Accelerating change and development

Music Finland was in the midst of a merger as two different organizations, Music Export Finland and the Finnish music information center Fimic came together under the name of Music Finland. The goal was to successfully merge the two companies’ objectives and cultures.

Music Finland’s executive director Tuomo Tähtinen says: “Setting up a new joint direction and merging internal organizations was my first task. I came to the task as new leader without previous leadership experience. There were many variables and obstacles, but my will was clear: to build a creative and courageous organization that is attached to the present day, where the individuals collaborate together towards a joint goal in innovative ways.”

The goal was a successful merger

Music Finland was at the same time in the midst of a strategy transformation, brand building and cultural merging processes. In addition, it was the challenge of the newly elected executive manager Tähtinen to redeem his place as the leader of the organization.

“I chose BoMentis to partner with us to build a strategy and to implement the cultural transformation process to the newly formed organization. The decision was very intuitive, and I gave value to BoMentis’s coaches capability to understand both the challenges and opportunities of the organization and leadership.” Tuomo Tähtinen clarifies the criteria of his choice.

Tähtinen thinks that BoMentis’s strengths are that its’ coaches have in-depth knowledge of both organizational dynamics and of the individuals. In Music Finland’s situation, it was important that both of these components were taken into account: the understanding of group dynamics in the planning phases of the training in addition to the individual and group skills in facilitation of the training.

Challenges surpassed through cooperation

“Cooperation with BoMentis has been very rewarding and also effortless. In one year, we have built a mission, vision and strategy by engaging the entire staff, owners, the leadership and even our clients. By taking into account of all the diverse perspectives, and especially the expertise we have within our organization, we have built the landmarks that guide our actions. Music Finland’s board has also been particularly pleased with our work. After the reorganization, we have started to create joint leadership practices and defined the leadership and management culture of Music Finland. The belief in the power of the coaching leadership mindset has been tested several times during this management team process”, continues the very satisfied Tähtinen.

Tähtinen says: “We faced many different levels of challenges in the process of the merger and reconstructing the organization, but we have surpassed these challenges together as an organization. Everyone deals with change in different ways and thus, difficult situations cannot be avoided. Although the process of change is not linear, we have deliberately proceeded in taking one step at a time, even if sometimes it seemed like speeding things up was the easier option. One of the most important breakthroughs occurred when we gathered together to define our organizational strategic priorities, joint direction and structures. Since then, the developmental energy of the entire organization has been easier to guide towards the same direction.”

The crucial role of a personal coach

“Crucial for the success of this merger has been my personal coach, Marjo-Riitta Ristikangas, who has guided me to go take the process of change systematically forward. She has challenged me and made me search the solutions that fit exactly our situation. The very essence of this method is that I haven’t received the outright answers from Marjo-Riitta on how to do things, but rather that the solutions have come from me, through her insightful and powerful questioning.” says Tähtinen.

Focus on management team work

“We have now completed one phase in accordance with the objective. We have a clear vision and strategy that will guide our actions. Above all, we are now heading to the same direction and making better use of our skills.” adds Tähtinen.

“Ongoing developmental work will be continued in cooperation with BoMentis by reinforcing our management team’s operations and managerial work. This sums up the model which we have adopted from our trainings with BoMentis: Interaction is smooth and transparent. Mutual trust is felt when we hold joint discussions – even from difficult topics sometimes.” says Tähtinen.

“I recommend BoMentis as a partner if you want to make the members of your organization committed and to become active participants of ongoing changes. BoMentis’s coaches know our organization and sometimes it seems like they are part of our team – while at the same time being sufficiently distant enough to be able to challenge and spar us to keep continuously developing.” emphasizes Tähtinen.

Executive Director Tuomo Tähtinen, Music Finland Association