Culture does not emerge from PowerPoint slides or ceremonial speeches. It is created in everyday actions – in how people treat one another, interact, and work together. At Destia, this understanding became the starting point for developing both culture and leadership: not as a separate initiative, but as something embedded in daily work.
Many organisations recognise the importance of culture, yet its connection to daily work often remains unclear. Destia chose a different path by treating culture as a core element of strategy execution and leadership. The focus shifted to what culture looks like in practice: how values show up in daily work, and what kind of leadership truly enables people to succeed.
"Culture does not live in is not the PowerPoints of the leadership team – it is people’s lived experience of everyday work. That’s why, at Destia, we prefer to talk about culture through values, actions and leadership rather than abstract concepts.”
Merja Hippeläinen, Leadership Development Specialist and HR Business Partner at Destia
When culture became part of people leadership, leadership became clearer
Rather than launching a separate culture initiative or applying a ready-made model, Destia took a step back to focus on the essentials: what kind of culture supports everyday work, how do values translate into actions, and what is expected of people leaders from a cultural perspective. The aim was to make culture a visible and intentional part of everyday leadership.
A key step in this journey was embedding culture development into people leadership itself.
“When culture was firmly linked to people leadership, leadership became clearer and values genuinely began to guide everyday decisions. They are visible in how people interact, give feedback and make choices – in those very moments where culture truly comes to life.”
Merja Hippeläinen, Leadership Development Specialist and HR Business Partner at DestiaBuilding a shared language for leadership
Through a long-term partnership spanning several years with Hanken & SSE Executive Education, Destia has built a leadership development journey rooted in its values and leadership promise.
The programme supports supervisors and managers in building a shared understanding of what leadership at Destia looks like in practice: leading by example, being present, empowering others and creating the conditions for success.
The close and trust-based partnership has made it possible for the content to continuously evolve alongside Destia. It is developed based on feedback and changes in the operating environment – shaped continuously by feedback, changing needs and Destia’s strategic direction.
“Developing leadership is personally important to me, because leaders have an enormous impact on both people’s wellbeing and organisational performance. A leader’s most important task is to enable others to succeed. That’s why I value collaboration where the realities of everyday leadership are understood and we speak the same language. When leadership development is practical and closely connected to real work, it feels meaningful – and that shows in participants’ engagement and feedback.”
About Destia
Destia is Finland’s largest provider of infrastructure services and part of the international Colas Group. Destia designs, builds and maintains infrastructure essential to the functioning of society, such as power grids, bridges, roads and railways. The company also develops cities, telematics and lighting solutions, and provides a wide range of services for traffic and infrastructure asset management.