Teams that Thrive | Productivity Mastery #225 with Maria Sundström

🚀 In episode #225, we welcomed Maria Sundström, Senior People Growth Partner at Mentimeter. Maria Sundström shared her journey from Estonia to Sweden and her experiences in various roles, particularly in HR at Mentimeter. She discussed the importance of organizational values, the role of fun in the workplace, and the significance of effective onboarding. Maria emphasized the need for situational leadership and the continuous effort required to maintain high-performing teams. Listen to this episode and learn:   💡 What experiences defined Maria's beliefs as an HR professional and a leader 💡 What makes the culture of Mentimeter a unique blend of peak performance and fun 💡 Practical ideas to make your team thrive at work 💡 How to apply situational leadership to be effective in the workplace And many more...  Maria Sundström is a People Growth Catalyst with more than a decade of experience shaping cultures and supporting leaders across global tech, consulting, and corporate environments. She has built her career on a simple belief: when people feel safe, seen, and inspired, they can achieve extraordinary things. Today, Maria works at Mentimeter, where she partners with leaders and teams to accelerate performance, strengthen well-being, and foster psychological safety. She has led initiatives in leadership capability building, onboarding design, inclusion, and organizational growth - always with a focus on creating workplaces where people can truly belong and flourish. Her professional journey includes roles at Avanade, Mercer, and Coca-Cola Enterprises, where she supported leaders through transformation, built onboarding programs, and drove global HR initiatives that improved engagement and retention. With experience spanning start-ups to large corporates, she combines strategic HR expertise with curiosity and empathy - enabling people and organizations to grow in sustainable, human-centered ways. Chapters:  00:00 Introduction and Personal Background 02:32 Career Journey and Early Experiences 05:45 Cultural Insights from Living Abroad 08:36 Company Culture at Mentimeter 11:50 Values and High-Performance Teams 14:35 Recruitment Process and Cultural Fit 17:38 Onboarding Best Practices 34:28 Exploring Values in Onboarding 41:50 Navigating Organizational Values and Hypocrisy 49:51 Leadership Styles and Situational Adaptability 57:17 The Importance of Mistakes in Leadership 01:06:38 Balancing Fun and Productivity in the Workplace Enjoy listening and #KeepPERFORMing! __________ Subscribe to Productivity Mastery Podcast 👇 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3DHrGKvqCduaXrEHrHazAR?si=92e8b757ef55433bApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/productivity-mastery/id1514614289Website:https://stoyanyankov.com/podcast/