STAYING TRUE TO WHO WE ARE
BUT ALWAYS IN AN IMPROVED VERSION!
We are proud of our past, rightfully so. Stena is a fantastic company that has grown and evolved over decades. However, we know that we cannot rely only on the recipe of a proud past to safeguard also a promising future. Especially now, when the world around us is changing rapidly, where do we find the right answers? And how to make sure we do not get lost in our search for the right paths to take? My belief is that our challenge is not primarily about finding the right answers, it must start by asking ourselves the right questions. To be curious, brave and look beyond the obvious.
A few weeks ago, the annual Sphere forum took place, gathering management teams from our different businesses, to discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead by asking ourselves the right questions. We discussed in terms of “locks and keys” – what hurdles (locks) do we see ahead, both in the market but also within our own companies to remain successful? What are the actions (keys) that can help us open these locks?
One common conclusion was that we need to become better in utilizing the power in our people and teams, the power of “diversity of mind”. Peoples different ways of thinking, reasoning and app-roaching challenges is a gold mine in driving innovation, creating new solutions and challenge our blind spots.
It sounds obvious, but as many times it is easier said than done. Because it is not enough to safeguard that we have diverse teams. It is not even enough that we truly want and believe in the effect that diversity in teams can bring. We need to know why we want diversity to understand what we look for and how to get it. We need to understand how to facilitate the diversity to create the effects we are after. It very much boils down to leadership. A leadership that is more enabling than controlling. More based on networking than formal organization. More about sharing knowledge than protecting it. More about diversity of mind than minds who think alike.
To support this leadership shift we have developed a program called Ready 4 Anything, available for our whole sphere. It’s a series of development activities, for leaders, experts and their teams to develop the skills needed to create and capture business value in a fast changing and unpredictable world, through the power of people and teams.
This is not easy, it can even be quite uncomfortable at start. But without friction there is no spark, and we need the sparks to find the right questions! And – we need to do this staying true to our basic values. Staying true to who we are, but always in an improved version!
Eva Hansdotter
Director People & Organisational Excellence, Stena AB
