CREATING THE EMOTIONAL SPACE WHERE PEOPLE AND IDEAS THRIVE
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
”ACT AS IF WHAT YOU DO MAKES A DIFFERENCE. IT DOES.”
– William James
”Working together with Anttu and his unique approach, has given us sustainable results as in how we work and align together as a team.”
– Samu Konttinen, President and CEO
“As a team we have become better at engaging and challenging each other into considering matters from different perspectives, while constructively working our way through potential conflicts.”
– Adel Hattab, CEO
”Two years after completing our development program and working with Andreas we are still reaping the benefits. As a management team we are more focused, better aligned and clearer in our decision making.”
– Sascha Brozek, SVP
“Anttu has been a mental coach for us. Working and practicing together with him helped our leadership team become better at aligning to decisions made and in clarifying the implications and expected next steps.”
– Laura Tarkka, CEO
”Training and coaching some of our managers and leaders, by emphasizing the importance of role modeling the desired behaviors, Anttu has played a vital role in supporting us in creating an intrapreneurial culture at Pöyry and form the basis for a high performance organization.”
– Martin à Porta, President and CEO
“Andreas has helped us take our discussions in the leadership team to the next level. We are better at addressing difficult topics in a more honest and in a more constructive manner.”
– Anders Egelrud, CEO
SUSTAINABLE RESULTS
“DO NOT CONFUSE MOTION AND PROGRESS. A ROCKING HORSE KEEPS MOVING BUT DOES NOT MAKE ANY PROGRESS.”
– Alfred A. Montapert
Sustainable results
in changing leadership behaviors are best reached through a series of carefully designed interventions, deliberate practice and data-based feedback given systematically over a longer period of time.
The Leading High Performance Development Process is based on a number of real time behavioral observation sessions of the team at work during regular meetings. The LHP Development Process focuses simultaneously on both the individual as well as on the team.
During the LHP Development Process both quantitative and qualitative behavioral data is methodically collected and analyzed against a 3-variable High Performance model and evaluated against the set targets and the progress made.
As a result of the development process the team will adapt behaviors [the Focused Deep Probing Enquiry model] that enhance the engagement, which in turn leads to improved clarity and hence, increases the likelihood of alignment and commitment to the decisions made. The improved clarity and alignment, combined with the strengthened commitment drives successful execution.
THE EMOTIONAL SPACE
“EVERYONE HAS A PLAN UNTIL THEY GET PUNCHED IN THE MOUTH”
– Mike Tyson
The Foundation
for a High Performance culture is laid by establishing an emotional space – a psychological safety – where people dare to speak their minds. When people feel safe and when they feel that someone truly listens and cares about what they are saying, the likelihood of them speaking up and addressing uncomfortable and difficult topics increases.
Unless people dare to speak their minds – unless they feel that their opinions and thoughts matter – they may refrain from truly engaging and fully committing to the matter at hand. Hence, both execution and ability to innovate will be stifled in an organization where the culture is one characterized by fear and oppression.
The prevailing culture is defined by the behaviors portrayed – in organizations to a great extent by the leadership. Is yours one that inspires and energizes people? Or is it one that suffocates and drains people of their energy? Is yours one that encourages people to challenge the conventional thinking, the status quo and courageously step out of their comfort zones onto territory where the danger of conflict may lure? Or do people hold back and play it safe because fear of failure?
Your answer is a good indicator of the likelihood of High Performance. Leadership is not position nor title, it is attitude and behavior. Is yours one that boost innovation and drives execution? Is the leadership behavior contributing to creating a promotion mindset where people are playing the game to win?
ATTITUDE IS A CHOICE
“IF YOU THINK YOU ARE TOO OLD TO ROCK AND ROLL, THEN YOU ARE”
– Lemmy Kilmister
WHEN ORGANIZATIONS
struggle with performance the remedy is often sought through strategic or structural adjustments. The root case however, can more often be found in the culture, which to a large extent is defined by our mindset and behaviour. Hence the adjustment needs to focus on these. The question we should ask is how do we as leaders behave in order to create an emotional space that increases the likelihood of High Performance?
The problem is rarely lack of knowledge – that we wouldn’t know what good leadership is, what it looks like or how we as leaders should behave but rather that we as leaders don’t behave as we know we should – especially when stressed and when under pressure.
The good news:
Behaviour can be practiced. Attitude is a choice – curiosity a virtue. Believing is the first step. The rest is just hard work and relentless practice.
YOURS TRULY
”WE MAY AFFIRM ABSOLUTELY THAT NOTHING GREAT IN THE WORLD HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT PASSION.”
– Hegel
Andreas “Anttu” Forsberg
works as a leadership anthropologist, observer, and behavioral analyst. He is an experienced and engaging speaker, facilitator, and executive coach. He is also the author of The Black Book of Leadership, a book about leadership written as a suspense novel.
Through observation, behavioral analysis, and feedback, Andreas is devoted to helping executive teams understand how their behavior impacts the engagement of people around them – either increasing or decreasing the likelihood of High Performance. His passion for creating an engaging and emotionally safe working environment where teams and individuals thrive has taken Andreas around the world to work with leaders and teams of different nationalities and with different cultural backgrounds, representing a wide variety of functional roles within global businesses. This has given him a richer perspective on leading High Performance in times of change and uncertainty.
With a master’s degree in adult education from Helsinki University and with over 24 years of experience in leadership development, with more than 54,000 single quantitative behavioral data points and over 1000 hours of qualitative behavioral data analysis from more than 100 unique behavioral observation sessions of leadership teams at work, Andreas speaks with confidence making the claims about leadership and high performance he presents.
Andreas is a member of the global learning resource networks at:
- Duke Corporate Education
- Hanken & SSE Executive Education
- Turku School of Economics Executive Education.
In 2017, the Turku School of Economics Executive Education awarded him as the leadership educator of the year. He is accredited as a facilitator for both the Team Management Profile (TMP) and the WorkPlace Big Five tools.
Andreas works fluently in English, Swedish and Finnish.
When not contemplating leadership matters, Andreas enjoys spending time in the kitchen cooking for friends and family, listening to rock music (often played a little too loud), and spending time with his family.
THE BLACK BOOK OF LEADERSHIP
“A fresh approach that highlights some very critical aspects of modern leadership told through an intriguing plot. Thought-provoking and inspiring.”
– Henrik Ehrnrooth, President and CEO, Kone
The Black Book of Leadership is the first of its kind. A book about the essence of leadership written as a suspense novel, where the story and insights of how to create the emotional space where people and ideas thrive are treated as equally important.
“A page-turner that gets you hooked, presenting leadership dilemmas that inspire inward and outward reflection. This is a great adventure, don’t miss out!” Blanca Juti, Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer, L’Oréal
“Forsberg takes you inside corporate games, filled with high-stake players and rock n’ roll, hitting you with powerful and practical leadership lessons. Suggest you take it all in, like your life depended on it!” Johanna Söderström, Chief People Officer, Tyson Foods
“This was an exciting and entertaining read, with many practical insights that force you to reflect on the kind of leader you want to be. Highly recommended!” Kristian Pullola, Chief Financial Officer, Finnair
GET IN TOUCH
Andreas Forsberg
Torkkelinkatu 3B 80
00500 Helsinki