Leadership lessons from Mining President Mats Eriksson
In the latest Meet Sandvik podcast, Sandvik Mining President Mats Eriksson reflects on leadership lessons from a long international career — and why listening, rather than rushing to answer, often leads to better decisions.
Episode 64
Leadership lessons from Mining President Mats Eriksson
Reflecting on how his leadership style has evolved, Eriksson says experience has changed his view of decision-making.
“As a young leader, I thought you had to decide on the spot. I don’t think that way anymore.”
Today, he believes stronger decisions come from gathering perspectives and allowing ideas time to develop, especially in complex global organizations.
Culture, diversity and psychological safety
For Eriksson, strong organizations are built on cultures where people feel safe to contribute ideas and challenge assumptions. Good decisions rarely come from one person alone. Instead, they emerge when different perspectives are allowed to surface.
“You cannot win together if you don’t have psychological safety.”
He believes leaders play a key role in creating that environment by being open-minded, inclusive and fair. When people feel respected and confident speaking up, diversity becomes a real strength rather than just a buzzword.
Different cultural backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, he says, help organizations see problems from multiple angles — ultimately leading to stronger decisions and better outcomes.
Learning never stops
Looking back on his career, Eriksson says curiosity has been a constant driver. Rather than following a strict plan, he has often taken opportunities as they came, focusing on learning from each experience along the way.
“I’m not the teacher. I’m the pupil in the organization.”
That mindset, he believes, is just as important for leaders as it is for new graduates. Leadership is not about knowing everything, but about staying open to learning from others and bringing together knowledge from across the organization.
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In each episode of the podcast Meet Sandvik you will meet different persons that give their perspective on Sandvik. Sometimes it´s an employee telling his or her story. Sometimes you will meet experts discussing how a hot topic can affect Sandvik.