Stinne Vaga: mentorship with a top European expert changed my view on leadership and instilled confidence in me

META Government Relations Senior Consultant Stinne Vaga took part in the Rud Pedersen Group mentorship programme, where she had the opportunity to meet regularly over several months with an experienced expert and partner from another European Rud Pedersen Group agency. The mentorship focused on team leadership, client work and adapting to a role with growing responsibility.

Stinne joined the programme at a time when her own responsibilities at META were growing rapidly.

“I started asking myself how I can best realise my potential in a role where responsibility keeps increasing.”

Growth does not always mean climbing a vertical career ladder. “When you are already a senior consultant and team lead, your career path is no longer that linear. What becomes important is how to build your role around your own strengths and develop horizontally as well,” she explained. The mentorship programme gave Stinne the chance to discuss these questions with someone who has extensive leadership experience across several agencies and who currently serves as a partner at Rud Pedersen’s Norwegian office.

An outside perspective from within the same field

For Stinne, much of the mentorship’s value lay in the fact that her mentor came from outside her everyday work environment, yet understood the context of consultancy and government relations very precisely.

“Sometimes you need someone who is not part of your own organisation, but who understands the logic of your work and the nature of your responsibilities. My mentor was outside the bubble of my day-to-day work, and that outside perspective was incredibly useful to me.”

Although Stinne received support and advice from a more experienced expert, the meetings evolved into a mutual exchange. Agencies operating in different markets face different challenges, but many of the questions are remarkably similar: how to lead teams, maintain motivation, meet client expectations and provide strategic support in an uncertain world and a changing market. “It was very refreshing to talk with someone who has decades of experience and see that they face similar challenges. It gave me the understanding that not all questions have right answers, and what matters is the ability to make decisions in the moment, based on what you know at that point,” she said.

Good leadership means paying constant attention to people

One of the most important topics Stinne discussed with her mentor was team leadership. The consultancy business is fast-paced, diverse and often demanding. Achieving success therefore requires leadership practices that match that reality.

“My team is made up of young, driven and proactive people who want to take on new challenges. The question is how to lead them in a way that allows them to grow without burning out,” Stinne noted. The mentorship gave her practical ideas on how to build a well-functioning team, keep people motivated and find the right balance between people’s aspirations and business objectives.

“My mentor emphasised that a strong team is the foundation of success. When people are motivated, have room to grow and feel supported, that is what keeps the wheels turning.”

Team leadership in consultancy is an everyday job. It is not enough to hand out tasks and hope that everything will work itself out. It means ongoing communication, words of encouragement, finding new and exciting challenges and paying genuine attention to how team members are really doing.

From feedback to feedforward

One theme that resonated with Stinne particularly strongly was rethinking feedback culture. Her mentor used the concept of “feedforward” – a way of talking about development where the focus is not solely on the past.

“Feedback often centres on what has already happened. But if we want feedback culture to truly become a development tool, we also need to talk about what comes next.”

According to Stinne, this kind of approach helps reduce the fear and anxiety that can sometimes accompany receiving feedback. The goal is not to list someone’s mistakes, but to help the individual, the team and the organisation move to the next level. “Another important insight was that ultimately, the power over feedback lies with the person who receives it. They decide what to do with it,” she said.

Expectation management as the foundation of successful collaboration

The mentorship also touched on client work and expectation management. In consultancy, there can sometimes be a feeling that everything is important and everything is needed immediately.

Stinne found it valuable to discuss how to set realistic expectations and goals from the very beginning of a client relationship. “Since agency work requires constantly moving between different topics, a mutually understood framework for collaboration helps maintain both the quality of work and the strength of relationships,” she said.

The value of belonging to an international group

Stinne’s mentorship experience demonstrates how international collaboration reaches Estonian client work as well. A broader perspective helps to better understand political and regulatory changes, assess risks, manage expectations and provide more strategic advice. “The mentorship gave me confidence and confirmed how important a fresh outside perspective is. Sometimes you actually know some of the answers, but you need someone who helps you see them more clearly,” Stinne summed up her experience.

META’s belonging to Rud Pedersen Group gives our people the opportunity to learn from leading European experts in government relations and strategic communications. This is not just an international network on paper, but a real exchange of experiences, questions and knowledge between people who deal with similar challenges across different markets. Being part of the group helps us be a strong strategic partner for our clients, both in today’s decisions and in preparing for the future.