Leadership is key at Holtab
Working at Holtab should be sustainable. Employees are seen here and can develop over the long term.
“Good leadership is about trust and presence,” says Holtab’s CEO Michael Fohlin.
He has been with Holtab for more than twenty years and has tested out most roles, from electrical fitter to project manager. In the last ten years, he's been in different managerial positions.
"For me, leadership is about daring to trust your instincts and being responsive. A good manager is present and self-confident," he says.
Michael heads up one of Holtab’s two divisions. The Project Division brings together advanced customers. Michael manages 15 people, including group managers in production, designers, project administrators and project managers. The division also has approximately 30 fitters.
"When I was new to the electrical industry, my father was my role model. He was a production manager at an industrial company. Today, I am inspired by the managers I have met at Holtab, such as our CEO Patrik Persson Moberg.
"Going to work should be fun. We want people to feel good, stay for a long time and develop," says Michael Fohlin, Division Manager at Holtab.
Guided by values
Michael describes Holtab as a company with strong values. He mentions that the company’s values are discussed regularly. Personally, he likes the values on collaborating and representing Holtab.
"There is a piece that describes the work at Holtab as a daily performance in which everyone has a main part. All employees are equally important. In our industry, the process just has to work or it will cause disruptions in the entire chain," he says.
What is your leadership philosophy?
"It should be fun to go to work. The wellbeing of people is important. At Holtab, we want people to stay for a long time and develop. Tingsryd and Lidhult are small towns and we want people to have a career with us, not move to a big city.
"As a leader, I’m a lot about gut feeling, you have to trust yourself and your colleagues. At Holtab, freedom comes with responsibility."
What is it like to make difficult decisions?
"You have to dare to get into it, discuss things with others and make an effort to understand. You have to stand up for your decisions and explain why they are in the best interest of the company," he says.
Holtab’s view of leadership
- Leaders at Holtab are role models; they lead themselves and others.
- The goal is to have trusting and honest relationships, not only in the company, but also externally with customers, suppliers and partners.
- We get results by caring for and developing our employees and our operations.
- We believe in decisiveness, clarity, honesty and humility.
- To achieve our goals, we dare to make decisions, but we also dare to rethink things, move forward and think outside the box.
Extract from Holtab’s core values
Name: Michael Fohlin, 41
Professional Role: CEO
Resides: Växjö with partner and daughter
Previous jobs: Has held many roles during his more than 20 years at Holtab, including electrical fitter, designer and project manager. He has also worked with electricity and project management in related industries.
