This is Anna's philosophy in her own words:
"That everyone involved in a project – clients, suppliers and employees – work together to achieve the goals set for safety, customer satisfaction, quality, timeliness, the environment and finances. As District Manager I'm responsible for ensuring that the project members have what they need to achieve these goals. I also believe that everyone should be happy, feel good and have fun at work."
Anna Linder, District Manager, Skanska Sweden Road and Civil, Stockholm, started at Skanska as a project engineer in 1999 and advanced to be Project Manager for land and foundation work from 2006 to 2013. This included working on the New Karolinska Solna university hospital and the Ingenting project, the Swedish National Police Board (RPS) in Solna and Järvastaden in Sundbyberg.
What do you do to make your philosophy a reality?
"The most important thing is that everyone is involved from the beginning. Together we discuss different solutions, plan and set tough goals. Then we follow up on a regular basis and adjust the plan if necessary. By setting goals together, everyone is motivated and participating. I also try to give people challenges so they can grow in their roles."
In 2010, through Skanska Unlimited, you were in New York for the water project Cat/Del. What did you take away from it?
"It's a fantastic project and it was an exciting experience, but the best thing was seeing the great similarities in how we work, that we are One Skanska. Our Five Zero visions, including safety and ethics, are the same everywhere. That makes you proud and everyone I met was proud to be working for Skanska."
What is it like being a woman in a male dominant industry?
"Out at the production sites there are very few women. In my district at the moment there are 43 people and only two are women working with production. And there aren't many female line managers either unfortunately. A change is on the way, but there is still a shortage of female role models to show what fun it is to work in the construction world. I hope I can inspire young women to come and work for us."