When Sanna Marin stepped on stage at Amsterdam Business Forum, she didn’t just deliver a speech. She made a powerful call to action.
As Finland’s Prime Minister, Sanna led through a pandemic, a war in Europe and her country’s historic NATO accession. Her message to the ABF audience is clear: optimistic leadership is not naïve. It is strategic. And in a fractured world, it is essential.
“Optimism is the fuel of any successful leader.”
For Sanna, optimism is not blind hope. It is about facing facts without flinching and still believing that better is possible.
From optimism to action, Sanna turned big words into daily practice. These are the insights you can take straight into your own leadership.
“Face the reality with total and brutal honesty.”
Sanna stresses that leadership begins with an honest assesment of the situation. From Russian aggression to Europe's dependencies, change cannot happen if leaders hide behind illusions.
So here’s the lesson for you: Don’t sugarcoat. Whether with your team, your stakeholders or yourself, honesty is the foundation for action.
“Don’t fall into the illusion that avoiding a hard choice today will make tomorrow easier.”
The inability to act kills momentum. During her time as Prime Minister she faced a pandemic, a war in Ukrain and NATO accession. Waiting was not an option.
The lesson for you: Hard choices rarely get easier with time. If you want transformation, act, even when it is uncomfortable.
“Without your integrity, I believe you will eventually lose your ability to lead.”
Sanna treats values not as decoration, but as operational tools. They guided her through coalition governmeny negotiations, helped her define red lines, and anchored her government through crisis.
The lesson? Your values are your compass. Without them, decisions drift. With them, you can negotiate, compromise and still keep integrity intact.
In conversation with moderator Ikenna Azuike, Sanna showed the personal side of leading under pressure. She admitted that her decisions didn't always please everyone. “But when you’re driving real reform, that’s the price of progress.”
She spoke of trusting her team, choosing purpose over image, and refusing to dwell on criticism. “If you dwell on it, you use all your energy there. I advise you to just get up and continue"
And on the infamous party video? She grinned. “I survived. And I still dance."
Sanna closed with conviction: “We are not just adrift at sea. We have every opportunity to shape our future.”
Her definition of optimism is fierce, not fluffy: face reality, act boldly, hold fast to your values. That is how leaders create change in uncertain times.