Why Culture Should Be at the Top of Any Leader's Agenda with Michael Hansen, CEO of Hempel

The culture of a company serves as its vital core, representing its fundamental nature.

It encompasses the collective principles, ideals, and actions that define the organization's character and can significantly influence employee satisfaction, efficiency, and ultimately, financial performance.

As a Leader, prioritizing the establishment and nurturing of a high-performance company culture should be a primary focus for you.

In the new episode of 'The World Class Leaders Show', I invited Michael Hansen, CEO of Hempel - a world-leading supplier of trusted coating solutions - based in Denmark.

We discussed in-depth how important culture is to a company and what a CEO can do to influence it. We also talked about the role of sustainability in the future success of companies, his approach to people and the human element in being a CEO, and also about the unique challenges leaders face in the workplace today including retaining talent.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

People, financial robustness, customer-perceived uniqueness and giving back to society are the 4 pillars Michael believes you need for a successful company.
Michael is passionate about understanding the realities of colleagues across the world and the differences in leadership style and other attributes to unleash the power to generate the best results.
Michael has actively engaged himself to find out why there are so many challenges for women in his organization and what he can do to directly influence this.
Asking questions and speaking to people directly, allows a CEO to get a true insight into the company culture
Attracting and retaining the best people is one of today’s most difficult tasks. The talented colleagues of today are always looking for the best opportunities for them and they have more options than ever. You have to work on building an environment where they thrive or they will leave.
A CEO has a huge impact on a company culture and this can be both negative and positive. A CEO can engage with many more employees by creating the right culture for them than they can by trying to talk to and lead every single one individually.