True Potential Oy/Ltd - Coaching and Leadership for True Potential

On the first days of the new year, I paused for a moment to look back at the past year. What mattered most to me, and what were the most important learnings?

This year, I had the privilege of working with over 120 leaders across Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America - through individual coaching, leadership team coaching, and leadership development programs. I also run True Potential’s first open Self-Awareness and Growth as a Leader retreat and supported several coaches in their own development professionals.

While contexts and cultures vary, living with uncertainty has become a permanent operating environment everywhere, and this applies to my own field and work as well. What has been truly encouraging to witness in my clients is how openness, willingness to step in, and commitment to personal and organizational development genuinely pay off. A warm thank you to all my clients and partners for your trust.

Key leadership learnings from the year:
🌟 Leadership development rarely leads to sustainable results without supporting self-awareness and inner growth
🌟 Organizations do not develop faster than their people, especially their leaders are able to grow
🌟 Leadership is increasingly less an individual performance and more a collective capability, even though many leaders still carry too much responsibility alone
🌟 We need the ability to challenge existing thinking, learn together, collaborate, and find new ways of working and innovating

In terms of my own growth, I feel privileged to be able to combine doctoral studies with practical work. Research and practice continuously challenge and enrich one another, even though balancing the two is not always easy.

My first article has just been submitted for peer review, and the analysis of my coaching data as well as the preparation of subsequent articles is underway. Particularly meaningful for my development were learning from Daniel Siegel in London, who is a personal role model for me in supporting self-awareness and human growth, and participating in a panel discussion at the Enneagram Conference in Minneapolis.

On a personal level, some of the most significant moments of the year were both of my children’s graduations and one of them moving from home to a university city. At the same time, illness among loved ones brought sadness and concern. Nothing can be taken for granted, and health and well-being form the foundation for everything.

If you are reflecting on how to strengthen individual growth, collaboration, and leadership that supports shared responsibility and brings people’s true potential to the surface, feel free to reach out or book a time to connect you’ll find the link in my message section, and let’s continue the conversation 😊
Wishing everyone a wonderful 2026. Let's continue creating a better world together!

The foundations for resilience, emotional awareness, and a sense of inner safety are shaped early in life, even though they continue to develop and can be consciously strengthened throughout the lifespan.

It is painful to see how many children and young people struggle with mental health challenges today, and how essential it is that every young person has someone to talk to and receive support from when life feels overwhelming.

This Christmas, True Potential is supporting the mental health of children and young people through MIELI Suomen Mielenterveys ry MIELI Mental Health Finland. It is a small contribution, but small streams can grow into meaningful rivers.

Let’s care for one another and contribute, each in our own way, to a more humane and compassionate world.

Wishing everyone a peaceful and joyful Christmas! 💝

Organisaation kehityksen yläraja on yleensä sama kuin sen johtajien kasvun yläraja. Yksi kasvun perusedellytyksistä on kyky nähdä omat sisäiset kaavat, joita emme usein huomaa ilman pysähtymistä ja peilejä.

Itsetuntemus ja ihmisymmärrys eivät ole pehmeitä teemoja. Ne ovat strategisesti kriittisiä edellytyksiä hyvälle johtajuudelle kompleksisuuden keskellä, kun tavoitteena on vahvistaa yhteistyötä ja tehdä tulosta myös paineen alla.

Jos emme tunnista sisäisiä kaavojamme, emme myöskään huomaa miten ne kaventavat kykyä havainnoida ympäristöämme, tehdä viisaita päätöksiä ja vaikutustamme muihin.

Siksi johtajana kasvun tärkein kysymys ei ole “Mitä taitoja opin seuraavaksi?”
vaan “Mitä minun pitää nähdä itsessäni, jotta voin johtaa viisaammin?”

Tutkimusten mukaan itsetuntemus vaikuttaa positiivisesti mm. käyttäytymiseen, hyvinvointiin ja suoritukseen (Carden et al. 2022), päätöksentekoon ja tiimin tuloksiin (Dierdorff & Rubin 2015), johtamisessa menestymiseen (Showry & Manasa 2014; Cashman 2014) ja uralla etenemiseen (Axelrod 2012). Itsetuntemus lisää itsesäätelykykyä, empatiaa ja vähentää stressiä (Donald et al. 2019; Hali et al. 2021; Hülsheger et al. 2021; Rasheed et al. 2019). Hyvä itsetuntemus on myös yhteydessä kykyyn kasvattaa muista johtajia (Bracht, 2021).

London et al. (2023) osoittavat tutkimuksissaan, että syvällinen itsetuntemus kehittyy mm. kokemuksellisen oppimisen, reflektiivisen työskentelyn, palautteen ja valmennuksen avulla, keskittyen niin tunteisiin, ajatteluun kuin käyttäytymiseenkin. Tämä tutkimus vahvistaa sen, mitä olen nähnyt vuosien ajan johtajien kanssa työskennellessäni.

Järjestän seuraavan Itsetuntemus ja johtajana kasvu -retriitin 30.–31.1.2026.
Kahden päivän luottamuksellisessa työskentelyssä muiden kokeneiden johtajien kanssa syvennymme omiin ajattelu-, tunne- ja toimintamalleihin, niitä ohjaaviin motiiveihin ja tarpeisiin, sekä tapoihin, joilla ne voivat sekä rajoittaa että vahvistaa johtajana onnistumista. Saat retriitistä itsellesi eväitä juuri omaan kasvuusi juuri sinun persoonallisuutesi huomioiden. Lisäksi retriitti mahdollistaa tutustumisen syvällisellä tasolla erilaisiin persoonallisuuksiin ja miten erilaisuutta voi johtaa viisaammin.

Retriittiä ennen saat myös syvällisen persoonallisuusprofiilin ja sen purkukeskustelun kanssani. Jos koet, että seuraava taso johtajuudessasi löytyy itsetuntemuksesi kehittämisestä, sisäisestä selkeydestä ja kasvusta ihmisenä, tämä retriitti tarjoaa harvinaisen mahdollisuuden pysähtyä, tutkia ja kasvaa yhdessä muiden kokeneiden johtajien kanssa. Kommenteista löydät linkin, jonka takaa löydät lisää tietoa ja osallistujien kokemuksia. Paikkoja on rajoitetusti eli kannattaa toimia heti ja hyödyntää varhaisen varaajan etu.



True Potential - Leadership and Coaching for True Potential

📷 Ari Hallami

Sometimes the most meaningful insights appear the moment we slow down enough to truly look at our practice together with others. Yesterday’s EMCC Finland & ICF Finland | International Coaching Federation joint event offered exactly that kind of space - collective reflection, learning, and a diving deeper to our work as coaches.

Together with my fellow coaching supervisors Dr. Raija Salomaa, Tuula Nurmiluoto, Pirkko Aminoff and Rea Klingberg, we offered live demo coaching supervision sessions for groups of professional coaches.

Coaching supervision is a safe space supporting coaches in their coaching practice, development and well-being as well as working ethically and according to professional standards. In the midst of organizational complexity, it opens a space to see what often remains unseen: the inner dialogue behind our practice, the relational dynamics with clients, and the systemic forces shaping our work. It’s not about “fixing,” but about expanding perspective and strengthening our professional presence, and growing as professionals and human beings.

Reflective practice has never been more relevant. Coaching supervision can take place individually or in small groups, and both offer powerful pathways for growth. All of us coaching supervisors are happy to discuss more about coaching supervision if you like to learn more.

A special thanks to Anna Storbacka-Eriksson from EMCC for being the main organizer of the event!

Never normal. That’s how Peter Hinsen described today’s world at Nordic Business Forum. As technology accelerates, complexity grows, demographics shift it requires us people and organizations to transform faster than ever.

But what does true transformation require? Changing business models or organizational structures is not enough. Below I've collected some of the most important insights that the presenters shared:

🌟 Perform and transform simultaneously. Purpose is constant, culture should change. Howard Yu
🌟Learning is the new loyalty. Gianpiero Petriglieri
🌟Be aware of the long shadows of the great cultures. Culture must change to meet our purpose. Sukhinder Singh Cassidy
🌟Keep resetting as a human being. Involve everyone. Great leaders will strive to be the most authentic, open empathetic and compassionate and are the best humans. Key is how do we work and change together Angela Ahrendts
🌟Expectation for people to grow to be a better version of themselves when leaving the company. Business is not about winning it is an infinity game. Simon Sinek
🌟If everything seems to be in control you are not changing fast enough. What is your yesterwork? It’s important to be able to move forward even you don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle. Peter Hinssen
🌟Demographics impact all of us as individuals and as businesses. Observe (a discipline) - Think- Act to achieve strategic agency. Risto Siilasmaa
🌟Change is an opportunity to learn, grow and improve. What you are practicing you are becoming. Question your beliefs and consider what are worth letting go of. April Rinne
🌟The status quo has a strong gravitational pull. The more we know, less we question. Imagine a better future and what is possible. Kill the zombies! Everything that is serving us today keeps us trapped. Keep SALY = same as last year, as far as possible. To get out of the box, we need another person’s support. Experiment and fail. Today is the first day! Nurture your childlike curiosity. Diana Kander
🌟We are much more capable than we think. What’s your calling? Tune into yourself and sense what feels right. Operate from authenticity. If people tell you are crazy, you might be on the right track. Do not undermine anybody’s true passion. Rick Rubin

This was at least my 10th time at NBF, and once again I left energized of all those inspiring discussions with people, and also hopeful that this positive energy and determination to grow will spread in organizations.

I believe the future lies in leadership that is both conscious and shared, that enables everyone’s true potential to be realized in creating a better world. And that begins with our own growth as human beings.

👉 Which of these thoughts resonate most with you and how could it shape your own leadership?

💫 Self-awareness is a cornerstone of effective leadership, and it should be an priority in leadership development. 💫

As I was diving into my PhD research, I came across an article by Sweet (2023) in the Journal of Research on Leadership Education (Vol. 18(4) p. 602) The paper brought together a wide body of earlier studies that point to the conclusion above. Here are the key insights, directly cited from the article:
🌟 An essential element of effective leadership is knowing oneself (Bass, 2008).
🌟In business, a prevalent presumption is that a leader who possesses self-awareness, is self-actualized, and is autonomous will perform better as a leader than someone who does not possess these qualities (Allen et al., 2022).
🌟 The increase of awareness of the self, others, and the environment is vital to developing leaders who are effective, particularly in complex and rapidly changing environments (Middleton et al., 2020), since the development of oneself is dependent upon one’s ability to be self-aware (McCormack & McCance, 2017).
🌟 Any meaningful and considerable development of self can only take place amid the personal demands of increasing self-awareness (Gilbert, 2005).
🌟 Thus, the process of developing self-awareness in leaders and emerging leaders should be the primary objective of any developmental program (Gardner et al., 2005).
🌟 Leadership educators must cultivate the learning environment in ways that empower student to be critically reflective as they explore and assess their own assumptions, beliefs, attitudes, ways of thinking and ways of being. (Haber-Curran & Tillapaugh, 2015)

This resonates deeply with my long experience as a leadership developer and research interests.

What are your thoughts:
👉 How much priority organizations give and should give to developing leaders’ self-awareness in leadership development initiatives?
👉 What kind of role has developing self-awareness had on your growth as a leader?

Todellinen kasvu johtajana ei synny uusista taidoista – vaan rohkeudesta katsoa peiliin rehellisesti.

Kun ympärillä on epävarmuutta, haasteita ja paineita, erinomainen itsetuntemus on kuin kompassi - se vahvistaa läsnäoloasi ja auttaa näkemään asiat selkeämmin ja objektiivisemmin.

Paras versio johtajuudestasi löytyy, kun uskallat kohdata kaikki puolet itsestäsi, ja vapautat sen potentiaalin, jonka olet ehkä tiedostamatta sulkenut pois.

Kiireen keskellä on usein vaikea pysähtyä tutkimaan itseä rehellisesti vaan se vaatii rauhallisen ja luottamuksellisen ympäristön.

📍 Johtajien kahden päivän retriitti 4.-5.9. Tuusulanjärven rantamaisemissa tarjoaa tähän harvinaisen mahdollisuuden.

Se on intensiivinen ja vuorovaikutteinen kokonaisuus, jossa:
🌟 tunnistat ydinvahvuutesi ja vältät niiden yli- tai väärinkäytön
🌟 näet omat automaattiset ajattelu-, tunne- ja toimintamallisi sekä niitä ohjaavat tarpeet, motiivit ja uskomukset
🌟 saat henkilökohtaisia kasvustrategioita juuri sinun johtajuuteesi
🌟 ymmärrät muiden persoonallisuustyylien maailmaa ja opit hyödyntämään erilaisuutta organisaation vahvuutena

🔍 Työkaluna käytämme erityisesti enneagrammia, joka on poikkeuksellisen tarkka ja syvällinen kasvun malli itsetuntemuksen ja johtajuuden kehittämiseen, ja jota olen hyödyntänyt jo lähes 20 vuoden ajan johtamisen ja työyhteisöjen kehittämisohjelmissa, johdon henkilökohtaisessa coachingissa, johtoryhmien kehittämisessä.
💡 Nyt olen erityisen innoissani siitä, että voin tarjota myös yksittäisille johtajille mahdollisuuden osallistua ryhmävalmennuksiini ja kokea saman syvällisen vaikutuksen.
📄 Ennen retriittiä saat 40-sivuisen enneagrammiprofiilisi tutustuttavaksi etukäteen.

⏳ Ilmoittaudu 11.8. mennessä ja säästät 150 € , m***a ennen kaikkea varmistat, että olet mukana tässä ainutlaatuisessa johtajaretriitissä yhdessä muiden upeiden johtajien kanssa!

Olin pari viikkoa sitten puhumassa kansainvälisessä enneagrammikonferenssissa USA:ssa johtajana kasvusta itseohjautuvuuden vahvistamiseksi ja pidän samasta aiheesta ilmaisen webinaarin 11.8.

👉 Linkit lisätietoihin molemmista kommenteissa. Kysy ihmeessä lisää! Olisi kiva, jos pääset mukaan!

💬 Milloin viimeksi pysähdyit tutkimaan itseäsi johtajana ja mitä opit?

True Potential - Leadership and Coaching for True Potential

📷 Ari Hallami

Many leaders are unknowingly stuck in inner patterns that no longer serve them - patterns that quietly hold them back in their leadership.

Becoming aware of these patterns is the first step toward real, sustainable growth as a leader.

At the end of July, I had the honor of speaking at the International Enneagram Association’s global conference in Minneapolis, USA. The event brought together a global community of coaches, consultants, therapists, researchers, and teachers – all using the Enneagram to support human growth and transformation.

In my talk, I explored:
🔹 How different areas of development – self-awareness, inner growth, self-management, collaboration, leadership and coaching skills, team dynamics, culture, and organizational structures – are all equally important in supporting self-management and shared leadership. (See picture.)
🔹 How the Enneagram offers a powerful framework to develop all the above and to understand that growth paths and development needs are truly different for different people and how this must be considered in leadership and organizational development.
🔹 The importance of integrating cognitive, emotional, somatic, and systemic dimensions in order to support deep and sustainable transformation.

I was part of the Innovative Approaches panel alongside inspiring colleagues:
🌟 Dr. Kara Nance, integrating EEG scans with Enneagram and coaching, drawing on her work as a medical doctor
🌟Dr. Belinda Gore, psychologist integrating Enneagram with object relations theory
🌟Irma Velasquez, board chair of a self-managing nonprofit teaching the Enneagram
🌟Diana Redmond, coach who moderated the panel skillfully

Each of us shared how we integrate the Enneagram into our work – followed by a rich dialogue with a highly engaged and thoughtful audience.

Want to hear more?

➡️ This Friday 8th of August, I will be hosting a free 30 min webinar in Finnish, where I’ll share key insights from my talk and reflections from the conference.

➡️Join us for a 2 day in-person training retreat Self-awareness and growth as a leader on 4-5th September in Tuusula, Finland in Finnish. I will shortly talk about this in my webinar. If you cannot make it, by signing up you will get the recording.

Hope to see you there! Webinar & training details in the first comments.

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The enneagram is a powerful and deep growth system that helps us
us to become aware of their ego strategies, create distance from them. For leaders it is especially important, so that they can hold space for others to grow and step into leadership.

I am honored to present my work with the in organizations at the conference in Minneapolis this week! Looking forward to meeting colleagues around the world and deepening my knowledge of the system and its applications.