Santa & Unanswered Questions /Tomten & obesvarade frågor

Originally published on Digoshen, December 2025

Santa, Unanswered Questions (Tomten – obesvarade frågor) is a reflective and poetic exploration of what we carry forward when certainty dissolves. Through the familiar yet elusive figure of Santa/Tomten, the piece invites readers into a quiet inquiry about belief, care, responsibility, and the questions we choose not to resolve too quickly.

Rather than offering answers, the text lingers in the space between knowing and wondering. It suggests that some figures — like Santa, myths, or shared stories — endure not because they are factual, but because they hold something human: hope, generosity, imagination, and the willingness to act kindly even without guarantees.

Key reflections from the piece include:

• The value of unanswered questions — Not all questions need closure. Some shape us precisely because they remain open, inviting reflection rather than certainty.

• Belief as a relational act — Santa exists in the shared agreement to care, give, and protect wonder — not as an individual truth, but as a collective practice.

• Transition and maturity — Letting go of literal belief does not mean abandoning meaning. Instead, responsibility shifts inward: we become the carriers of what Santa once represented.

• Quiet leadership — The story reframes leadership as presence, care, and continuity — small acts performed without applause, rooted in trust rather than control.

• Hope without proof — In uncertain times, hope is not naïveté but a conscious choice to act with generosity despite ambiguity.

The message:
Some stories are not meant to be solved, but lived with. In choosing kindness, responsibility, and care — especially when no one is watching — we step into a quieter, more human form of leadership.

About Liselotte Engstam, Digoshen & Novisali

Liselotte Engstam is an explorer of perspectives, an adventurer of ideas, a pathfinder of meaning, and a guide of timeless transitions. She bridges the worlds of board leadership and art, helping organizations and individuals navigate disruption while nurturing creativity and reflection.

As founder of Digoshen, she works with boards and leaders to expand future insights and reduce digital and sustainability blindspots. Through research, networks, and executive programs, Digoshen supports responsible value creation in the digital and sustainable age, contributing thought leadership via books, articles, events, Digoshen Exploring Leaders podcast, and blogs.

She also serves as Chair of the Boards Impact Forum in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and the Climate Governance. The Forum convenes board members, thought leaders, and experts in dialogues, webinars, and collaborative events, accelerating action on climate, AI, and sustainability.

Through her artistic practice as Novisali, Liselotte explores creativity and meaning. Her watercolors, digitally reimagined, invite reflection and renewal, offering perspectives that connect head, heart, and hand, and complementing her work with leaders and boards.

→ Discover more at www.Digoshen.com
→ Learn more at www.BoardsImpactForum.com
→ Find more about Liselotte at www.liselotteengstam.com and her Google Scholar page
→ Explore Liselotte’s art and reflections at www.novisali.com and follow on Instagram @novisali_arts