This week's inspiration is Jenny Hammarberg, CEO of Setterwalls law firm in Gothenburg. Jenny has for many years and in different roles and organizations worked with change management. Read more here and be inspired by her experiences.

Jenny, you have extensive experience in change management in various contexts; what is "extra important" when change management is driven in owner-managed organizations?

I work in a business where the partners are active and we run into each other every day. This is a strength as there is a strong will and commitment to developing and running the business and decisions are always close at hand. The flip side of the same coin is that it gives an extra dimension to take into account when you want to develop and change something. And then the foundation is to build trust - in you as a person, in your competence (you can do something else) and in your ability to help solve problems or otherwise facilitate the business and take it forward.

Another dimension is to take time for information, communication and inclusion. If you are not used to an owner-managed organization, it is easy to think that the board is your primary channel for anchoring ideas and getting decisions through. But here you need to include, communicate and inform more widely about the important issues.

Finally, it is important not only to work on the "soft" elements such as trust and inclusion, but also to clarify expectations, structures and mandates - and to talk and discuss about this on an ongoing basis.

What do you mean by expectations and structure?

Wow, I realize that throughout my career I have been so focused on change and development that it is in my DNA by now. To dare to ask why, to question old truths and to start doing something new, testing and redoing in cases where it was not right from the beginning. If we talk about different sides of the coin, I can admit that I sometimes have to remind myself to slow down, to let some things work out and let others be. You can't do everything everywhere, or you'll just create anxiety and disorder.

So, to avoid this, we work with activities at three levels: strategic, tactical and operational. We set our strategic goals for 3-5 years and they should not change. The tactical activities we work with on a yearly basis and here we can adapt to what is happening, both internally and in the market. Think of it like a football coach changing the line-up based on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing team. Similarly, we work on our tactical activities. Then we break this down into purely operational tasks and we lay these out over the year in a quarterly roadmap. In this way, we use the structure to prioritize, adjust and work systematically.

By working this way, we can also clarify the expectations we have of each other and continuously follow up that we are doing the right things and that we are taking steps forward.

What do you think is particularly important when it comes to managing a culture-driven service organization?

This is such a big question and I could write a whole article on it. But if I answer it from the perspective of my leadership, I would say - dare to be personal. Talk about what's important and share lessons learned and mistakes. When I look back on my career and also my private life, it is the valleys, the mistakes and the really tough periods that I have learned the most from, and it is important to convey that and to talk about your experiences. Share mistakes, celebrate successes, encourage learning and reflection. It often starts with you as a leader doing it yourself. What you do is what counts. Beyond that, I believe in transparency as far as possible - "tell it like it is" - it's the only way to develop.

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