Unleashing the Butterfly Effect: How Sweden’s Styrelsekraft contributed to more Diverse Leadership on Boards
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect describes the sensitive dependence on initial conditions, where a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can lead to significant differences in a later state.
Fifteen years ago, Sweden’s Minister of Business, Maud Olofsson, founded the initiative Styrelsekraft to increase the number of qualified women in board positions. I was honored to be selected by the government to join the inaugural year of the program, which included mentorship (special thanks to my mentor, Eva-Lotta Kraft), networking, and training.
Today, I serve on the boards of two listed companies, two private companies, and two NGOs. Since 2009, I have contributed to development of five additional listed companies, six private / PE companies, one foundation, and one NGO.
I also engage in academic research on board work, co-author books and academic papers, and coach, develop education, and train board directors, including Visiting teacher at INSEAD, Scandinavian Executive Institute, DCRO, KTH, Ruter Dam, Nordic Board Networks and deliver international key note speeches. while facilitating board networks. I founded/facilitated and grew board networks as Styrelsekraft- Women on Board, Boarding For Success, Styrelsekademins Chairman Network, INSEAD International Directors Network, Nordic In-Board Academy, Digoshen Exploring Leaders Board Community, Boards Impact Forum, Climate Governance Initiative in collaboration with World Economic Forum. Upcoming speeches include for example two speeches at ICGN Annual Conference in London and World Economic Forum on Mobilising Directors for Climate Action where I will be speaking about Board Work , Sustainability and AI.
I’ve participated in two startup accelerators, partnered at a VC firm, and coached nearly 200 startups and their boards. This year alone, we have conducted two board programs and certified directors from Sweden, Nordic and all over the world on Oversight of Sustainability and Oversight of Responsible AI at Boards Impact Forum and Digoshen.
And developed several GenAI chatbots for board directors including Digoshen Chatbot on AI Leadership for Boards.
War thanks to all who contributed to my journey as Board Director!
I helped revive the Styrelsekraft – Women on Boards network, which has reintroduced its mentorship program. Mid May, another 29 women graduated at a ceremony at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprises, featuring inspiring speeches by Maud Olofsson, Jan-Olof Jacke, Svante Randlert, and Katarina Onell. The event was professionally organized by Yvonne Pernodd, Karin Steen, Cecilia Perlind and others.
Congratulations to the current board of Styrelsekraft, chaired by Cecilia Seddigh, on contributing to more butterfly effects!
References
Almi – Rush to program for more women at Boards
Almi – 200 women selected to the governments board program
About Liselotte Engstam and Digoshen
This blog post was originally shared at the blog of Digoshen founder www.liselotteengstam.com
At Digoshen, we work hard to increase #futureinsights and help remove #digitalblindspots and #sustainabilityblindspots. We believe that Companies, Boards, and Business Leadership Teams need to understand more about the future and the digital & sustainable world to fully leverage the potential when bringing their business into the digital & more sustainable age. If you are a board member, consider joining our international board network and master programs.
Welcome to also explore the Digoshen Chatbot on AI Leadership for Boards and Boards Impact Forum, where the Digoshen Founder is the Chair.
Find a link to Digoshen Chair Liselotte Engstam Google Scholar Page
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