisille siitäkin huolimatta, että ne eivät enää palvelisi heitä itseään tai heidän työnantajiaan. Yksi johtamisen vaikeimmista kysymyksistä on kuinka saada ihmiset luopumaan tutusta ja oppimaan uutta ja kuinka valjastaa koko organisaation tähän prosessiin.

Vieraamme Riikka Kämppi pitää itseään yrittäjähenkisenä maailmanparantajana ja luonnostaan kärsimättömänä asiajohtajana. Hän on oppinut ihmiskeskeisen johtajuuden tärkeyden kantapään kautta. Riikka aloitti ajatuspaja Liberan toimitusjohtajana syksyllä 2024.

Keskustelimme Riikan kanssa kulttuurin roolista kilpailukykyisen Suomen rakentamisessa, Riikan omasta johtajuuden matkasta sekä niistä suomalaisten kulttuurin ja yrityskulttuurin piirteistä, jotka tällä hetkellä toimivat tarvittavaa uudistumista vastaan.

Ajatuspajojen tehtävä on synnyttää uusia ideoita uudistumisen polttoaineeksi ja keskustelun käynnistäjäksi. Kulttuuria ja yhteiskunnan ja yritysten uudistumiskykyä ei voi erottaa toisistaan.

Kulttuuri on pohjimmiltaan joukko kirjoittamattomia, usein puhumattomia sääntöjä, jotka ohjaavat sen piiriin kuuluvien ihmisten ajattelua ja toimintaa. Kulttuuri on myös ryhmäpainetta.

Puhumaton maailma syntyy kuin sedimentti. Menneet vuodet, kohdatut ongelmat, tehdyt päätökset ja jaetut kokemukset tuottavat ryhmän ajattelua ja toimintaa ohjaavia kerroksia. Kerrokset yhteenlaskettuna muodostavat toiminnallisen identiteetin eli käsityksen siitä, mikä on arvostettua, oikein, sopimatonta ja väärin.

Ihmisten oma identiteetti yhdistettynä heitä ympäröivään kulttuuriin vaikuttaa heidän tuottamien ideoiden sisältöön. Ryhmän kulttuuri autopilotinomaisesti päättää ryhmän puolesta miten uudet ideat otetaan vastaan. Mitä vähemmän kulttuuria ravistetaan, sitä säilyttävämmäksi muuttuvat siitä kumpuavat ideat.

Kriisit herättävät ihmiset totutuista ja turvallisista rutiineista ja ajavat usein nopeaan ja tietyissä tilanteissa hallitsemattomaan kulttuurimuutokseen. Tietoinen kriisiyttäminen onkin ollut yksi perinteisten johtajien käyttämistä keinoista saada ihmiset hyväksymään uudet tavat.

Ilman kriisejä, tai ilman kulttuurin aktiivista johtamista, kulttuurin kehittyminen tapahtuu hitaasti ja usein miltei huomaamattomasti. Ulkopuolinen maailma vaikuttaa ajatteluumme ja toimintaamme vaivihkaa; enemmän kuin mitä aktiivisesti tunnistamme.

Suomalaisten johtajien arjen värittää heitä ympäröivä suomalainen kulttuuri. Sen ytimessä olevat uskomukset, arvot ja käytännöt ovat syntyneet hyvin erilaisessa toimintaympäristössä kuin missä nyt elämme. Identiteettimme ytimessä on varovaisuus, perfektionismi, yrittämisen aliarvostaminen ja kateus, jotka kaikki ovat muutoskyvykkyyteemme haitallisesti vaikuttavia ominaisuuksia.

Suomalainen kulttuuri tarvitsee uuden sisällön rakentamista yrittäjä- ja työntekijä -käsitteille ja yrittäjätaitojen opettamisen kaikille. Tarvitsemme kollektiivista ylpeyttä suomalaisten menestyksestä eri areenoilla kateuden sijaan.

Yrittäjähenkisen Suomen rakentamista ei voi jättää ihmisten varaan. Verotuksella ja työmarkkinoiden joustavuudella on aivan kriittinen rooli kilpailukykyisen Suomen ja suomalaisten yritysten rakentamisessa. Suomen, joka motivoi lahjakkaita suomalaisia jäämään ja ulkomaalaisia huippuosaajia pysymään.

Uudella tavalla ajatteleva ja toimiva Suomi rakennetaan yksi yritys kerrallaan. Yksittäisen johtajan rooli ja omalla esimerkillä johtaminen ovat keskeisessä asemassa, koska totutusta luopuminen ja uuden oppiminen on valtaosalle ihmisistä vaikea paikka ja emotionaalisesti vaikeasti käsiteltävä asia. Vahva ihmisjohtajuus on avainasemassa.

Systemaattinen kulttuurin rakentaminen on välttämätön tulevaisuuden taito. Se vaikuttaa johtajien arkeen monella tapaa, kuten:

Tintti Sarola is a strategist, transformation lead, and culture expert who believes the journey defines the outcome. With a background as a national team-level dressage rider and a track record of podium finishes up to the European Championship level, she brings the same intensity, focus, and commitment to business as she once brought to elite sport.

Her career spans law, tech, strategy, and transformation – from her early days in contract law and IPR to leading digital transformation, business development, and culture-powered change initiatives. Tintti has helped build successful start-ups, scale family-run businesses, and reshape how established organisations think, behave, and operate.

She specialises in helping leadership teams rewire how they work – aligning strategy with behaviour, shifting entrenched patterns, and building the human systems that make change stick. Sharp on strategy and fluent in human dynamics, Tintti is known for cutting through noise, connecting the dots, and helping companies move – fast and together.

Subscribe to our newsletter

The post When yesterday’s practices stand in the way of tomorrow appeared first on An execution capability company.