Svensson & Wikmalm, Management Development

individual and professional development in knowledge intensive organisations

Svensson & Wikmalm creates leadership, development and action, together with people in groups and organisations.

KEEP IN MIND THAT:

We start out from people's reality and their hopes.
One part is to highlight experiences and knowledge - to make connections, see patterns and get an overview.
One part is to bring the future forth and make it possible to share - where are we heading and how will we get there?.

Leena Wikmalm

Partner and Senior Consultant

Educational Background

Leena graduated from Göteborg University in 1987 with an MSc in Psychology. Her specialisation was in organisational psychology and development. During her degree studies she chaired the Gothenburg section of the Swedish Association of Psychologists and was a member of the national board

Leena has continued her education in this field and has recently completed a degree in Systemic Leadership and Organisation.

Leena is currently doing a doctorate at the Department of Operations Management, School of Technology Management and Economics at Chalmers University of Technology. Her doctoral thesis focuses on the management of knowledge sharing in knowledge intensive companies, with a particular emphasis on the connection between action and identity creation.

Professional Experience

After completing her degree, Leena was head-hunted by Ericsson and was given the responsibility for designing and delivering leadership programmes for all the managers as well as seminars for all the executives, teams and projects. Leena also occasionally cooperated with external consultants concerning these projects. She developed an Assessment Centre in cooperation with Chris Parker that became the assessment centre used in Sweden and also at Ericsson companies abroad, e.g. Holland, Great Britain and China.

Between 1988 and 1993 Leena simultaneously worked as a lecturer at the Institution of Psychology at Göteborg University in the area of organisational psychology. She initiated an action learning approach to this field and created an interface between students and executives, which was highly appreciated and served as a model for a long time.

In 1991, Leena co-founded Svensson & Wikmalm Management Development AB with Reino Wikmalm. Leena’s position in the company is CEO and she now works as a senior consultant for numerous companies, which include: Ericsson, Astra Zeneca, SCA, Akzo Nobel, Chalmers University of Technology, ABN Amro, Varberg municipality, Cpac Systems, Region Västra Götaland (Västra Götalandsregionen) and Champs. Her focus is within organisational development such as leadership programmes, team-building seminars, mentorship programmes, assessment and coaching. Leena has a particular interest in the ongoing interaction and interrelationship that constitutes human achievement.

Leena participates and cooperates in a network of consultants and researchers, both in Sweden and abroad.

Leena is also a certified practitioner of a number of programmes, instruments and tests, among them Positive Power & Influence, Positive Negotiation, Authentic Leadership, Positive Dialogue, Learn to Teach, Decision Dynamics Decision Styles, MBTI, Belbin, FIRO and numerous psychometric tools.

Leena still keeps in contact with the Department of Psychology. For several years she has been a mentor for the psychology students.

Leena has a passion for creating clarity and structure in all human interaction from the organisational level down to the way individuals communicate. She is of the opinion that many issues are due to ambiguity rather than uncertainty. Instead of finding the right answer, answers have to be co-created in ways that make sense and honour the values of importance. Furthermore, Leena believes in the creation of shared views on the future and on goals as a path to effectiveness and success. This demands continuous improvement of the interaction process, especially concerning aspects of curiosity and open-mindedness in communication. Leena believes that is essential to find out what is working well and to determine a joint vision of the future.

Family Life

Leena is married to Reino and they have 5 children. Together, they have one daughter and three sons. They live in the city of Gothenburg which is located on the west coast of Sweden. In her spare time she is a fitness (jympa) instructor and enjoys literature, ashtangayoga and running or walking with their dog.

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