From strategy to action: a new phase of leadership at HOK-Elanto and Prisma

HOK-Elanto: Bringing strategy to life in everyday leadership

In a large and diverse organisation, leadership can't live in principles alone. Strategy has to show up consistently across business areas, teams and in decision people make every day. At HOK-Elanto, this became impossible to ignore. The organisation needed to accelerate strategic renewal, and that kind of change could only start with the leadership team itself.

The ambition went beyond making the leadership team run smoothly. It was about leading by example: shaping the organisation's leadership culture from within, strengthening a shared sense of direction, and building the collective and individual performance and capability to execute.

Prisma: a new executive team, a fresh start

The partnership that began at HOK-Elanto soon continued at Prisma, however in a different context. Here, the chain-level executive team was being built from the ground up, with a sharp focus on operational execution. The task was clear: establish a shared leadership approach from day one, and bring leadership closer to the reality of everyday work in the stores.

In both cases, the development was co-created with Hanken & SSE — not as an off-the-shelf programme, but designed around the specific situation and needs of each organisation.

At HOK-Elanto, the starting point was clarity. What is the executive team actually here to do, in terms of strategy, decision-making and performance management, and how should that translate into leadership across each area of responsibility? Every development step was anchored directly to strategic objectives and to the expectations of the organisation, its customers and other stakeholders.

At Prisma, the work began with the basics: shared ways of working, meeting practices and leadership rhythm. These were rebuilt from scratch to ensure the executive team would actively drive the organisational change it was aiming for. This laid the foundation for the "Together we succeed" leadership model, bringing coaching leadership to life through visible, everyday presence in the stores and through regular, structured development conversations designed to systematically raise performance.

A shared rhythm and a more open culture

At HOK-Elanto, the impact became tangible in how the executive team worked together: preparation sharpened, meeting structures became cleaner, and decisions translated into action more effectively. The team developed a stronger capacity for reflection, and executive team work began to leave a real mark on leadership culture across the wider organisation.

“Development has not remained at the level of process talk, but is genuinely visible in everyday work. Executive team work has become clearer and more systematic, while interaction has become more open and relaxed. Listening and constructive challenge within the executive team have strengthened, creating a shared understanding of what strategy-driven leadership means in practice. This has made collaboration and the development of shared capabilities truly collective, across silos.” 

— Kaisa Tuuliainen, HR Director, HOK-Elanto

At Prisma, the results crystallised into two things: clear structure and positive energy. The new leadership model embedded itself in daily work faster than expected, and the numbers are starting to reflect it. Employee satisfaction is up, and efficiency and store operations metrics show early positive movement, without the transformation disrupting day-to-day operations. Something that is far from guaranteed when an organisation is in transformation.

“What mattered most was that the change started to live in everyday work immediately. The new leadership model was received positively, and already at an early stage we saw signals that both people and performance were moving in the right direction.” 

— Lassi Juntunen, Business Area Director, Prisma

A partnership that embedded development into everyday leadership

The value of the partnership was reflected in the fact that development remained closely connected to the organisations’ own realities. The shared understanding built during executive team sessions has become embedded in leadership practice and today forms a common thread in the leadership cultures of both HOK-Elanto and Prisma.

“What stood out in the collaboration was that we were genuinely listened to from the very beginning: our situation and what we actually needed. The solution was not brought in as a finished product; the programme was built from our context. This created strong mutual trust and commitment throughout the journey.” — Lassi Juntunen

 

“We particularly appreciated that the overall approach was both challenging and highly practical. Academic insight and research-based thinking were combined with strong practical expertise: Hanken & SSE challenged us to pause and reflect, while also providing concrete tools to support everyday execution.” — Kaisa Tuuliainen

Leadership development anchored in strategy

The experiences of HOK-Elanto and Prisma show that leadership development delivers results when it is built from the organisation’s own context – not imposed as an external model. When development is directly linked to strategy and everyday leadership, it does not remain just another programme. It changes how the organisation operates and increases coherence across functions.

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