For every company striving ahead to attain success, the role of a leader is of utmost importance. Leadership is the cornerstone for strong management; guiding employees to maximize efficiency and effectiveness, as well as enhancing the overall productivity of the firm by meeting and exceeding organizational goals. The popular saying, or rather belief, that the traits of a sound leader are inherent within an individual is a mythical concept as leaders can also be developed. Christina Dahlblom, a passionate entrepreneur and founder of Miltton Sparks is determined to change organizations by focusing on leadership development and providing leaders tools for effective leadership.
Bringing-Forward a Positive Change
Christina’s company Miltton Sparks focuses on leadership development, with an objective of helping organizations create sustainable, sound climates and cultures, where employees can thrive and perform. Add to that, the company is equally passionate about enhanced business performance and work-life well-being.
With its research-based approach, Miltton Sparks helps its customers create a positive change, be it in an organizational or individual level, by focusing on actual behaviors, practicing new behaviors, getting feedback on them and identifying every minimal step of improvement.
To achieve this, Christina sees the recruitment process as a key to success and growth. Her business is all about having the right people, doing the right kind of work. Christina’s team of coaches comes from varying background expertise, with a parallel understanding in neuroscience, coaching and positive psychology.
Pushing the Boundaries of Leadership Development
When asked about the present industry scenario, Christina feels that the leadership development industry has not renewed itself quite as fast as it could have. “There are still too many courses out there that do not actually take advantage of what we know about human learning, brain functioning or how to reach high performance.”
Christina’s calling is to inspire organizations and leaders to push the boundaries of their leadership. Miltton Sparks strives to turn fresh research findings into actionable learning, which can be practiced with customers in a manner that evokes positive emotions and energy, and leads to actual changes in behavior.
Making Yourself a Priority
She reminds her clients that to be a great leader, you need to put yourself high on the priority list. “It’s hard to energize others if you are not energetic yourself. Emotions and energy are extremely contagious,” she continues. She points out that even 15 minutes of daily self-care is much more than zero. Christina also tries to set the bar high with her own example. Aside from prioritizing sound sleep, eating healthy, and trying to find time for small but daily sessions of yoga, she spends as much time as possible with her family.
A Future Filled with Continual Growth
Christina is confident that the leadership development market continues to grow. She envisions a future with a strong demand for supporting organizations create stronger, sustainable and people-oriented leaders. Many leaders have never gotten to learn much of human to human skills at school or university, and are hungry to learn when they face the challenges of leading people and change.
In the coming years, Miltton Sparks will continue to grow and recruit new talents especially from the Nordic and Baltic countries. Miltton Sparks has already gained important references from large international projects and is now well-positioned to surge ahead to help more organizations in their leadership development.
Following your passion and getting support
Christina has pioneered a demanding career with several board positions, while having a family with three kids at home. Never to undermine the contributions of others in her path towards success, Christina is thankful of all the people who have supported and trusted her during her entrepreneurial journey.
“We should teach kids habits of a healthy, happy life. Make sure everyone understands the value of taking good care of themselves. We should also be better at taking care of each other. Offering a hand when needed, creating a culture where people aren’t left alone as much as today,” she concludes.
According to her, the secret to is to follow your passion “The more time we’ll spend doing things we feel passionate about –the more we go out and pursue our dreams, without caring so much about what other people think we should d, the better we will do.” She has the same amount of respect for those who choose to stay at home with their children, as for those who choose to pursue demanding careers. She adds “I hope in the near future, gender will not be such a relevant topic, because we will all be considered based on competence and qualities, not gender.”