by Therese Johansson

Therese talks about her journey from a career in a large company to being self-employed. When she felt that the sensible thing would be to say no, she said yes. But in the end she decided to do something else, become self-employed. We learn why she quit a well-paid job at the international company to become a poor entrepreneur. Today she runs the company NLC in leadership, business and organizational development.

Nordic Leadership Center is the name of Therese's company. She works with leadership, business and organizational development. It started with Therese working as an IT support technician at Saab for an American IT company. She decided that within two years at that job, something would happen, and it did. She got the opportunity to work internationally, an exciting development, Therese thought.

She agreed to it, even though it felt scary

Therese started work with a global client, later she was given even greater responsibility. She agreed to it, even though it felt scary. The job contained many challenges, but it went well and ended with even more responsibility and 24 people in the group. In the beginning, Therese was a "manager" and later a "people manager". It was about getting the people on the track.

Decided to do something else

At the American IT company, Therése learned everything about hard concepts, business improvement and business development. Later, the company became French with a different value base. The combination of a fast career, personal events and a job at a company whose values she did not share gave Therese reason to decide to do something else. She chose to undergo a personal development journey where she began to build soft values in combination with the hard ones.

During her journey to wellness, she invented the leadership model that is used in the company today. A recipe for finding your way back: how the leader should make the human capital work.

Wanted to work with the human capital

Therese wanted to work with the human capital at her employer, because money was leaking, she said. But she didn't hear that, so she quit her well-paid job to become a poor entrepreneur. It's a decision she doesn't regret.

If you end up in situations that feel wrong, many people stay in it, without getting out. You are afraid of a change and this can lead to you not feeling so well. If Therese had remained in her previous well-paid job, she would not have felt well. Then it is good if there is a support team around you to help you get out of the unwanted situation.

As an entrepreneur, there can be periods where it's tough and everything feels hopeless. In such situations, it is especially important not to give up. Your support team can help by pulling out a carrot that will make you persevere.

Wants to give entrepreneurs tools for well-being

Therese has had a completely different image of entrepreneurs since she became one herself. Entrepreneurs are driven by their entrepreneurship and their passion. She wants to give entrepreneurs more tools to increase their well-being, such as the ability to relax with the help of mental training.

If something feels scary and you want to say no, say yes instead and you will develop. But when you say yes, make sure you have a pillow to accommodate you in case.

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