- Welcome to our conversation Jonas. You are employed by Anchor Management Consulting. What is your background?

- My background is in civil engineering, where I learned to formulate problems and break them down into smaller parts. That knowledge and way of working has been very useful during my career, which has largely been about leadership in change, including as a project manager, program manager and for several years as a line manager.

- It seems like a rather complicated job with many components that are not always easy to predict?

- Yes, it is, it has its challenges, that's why it's fun! As much as a transformation on the surface seems to be about business, strategies and processes, it is in behaviors, competencies and attitudes that the changes need to happen.

- So you have developed the ability to explain why things need to be done and thus get your employees on board?

- Yes, I think that description is accurate. Most of us want to understand why we go to work in the morning. We want to feel that our job means something, so it's also important to understand why we need to change the way we work.

- But why are you a consultant and not a permanent employee of a company with opportunities to develop there? Are you a restless type who often needs change to thrive?

- No, I'm not particularly anxious and I don't think it's better to be a consultant, but rather that it's different. As a manager in a company, you have many other responsibilities besides managing change. One advantage of the consultant role is that there is less noise around your work on the change and you can focus on fewer things.

- But if things don't turn out the way everyone wants, isn't it easy for you, the damn consultant, to get the blame?

- Yes, but it's part of the role, you have to be prepared for it.

- What is it that makes you continue to be a consultant despite this and dedicate yourself to doing the best consulting work you can?

- I like to achieve noticeable results and a successful transformation leaves a clear imprint on the business and it is visible that you have done something. And, as I said, it can be easier in the role of consultant than in the role of manager in the organization.

- So, do you want to do your job as a consultant but also be recognized for what you have done?

- It's always nice to be recognized for an achievement, but that's not the most important thing. I see myself more as a conductor in an orchestra - my work should lead to the orchestra playing as well as possible. By the time I'm done, as many people as possible should have developed in their work. If they are dependent on me instead, then I have failed as a consultant.

- So you need to know the whole piece of music and always know what each musician has to do and when to do it to make the whole concert the best it can be. So, what do you do if someone plays wrong or starts to jazz it up outside the scope of the project?

- One of my main tools has always been to ask questions because the people I work with are the specialists in their work. What will be the result if we do this in this part of the project, if you get less funding, what are the consequences? And sometimes a little bit of jazzing outside the box can bring a new perspective.

- Do you sometimes have to give up and tell the client that this is not possible?

- No, not that the goal itself cannot be achieved, but more often that the conditions are not in place. It may be a lack of money or a lack of support for this change in some parts of the company, and then it may not be a result of my efforts as a consultant.

- Have you been disappointed in your work as a consultant?

- Yes, a few times, but it is more on the human level, people who do not do what we have agreed or tell untruths that interfere with the project work and do not behave as you expect in a workplace.

- What do you think makes you a good consultant?

- To quickly understand new situations, to see what is going on, where have I landed, what is important. As a consultant, it is a great asset not to have to have such a long starting distance but to be able to quickly see what we should start digging somewhere to get results.

- What is your view on the difference between short and long consulting assignments?

- In long-term consulting assignments, you get to be part of a larger part of the change journey, which is fun.

- Do you follow the projects you made or do they just leave them.

- It happens that I follow up on something, especially if it has been a major project. Thinking of one, where what we built up was still there and being used in the way we intended it to be at least 7 years later. That's a clear confirmation to me that we did something good for the company.

- We are coming to the end of our conversation and I think I dare to get a little personal now. Do you read a lot of things other than what you have to do at work?

I have a one-year-old and a four-year-old at home, so the answer is no, it's mostly children's books right now. But one book I have managed to read is Klas Hallberg's "In the customer's shoes - Creating value from the recipient's perspective", which in a light-hearted but clear way reminds us of the customer perspective.

- And finally, if there was a fire in your home, what would you absolutely try to save once you got your children out to safety?

- I am completely unsentimental about that. I'm not addicted to my gadgets, you can buy new ones. It is the family that is important. But maybe I should still try to bring my well-fired Skeppshults pot, because I don't want to replace it.