Establishing trust on multiple levels - Meet Ville Kulmala

Growth Leader building trust

Good leadership is about inspiring and uplifting others to help them reach their full potential. By engaging in open and honest dialogue, leaders foster an environment where everyone’s voices are heard and valued. Ville Kulmala, Director, Manufacturing Operations at Metso, firmly believes that trust is a fundamental element of leadership. He emphasizes the need to cultivate trust not only with his direct subordinates but also within the entire team. Ville explains, "Trust needs to be there on several different levels. With the wider organization, there needs to be trust that our strategy and purpose are concrete and relevant for us to work towards together."

To build trust and open communication, psychological safety is essential. Ville highlights the importance of psychological safety in group sparring sessions where the team reflects on both successes and areas for improvement using a "feelings scoring" approach. He states that psychological safety is critical to be able to talk also about the things that did not go well. “Sharing our feelings and understanding how colleagues score things bring us closer together. Not when it is done once, but when it happens every week, regularly. We learn to know each other and how we see and value things differently." Additionally, he points out: "My goal is always to enable an environment where we can speak about the issues as they really are, so that we can get to the correct root cause of things, learn and develop."

The power of meaningful discussion through Growth dialogue

In addition to group sparring sessions, Ville highlights the importance of one-on-one conversations and Growth dialogues. Growth dialogue is Metso's continuous development discussion model that combines the processes of leading performance and competence development. It focuses on target setting, performance evaluation, strengths and development throughout the year. Ville engages regularly in one-on-one discussions with each team member, focusing on active listening, support and recognition of achievements. Meaningful dialogue plays a crucial role in personal and professional development as it helps individuals to step back from their daily routines and reflect on the organization's future, their interests and the evolution of their current roles.

During Growth dialogues, Ville poses activating questions to his team members to encourage self-reflection:

• How do you think our organization will develop during the next years?
• What kind of position would motivate/interest you?
• How do you like your role now?
• How would you develop it in the future?

As a manager, Ville believes that his role is to support his team members' growth plans and aspirations. He approaches these conversations realistically, facilitating collaborative exploration and providing guidance without making unrealistic promises. In order to have meaningful discussions, listen and create trust, Ville highlights the importance of reserving time – “these cannot happen if your calendar is always fully booked.”

As we reflect on Ville’s experiences, it becomes evident that fostering the culture of dialogue is an ongoing journey that Metso's Growth dialogue model strongly supports. Building trust, promoting open communication and encouraging growth require consistent effort and dedication. Ville's story serves as an excellent example of the importance of Growth dialogues and how they can be conducted in a meaningful way. In addition, he follows Metso's leadership principles by putting people first, creating clarity through open dialogues, building bridges by finding solutions together in group sparring sessions and finally driving growth and progress. By implementing these principles, leaders can create thriving teams where dialogue flourishes and individuals thrive.