30.10.2024
Hans Ahola: “What have I learned about leadership?”
Hans Ahola has decades of leadership experience – first as the long-term CEO of Ahola Transport, and then as Ahola Group’s current Chairman of the Board. Ahola’s long career can be used to draw knowledge for years to come. Leadership was also a major theme of the charity seminar held in honor of Hans Ahola’s 70th birthday celebration.
Kokkola City Hall was filled with joyful chatter on a Friday in August, when 250 guests gathered to celebrate Hans Ahola’s life and long-standing career in leadership. In his opening speech, Ahola spoke about leadership and building a value-based business culture.
– We all have values in our core. They are skills that we learn at home and nurture in everything we do – even in our business culture.
People face many kinds of situations, both in our personal lives, as well as at work. Things do not always go according to plan, but it is important that we learn from those experiences.
– Then we can go back to our values and see if we act according to them. We also often find solutions in this manner.
Human-led leadership
Ahola views values as an integral part of leadership as they guide one’s decision-making as well as how one engages with people.
Ahola Group’s values – total responsibility, openness and respect for the individual – are also observable in his way to lead.
– I believe that the most important characteristic for a leader is to be interested in people. When we meet people, it is important to acknowledge all participants and make eye-contact with them.
Acknowledgement is a part of humanity: we all want to be seen and heard. Digitalization has brought new ways to work and make contact, but the foundation of company culture is rooted in the same core principles.
– Digital tools enable us work in flexible ways no matter where we are. However, it would be important to keep our cameras on and face the person on the other end of the line.
Facets of leadership
In addition to the opening speech, the seminar included many compelling talks on the different aspects of leadership. Juha Sipilä, former Prime Minister of Finland and a long-term politician, spoke about the role of leadership on the political field.
Wojciech Rowiński, CEO of Scania Poland, spoke about the impact of geopolitical forces on the business environment and reflected on the role of values in decision-making during challenging situations. Rowiński has operated in Ukraine until 2014, when he transferred to Russia and then to Poland, as the political situation became tense in Europe.
The speakers of the event also included Matti Sundberg, who holds an honorary title of vuorineuvos, and Olavi Huhtala, Division Manager of SSAB Europe, who shared his thoughts on leadership and the significance of organizational culture in an international company.
The event concluded with a panel on the opportunities of Finnish companies in Sweden and other Nordic countries. One of the discussion points was strengthening the cooperation between Finnish service providers.
– We have different sized companies in Finland that produce goods for export. By combining our powers, we can create value and boost exportation, adds Ahola.