This is Ross.
He is more than a Development Manager.
He is also a supporter of safe drivers.
Ross' indisputable focus as a leader is on each and every one of his team members. Enabling them to deliver their very best, together, and create solutions and innovations that make a difference for people far beyond If’s walls. For example, among thousands of aspiring car drivers across the Nordics.
“We have created a mobile app to help beginners learn to drive successfully and safely. The app encourages the user through gradual training steps and has a gamification feature to reach the goal of 2000 km behind the wheel. This is not the obvious insurance service, but it illustrates If’s mindset. That we are there to help you.”
Innovations based on care and collaboration
- Our ambitions are high, Ross says. Not only when it comes to insurance related services. We analyze what problems and challenges people have in their lives and want to offer them tech solutions that really matters. Our mobile app for rookie drivers is a good example and I think that this kind of innovations will be an even more important part of our work in the future. We have lots of opportunities to truly simplify things for our customers.
In many companies, the developers tend to be controlled by the business, on the premise that those who have the need also know how best to meet it. That’s not how it works at If. Ross’ team is not there just to implement, but actually collaborate with the stakeholders to create the best user experience for the need.
- We have a direct ability to impact on the customer experience in what we are doing, Ross says. And we encourage each other to challenge ourselves and the stakeholders, to make sure that we do the best we can, and collectively create value for the customers.
A self-sufficient team guided by openness and trust
Ross started his career at If’s tech community as a Scrum Master five years ago. Pretty soon his manager was promoted and Ross took over the group leadership. The team is based in Turku and Espoo, but operates in English and delivers digital services for stakeholders throughout the Nordics.
- My role is to help my team members succeed the best they can, Ross says. That’s why I’m here, to give them the environment, the skills, the tools and the direction. We are a quite big group and my focus is to make them self-sufficient. So that each and every person can make their own decisions based on our joint direction and purpose.
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Trust is If’s backbone, and a core value that characterizes the work culture throughout the whole organization. To Ross it’s clear that this gains a feeling of ownership and a stronger motivation to succeed, as an individual and as a team.
- I’m very proud of the openness and trust that we have in our team. We have great people here. That’s the starting point. Next step is to enable them with all the basics, motivate them and set them off. This is the recipe to get wonderful things done.
When a step backwards can be the way forward
To try, test and sometimes fail and restart is part of the agile way of working. It’s about exploring the best way forward and achieving the best results possible.
- When a team member comes to me with a problem, I drop everything else to help finding a way forward, Ross says. That is my top priority as a leader. With that said, I take a pragmatic approach in those situations. This is where we are – what’s the best we can do? Whatever goes wrong, it’s an opportunity to learn and improve for the future.
When Ross is asked what motivates him most in his work, the answer comes immediately:
- In my role, the biggest satisfaction comes from seeing team members develop themselves, exceed in their roles and truly enjoy the work they do.
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