Metso Insights Blog People and culture Notes from a Culture Ambassador
Mar 23, 2023

Notes from a Culture Ambassador

I'm Outi Mäntylä, Director of Market Area Finance, Nordics, and I’ve been part of a Culture Ambassador program at Metso Outotec for over a year. We are a group of people who are keen in impacting our culture, to observe, to train, to act as ambassadors in our organizations. We are people from different countries, backgrounds, and positions, but one thing that connects us, is believing that a supportive and inclusive culture is what makes us and our company to succeed. I believe it’s often the small things that matter and I wrote some observations.

If you look around, what do you see?  

I see people working together, giving their best and trying their hardest. I see my coworkers laughing over a funny situation and I join the laugh. I see warm smiles in the hallway as people are passing by. I start an early meeting and I see that even those who are not morning people are there to greet me. I contact people for support in a specific topic, and I am offered contributions that exceed my expectations. I see resilient and hard-working colleagues who are always trying to make things easier for our customers.  

 

I see deep wisdom and intelligence in our research and development teams who are cooking new ideas and innovations for sustainable solutions. I see project delivery teams rushing to meet objectives and yet having full confidence in reaching the target. I see heart-warming moments when team members are courageous enough to speak their mind. I see the small but impactful safety actions that are taken every day. I see and recognize every opportunity that comes my way for building bridges between different teams and business areas.  

I decide to see the good.

If you close your eyes, what do you hear?  

I hear people typing with their keyboards. I hear chatter. I hear the printer working. I hear people talking on the phone or in Teams. These are the sounds that I have missed during the pandemic, and these are the sounds of business in the making.  

 

I hear one colleague saying thank you to another. I hear a funny ring tone that reminds me of good times. I hear frustrations and disappointments, but I choose to consider them as moments for learning and shifting focus.  

 

I hear words of concern from colleagues. I choose to consider it as a positive thing that the psychological safety in the team is allowing everyone to express their feelings. I do listen to my colleagues, but starting from now, I also make a promise to really hear what they are saying. It is almost magical to sometimes have a good cry with the team. It allows to reload and clear the air. 

I decide to hear the good.

Being a Culture Ambassador has made me more aware of the moments that matter, and the moments that can jeopardize our culture. Culture is a sum of those small moments and recognizing the positive around us really makes a difference. Deciding to focus on the positive is a powerful practice that every one of us can do to create a positive change around us. 

 

#RiseAboveThePossible