The Finnish manager’s position authorization has been stripped to a minimum and therefore the skill of interaction is emphasized, writes HS Vision columnist Henrik Dettmann.
Residential In Germany, 1997–2006. I quickly noticed that Germany and Finland are in many respects brother nations, model students of Protestant culture.
Having grown up in the Nordic countries, it was particularly interesting to note that a German finds a natural connection with a Juro forest Finn – at least compared to their communication with Swedes.
A perfect example of communication is the difference between talking to and talking to each other. Philosopher Michel Foucault was amazed in the 1950s how the Swedes, right up to their king, were teasing each other. In many countries kissing is a sign of friendship and closeness, and it’s not easy to fall for it. Language itself creates an obligation or gives an opportunity to maintain a hierarchy.
I noticed quickly that this was also the most significant difference between German and Nordic management culture. After realizing this, I labeled myself a quick-witted Nordic and, in the name of sportsmanship and meeting between people, took the right to tease everyone. What was sportsmanship to me was rudeness to many.
A particularly big surprise in Germany was when the head coach, who arrived from the land of the polar bears, asked about the news of the players at the breakfast table. A similar culture shock occurred in Turkey, where the macho manager of Beşiktaş wondered why I was delegating tasks to my coaching colleagues instead of hopping around the side of the pitch, whining and barking at everything that moved.
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Management based on content and interaction requires empathy and often also time, of which at least the latter is lacking all the time.
Despite its Protestant work ethic, in recent decades Finland has become increasingly attached to the low-hierarchy culture of its western neighbor, where teachers are pampered, the prime minister parties late into the night, and Instagram celebrities take the same stage as generals and business leaders at Suomi-Areena.
For these reasons, management is much more challenging here than in Germany, where, at least in your own opinion, you can solve every problem by behaving like a former chancellor Otto von Bismarck.
From a Finn the manager’s position authorization is stripped to a minimum, and therefore content knowledge and interaction skills are emphasized. This is particularly evident in the school world. That must be a big reason why Finland has one of the world’s highest quality teaching unions. Management based on content and interaction requires empathy and often also time, of which at least the latter is lacking all the time.
Knowledge, competence and ingenuity are valued in Germany as well as in Finland, but the manifestations of these qualities are completely different. In Germany, the virtues of leadership are shown by going the extra mile, while here a good leader knows how to be approachable.
Coaching years have taught that in sports all operating models are valid as long as a result is produced. When it doesn’t happen, the culprit will be found like in the village councils.
The Nordic management model I used in Germany – let’s call it a performer-oriented management model – created an atmosphere of mutual trust and collective self-confidence among the players. With that, Germany won its history’s first and so far only basketball World Cup medal at the Indianapolis 2002 Games.
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We need to find ways to lead that are resourceful, soft and hard at the same time.
When we lost the European Championship semi-final against Italy the following year, the reason for the defeat was that in German culture the leader should be von Bismarck and not the debating Socrates. It didn’t matter that our best player was half fit in the match.
The more hierarchical differences in the country, the more macho and masculine the leader’s energy must be. In low-hierarchy cultures, on the other hand, we look at a leader who follows the teachings of a high-hierarchy country like a water-fearing raccoon.
In the present day here in Finland, feminine energy is starting to be the only acceptable and functional basis for leadership. The reason is clear. North of the frost line, resources must be optimized and human resources must be released.
Scarcity makes you resourceful, said our former prime minister Juha Sipilä while justifying the government’s austerity measures. Even if the speaker could have thought about his words a little longer, it contained a partial result. Pushing, swaggering and pushing to the ground do not function here as a competition bridge in the same way as, for example, in China and India, where there are always plenty of new coaches behind the door. We need to find ways to lead that are resourceful, soft and hard at the same time.
There are many ways, and that is why success stories such as the welfare state and the school system, Nokia and Kone or Rovio and Supercell have been born in Finland – not to mention Helmari, Susijeng, Huuhkaji and Leijon.
Perseverance, ingenuity, closeness to people and the we-spirit will carry us through pandemics, the energy crisis and hopefully also through labor market negotiations. There is also room for renewal in management, if we as a society want to continue on the path of profits.
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