The FLT Podcast

This week Finnish Leadership is exporting our mindset!   We sit down with Arctic 15, COO Toni Räsänen , to discuss taking Finnish leadership internationally, taking lessons from multicultural leadership settings, returning home after travelling the world, the importance of timing, what it takes to build a leadership culture from scratch and much, much more.   Enjoy. Support the show... FLT LinkedI...

This week Finnish Leadership is focussing on feedback!   We sit down with award-winning entrepreneur  and Trustmary CEO Johannes Karjula , to discuss feedback, leading people who can manage themselves, finding a problem worth solving, the way out of the jungle, what our calendars say about us and much, much more.   Enjoy. Support the show... FLT LinkedIn:  (1) Finnish Leadership Team – FLT podcast...

This week Finnish Leadership is empathising with our egos.    We sit down with award-winning keynote speaker and seasoned event host Kamilla Sultanova , to discuss resilience and vulnerability, DEI and tokenism, growing as a leader while managing your ego as you go, bringing your whole self to work and what inclusion really looks like in practice and much, much more.   Enjoy. Support the show... F...

We kick off 2026 with a discussion with Studio Lead and Game Design guru, Risto Holmstrom. In this episode we discuss    - Understanding your environment and finding the right direction.   - Building commercial success in creative industries.   - Choosing our words carefully…   … among excellent questions, habits, constraints leading to innovation and the role of leaders in providing meaning for t...

What incredible energy! We recently hosted a fantastic debate at a Slush side event that truly filled the room with entrepreneurial spirit. Thank you to everyone who attended live!!! The debate covered: ⏱️ What entrepreneurs really need. 🫂 What incubators really provide ⛏️ Nuanced learning from those who have actually walked the path This was so much fun and massive thanks to Risto , Minna and Ra...

What incredible energy! We recently hosted a fantastic debate at a Slush side event that truly filled the room with entrepreneurial spirit. Thank you to everyone who attended live!!! The debate covered: ⏱️ What entrepreneurs really need. 🫂 What incubators really provide ⛏️ Nuanced learning from those who have actually walked the path This was so much fun and massive thanks to Risto , Minna and Ra...

This month Finnish Leadership is digging into the data. This episode we sit down with the author, trainer and People Analytics evangelist Jaana Saramies . We discuss the role of data in leadership, data-driven decision-making, the stereotypes of Finnish leaders and how that measures up to the reality, building data literacy, the role of data in remote work, the hunger in people teams and much, muc...

This week Finnish leadership is… Learning from its own mistakes. 🤭   This week we sit down with investor, board member and former CEO of F-Secure and FingerPrint Cards   Christian Fredrikson to discuss the lessons of leading global companies and learning from mistakes. Christian is delves into his journey from football and engineering to billion-dollar deals and karaoke.  Through the conversation...

This week Finnish leadership is… playing the d**k card. 🃏   🚨Trigger warning: parental advisory, explicit content🚨   This week we sit down with the Chairperson at Ferroplan, experienced Board Member, coach and keynote speaker Minna Patosalmi to discuss one of the most important aspects of leadership, cutting through the bulls**t, having difficult conversations and empowering those in your team...

This month Finnish Leadership is building its rational optimism. This episode we sit down with the CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce, Finland Alexandra Pasternak-Jackson . We discuss the role of optimism in leadership, authenticity, the importance of sparring, Finnish leaders’ international appeal, the changing nature of American-Finnish business relationships and much, much more.    You can...

This month Finnish Leadership is asking what it really wants This episode we sit down with international leader, author and communication expert Joppe Quaedvlieg to cover what organizations get wrong during hiring, how leaders struggle to articulate what they want and who they want to be, building saunas in the desert, LinkedIn becoming tinder, connecting to your purpose and much, much more.   You...

This month Finnish Leadership is Getting Inside the Head of a Hiring Manager This episode we sit down with international leader and podcaster and personal brand expert Michaela Kettner. We ask the questions: does the best idea win? Who gets promoted? What’s the manager on the other side of the hiring desk thinking? And why do so many of us, play “the numbers game” when choosing a career? With an i...

This month Finnish Leadership is Investing in its Network.   In this episode we sit down with international executive Reggie Rusan. We discuss integrating as a leader, building and leveraging a personal brand, the realities of integration in Finland, changing careers, the tribal nature of networks in Finland, bias, authenticity, sharpening skates, sparring with your team, healthy conflict and much...

No special guests this week, just a massive thanks to 2024 for Anneli, Alexei, Kelly, Bella and Mark. The team also discusses it's mixed plans for the festive period and looks forward to another year of inspired leadership in 2025.   Notes: i) In this episode the team references, some episodes that are yet to be released, stay tuned in particular for Reggie Rusan's views on the view of Finnish lea...

In our session with Peter Nyman we broke down leadership covering the topics of leadership presence, communication and the perception of Finnish leaders both locally and internationally. This episode we sit down with renowned media figure, entrepreneur, author and communications expert Peter Nyman. We discuss the role of communication in leadership, authenticity, charisma, Finnish leaders’ interna...

In our session with Peter Nyman we broke down leadership covering the topics of leadership presence, communication and the perception of Finnish leaders both locally and internationally. This episode we sit down with renowned media figure, entrepreneur, author and communications expert Peter Nyman. We discuss the role of communication in leadership, authenticity, charisma, Finnish leaders’ interna...

This week Finnish leadership is... ... ... coaching elite performance. We discuss with Finland and Sparta Prague coach Tim Sparv about the lessons he took from competing at the elite level in football, about the role of a captain, the differences between playing and coaching, the role of empathy in sports, the sacrifices of high performance and the unique traits Finns bring to leadership, competit...

This week Finnish leadership is... ... ... coaching elite performance. We discuss with Finland and Sparta Prague coach Tim Sparv about the lessons he took from competing at the elite level in football, about the role of a captain, the differences between playing and coaching, the role of empathy in sports, the sacrifices of high performance and the unique traits Finns bring to leadership, competit...

This week, Finnish Leadership is ... building teams. We sit down with the CEO of Uskalla Team Performance, Janne Kilpeläinen to discuss what most of us get wrong about being a "team" at work. We wonder about the definitions of teams, our habits and how we can start to bring the best out of each other in a work environment.   You can learn more about Janne's important work here: https://uskalla.com...

This week, Finnish Leadership is ... evolving players. We sit down with Managing Director of Ubisoft RedLynx, Celine Pasula and discuss making space for dialogue, building psychological safety, transparency, focusing on the how, incorporating diverse backgrounds, motivation, lessons from evolutionary theory, breaking norms in the gaming industry and much, much more.   What have you gotten used to,...

This week, Finnish Leadership is ... embracing #WhyNotism: a new mindset for sustainability. We talk with founder of Planet Diplomats Satu Samir Hamed about breaking out of the hamster wheel, design thinking, climate quitting, thought diversity, the role of risk-taking in growth, defining your own identity and influencing sustainability agendas beyond reporting and much, much more.   Give it a lis...

This week Finnish Leadership is... Shaping the future!   We sit down with Provost of Aalto University, Kristiina Mäkelä to discuss, leading in academia, finding strategic focus, fostering collaboration, the next generation of Finnish leaders, educating "gamechangers", shaping a sustainable future and much, much more!   Give it a listen and let us know, how you feel about the future of Finnish lead...

In this episode, the team checks in remotely to reflect on the episodes so far, what we've enjoyed and learned the most over the past few months and also raise a glass to a summer of Finnish leadership.   Like the show? the support us here: Support the show – The FLT (the-flt.com) , or contact us: contact@the-flt.com, or got an idea? let's collaborate: Work with us – The FLT (the-flt.com)   Follow...

In this episode, we sit down with the CEO of SAM, (Suomi Amerikka Yhdistyksen Liitto) Lena Grenat to discuss the differences and similarities between Finns and Americans, building networks, vulnerability in leadership, playing chess, creating a learning culture and knowing the difference between winning/losing and succeeding/failing, among other things. (00:00) Intro to Lena Grenat (02:38) Resilie...

In this episode, we sit down with author and agile pioneer Riina Hellström to discuss defining boundaries, learning to say no, learning to hear no, financial clarity, fitting working styles to the business and the reasons we all need to become agile. (00:00) Intro to Riina Hellström, recognized Finnish leader in Agile transformation (06:16) Balancing developmental and operational focus in HR (09:3...