Karin Godenhielm: Growth cannot only feature in speeches — it requires action and deeds

Why do you want to be part of the Growth Collective?

I myself am eager for growth and think that growth happens by doing the right things. The desire to grow cannot be confined to speeches or powerpoint presentations, and you need to have some skin in the game. It is not enough to talk about it, you need to take action and do something. I think the Growth Collective and its peer community gives you an excellent positive push in the right direction, so that you take those small steps towards growth.

You have been on the Board of Directors of the Growth Collective for almost seven years. What kind of insight have you brought to the board?

I have been an active user of the services and involved in the peer-to-peer sparring of the Growth Collective. I have seen how the services of the Growth Collective work in practice and seen what to focus on, to get things going in the right direction. In a company, there cannot be a separate truth that the leader has realised through the Growth Collective, and another truth for the organisation. The role of the leader is to take the ideas and insights gained from the Growth Collective to all parts of the organisation. This is how they can spread and deepen a growth mindset and make an impact.

How can you nurture a desire for growth when times are challenging?

I have been the owner of Dinolift for 16 years, also serving as CEO a couple of times. Our company growth has gone in the wrong direction recently. We've had to pay attention to finding our focus and securing the basic business. At the same time, we cannot suppress people's enthusiasm and their new ideas.

I think that, in addition to focusing, we need employee engagement and involvement in developing a new strategy. They also need to see how their actions and contributions are implementing this strategy. People throughout the organisation should be utilised, because wisdom does not reside solely in the management team or in the board of directors. Through my own work, I've learned that when people have been involved in making a strategy, they become more engaged with both the strategy itself and the employer. At Dinolift we have been doing this consistently and it has helped us move forward. There are many inspiring and motivating ways to participate: we have tried, for example, gamification of the action plan.

What do you wish you had known about growth earlier in your career?

Here's what I would have advised: Use networks, and get involved in peer-to-peer sparring. It would have been tremendously helpful to have had a peer community at the beginning of my Dinolift career, to create a positive energy for actions. For daring to try, and for daring to do. I wish I could have used this collective power earlier. It's good that you learn from your own mistakes, but I would have avoided a lot of mistakes if I had taken advantage of peer sparring earlier.

What does the future of Finnish companies look like?

I believe change is a possibility. The opportunities for Finnish companies are good if we join forces and start doing things. Just because the current environment affects the business, it doesn't take action on behalf of the companies. We can create our own story and growth.

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