Fireside chat with Sixten Sandstr?m

I asked Sixten to describe himself. He shared this:

I like to see myself as a businessman marinated in many spices. I have made considerable career moves over the years where I have had the fortune to learn a lot in different industries and different positions. For a former principal, continuous learning is what propels me forward and makes me ask “What if…” which is probably the most exciting question there is. This has brought me a lot of transferrable skills that I try to apply to the best that I can in my work today.

Nicole: What is your passion in work and business?

Sixten: As a strong people person, I believe a lot in collaboration where results count. To harness all the knowledge, insight, expertise etc. to focus on the same goal at the same time, and in that way, create new business and opportunities, is the challenge that ignites me. Finding new ways or possibilities have always been more interesting to me than producing more of what we already have. I hope I have a very consultative leadership style connected with my personality. I often claim to my teams that I am not the best one but I am willing to work hard to make us the best ones.

Nicole: Which are the areas where you could help others in the Kaato group?

Sixten: I have a deep and broad professional career that is packed with many transferrable skills and insights. I have worked much with partnerships, alliances and ecosystems where I would like to think I have much to give. Lately, strategy work and implementing the strategy through transformational projects and programs is another area where I feel very comfortable to help others in. With Swedish as my mother tongue, any help needed to other Nordic countries would come natural for me.

Nicole: You have been mentoring young university graduates for several years. Can you tell what are the biggest motivations that keep you going back year after year?

Sixten: I am proud of my career where all my accomplishments have taught me a lot. Sounds perhaps romantic and na?ve, but I feel almost like a moral obligation to give back the good that I have experienced and been blessed with over the years. For me, if You can do good then you have to do good! At the same time, the youngsters of today are incredibly smart, capable and full of optimism. I can learn so much from them so I see all the work as a mentor is truly a win-win scenario.

Nicole: What is the name of this mentoring program and what have you seen regarding the journey of a graduate into the working world?

Sixten: I am involved with Suomen Mentorit r.y. They have a noble mission to prolong the careers from the beginning. All the work focuses on landing the first job for newly graduated (or soon to be) professionals entering the working life. It makes me quite privileged and humble to be part of perhaps one of the most exciting stages in their life. I have helped 11 different persons to land their first jobs. This has been anything from engineering, science to professional dancing. As a mentor, you need to really work on yourself as well. My dance moves don’t count for much, but the support and mentorship I provided helped my mentee to land the job she passionately hoped to have.

Nicole: What would you suggest are the top 3 skills or capabilities that are most important for young adults to manage and thrive in our very dynamic business and working environment today?

Sixten: The ability to step up and fully take responsibility of your own future and success rise to the top. Your formal education does not define you. Realistic soul searching is important and requires the courage to dream big and fulfill those dreams. Having the courage and curiosity to push yourself is how we all grow. I always advice my mentees to respect and manage their managers. Resilience is needed. I have seen professionals resign from a job they like just because they do not like the manager. Work on it, don’t quit!

Nicole: What do you think is an area of improvement for Finland to grow its economic presence in Europe and internationally?

Sixten: We are the happiest country in the world with the best education and more. This is great, but it comes with a risk that we do not see the forest for the trees. We need to be able to export our excellence and, at the same time, import professionals and companies to Finland that over time will raise the economic presence of Finland internationally. We need to open up and embrace international opportunities more proactively than we have done in the past. “Not invented here” might very well be a Finnish innovation that we ought to get rid of. We should be very careful not to isolate ourselves up here in the cold north.

Nicole: If there is one thing that you can do to change how Finland is promoted, what would it be?

Sixten: It is too cumbersome for a Finnish company to hire a foreign talent to Finland today. In the same spirit for a foreign company to establish themselves in Finland, it can be a bumpy bureaucratic journey. Here, we need players like KAATO and Business Finland to smoothen the ride and thus raise Finland’s international attractiveness.

Nicole: In your work in strategy and transformation, what is the one thing that is most unexpected along the way or as an outcome?

Sixten: Unlearning of old habits. This is, and probably will always be, the most challenging issue to tackle. This monster always enters in different shapes and forms and you really need to stay alert to weed out old habits that might be preventing the transformation. Strategy and transformation are seldom only about technology. More often, the change is about how we people act and behave, how we work under the new strategy and the change it calls for. Technology is the vehicle we use but the change often lies in our behaviour. 

Thanks, Sixten! It's always a pleasure to catch up and chat with you. We hope that more young adults will get their opportunity to go through your (mentorship) gate.