What makes a great leader? Depending on who you are asking, the answer might differ. According to Christoffer Bjäreborn, Director of Leadership Development at Schibsted, there is no universal mould for leadership. To reach success, a leader must simply be equally aware of their team’s specific needs, as of the bigger company vision forward.
With great leadership comes great responsibility. The difference between a good and a great leader can make an astounding difference for personal and professional development within a team and for the company as a whole. That is why Christoffer Bjäreborn, Director of Leadership Development, and his team works continuously to develop and strengthen Schibsted leaders in their work.
“We have a wide spectrum of companies and company cultures within Schibsted. Similar for all is that we believe in and want to develop all the talents that work here. We will reach that with the help of great leaders,” he says.
The four pillars
Since 2016, the Leadership Development team has worked along the lines of a model called ‘Pace’. The model consists of four pillars; people driven, agile, collaboration and entrepreneurship, which are all qualities that help define a Schibsted leader. These four are further broken down into subcategories and behaviours that concretize how different leaders can work successfully within their own teams and on an individual employee level.
“We went out and asked several leaders within the organisation two questions. What does the current leadership look like, and what should it look like in the future? The answers we gathered helped put ‘Pace’ together. We are also currently investigating how we can collect and align results from our employee surveys with the development of our leadership courses,” Christoffer says.
A shift in demands and an exciting future
With a younger generation entering the job market, and with a pandemic behind us, the needs from and values of a leader have shifted in some teams. Employees drift more towards an everyday work life with more freedom under responsibility, which also demands the leadership shifting to follow.
“Depending on the employee and the team, different leadership styles are necessary. What our talents expect is individual, which puts demands on the leaders. Great leaders do not work from a generic point of view, they see each individual,” Christoffer says.
What the future holds for Schibsted leadership development is yet to be determined. But for Christoffer Bjäreborn, the journey and work he puts in together with his team is both exciting and foundational.
“I have been at Schibsted for 24 years, working at different positions within different teams. Where I am now, I feel that I truly make a difference. The people working here are great, and to help them develop and be the best they can is truly inspiring and motivating,” he says.
