Jukka Holm emphasizes the importance of the organisation’s support for managerial work

In the Mehiläisen Pisto podcast's The New Direction in Occupational Health series, we discuss managerial work when Jukka Holm, CEO of Visma Enterprise, visits Maaret von Wright, the chief occupational health psychologist at Mehiläinen’s Working Life Services.

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Jukka Holm has 15 years of experience in a wide range of management roles. But the road to becoming CEO has not been self-evident.

"I come from a working-class family, and there are not many people in my family with higher education. In my twenties, I ended up founding a start-up company with a friend from university. We wanted to grow the business, so I started looking into management. I realised that my personal calling was in management," says Jukka, explaining his background.

The concept of leadership is broad, and leadership and managerial work do not always go hand in hand. However, Jukka believes that good leadership is needed throughout an organisation. In the IT sector, for example, there is a lot of talk about self-direction, but managerial work still plays an important role.

"I don't believe in any single ‘ism’; you always have to understand the situation you are in and the destination you want to reach. At Visma, we want to keep up the good work of our managers across the organisation. My own team members have been managers for a long time, and in that work, you can make different observations about what works and what doesn't in everyday life," says Jukka.

Good managerial work starts with the manager personally understanding their own responsibilities. Jukka has experience of turning around low work satisfaction in a team. The manager has primary responsibility for development but needs support from the rest of the organisation.

"In these situations, change always starts with taking leadership from within the team and not from outside. However, in problematic situations, discussion is required on the tools that can be used to approach the issue. I've seen many cases of people seemingly being given responsibility with the expectation to get things done. But the tools are not given, and this is an untenable situation," Jukka sums up.

In addition to the support of a good manager and organisation, good leadership also requires the involvement of the team. Team members must also be aware of their responsibilities and understand what is expected of them.

A manager needs an innate desire to help

In theory, anyone can become a good manager, but for Jukka, a certain calling is important. A good manager has an innate desire to help other people because managerial work is a service job that requires time and focus. However, the wrong selection criteria are often used. Jukka gives a concrete example:

"You might choose someone with a strong sales record as a manager. This is not the right starting point because managerial work is less to do with substance. In sports terms, I would say that as a team member, I think about the game through what I do. When coaching, we look at how the team works as a whole. In the world of work, the same theme applies: an expert thinks through their own work, while a manager looks at the bigger picture. The perspective changes."
However, there is no one type of person who can do well as a manager. There are many types of teams; the most important thing is a willingness to work for the team and the ability to treat people as individuals. Jukka pays attention to the value base already when recruiting.

"I always say that we promise to provide good leadership, and that is a value proposition that we stick to. I also try to recruit people who are better than me in some area of management," says Jukka.

Take care of yourself so you can take care of others

In the leadership of managers, it is important to coach, give space and enable development.

"I have been involved in coaching, and of course, as a parent, I also think about things from an educational point of view. I have always been interested in ways of supporting individuals and bringing out the best in them. At the same time, however, you have to examine your own development as a human being. How do I take care of myself, do I set an example?" Jukka describes.

Managerial work can feel lonely and difficult if pressure comes from both the management and team members. A manager also needs someone to talk to. Although the manager often has their own manager, sometimes it's a good idea to bring in an external work advisor. The role of a manager also has its limits, and they are not intended to be therapists.

"I encourage people to rely on professionals. Nobody knows everything, and no matter how much you anticipate things, all sorts of situations will arise. I've seen a lot of work fatigue, and you need different networks for these moments," says Jukka.

Jukka is against the idea of not saying things out loud and insists that you should be able to also discuss difficult issues. It is important to him that people can be human in the workplace, in their stronger and weaker moments.

"As a CEO myself, I try to show that I make mistakes and have my moments of weakness. I want to create a humane culture and an honest human image, which creates an atmosphere where speaking up is allowed," Jukka sums up.