Joakim Lilliesköld to take on new role
Joakim Lilliesköld explains here why he is ending the programme manager assignment earlier than planned, what it means for KTH and the change programme, and what is happening now with the programme management and organisation.
In December 2022, Joakim Lilliesköld was appointed Programme Manager of KTH's change programme Future Education at KTH together with the Assistant Programme Managers Anna Jerbrant and Gunnar Tibert. The assignment was to last until the summer of 2025 at the latest, following a planned mid-term evaluation of the programme and its management structure in the spring of 2025. However, change in the programme management will be implemented earlier than scheduled as Joakim Lilliesköld needs to end his assignment as Programme Manager as of this summer.
How come you are stepping down as Programme Manager earlier than planned?
– I have been given a new assignment as Deputy Head of School at EECS, and it is challenging to have two significant positions simultaneously. I think it is unfair to the change programme to have a Manager who cannot entirely focus on driving the development of KTH's education into the future. The Future Education at KTH is KTH's change programme, not mine. It must turn out well for KTH as a whole.
Will you cut completely, or will you have a continued role in Future Education at KTH?
– My Deputy Head of School assignment is to work with change management at the school, so given the school assignments, it is not impossible that I will somehow be involved in the Future Education programme. That is if it is compatible with the assignments at the school.
What happens now, in more concrete terms?
– In concrete terms, I am phasing out my tasks in the Future Education programme. From the summer, I have 20% as Programme Manager, while Gunnar and Anna have increased their workload, so we together have enough muscles to lead the change programme. We have now initiated the process of finding a new Programme Manager about whom the President will decide on. In the autumn, we are going to start new and more development projects than last year, several of which are KTH-joint projects. And the question of educational offers is gaining renewed force.
What does this mean for the programme management team and KTH?
– The programme management has been a group where Anna and Gunnar have been Assistant Programme Managers, and Per and Sofie have been responsible for coordination and communication. Hopefully, someone with even more energy and power can come in. After all, I have been involved in Future Education at KTH since the Board of Education started with the initiative four years ago. There is a functional structure to drive change work in this programme, which is now entering its second round of development projects. It can be positive for the programme that someone comes with new energy.
What does the Programme Manager role mean to you beyond what is stated in the formal "list of tasks"?
– Much of it has been about talking to and motivating people, identifying obstacles that prevent us from moving forward and trying to do something about them. We have tried to address the system challenge – what challenges us in our development work, create systems for knowledge sharing, and understand how the education system works to drive change – perhaps not point at issues – but the root causes.
Do you have any advice for your successor?
– Make sure to have an open and inclusive dialogue with everyone. Never accept that "it can't be done" if no one can explain precisely why it's not possible. Create good teams with people around you and give them mandates to do their job so that no bottleneck slows down the machinery when the development work takes off. The leader needs to ensure that everyone in the team has the same vision and values – a work we have done in today's programme management. It has been crucial for me as a way of creating sustainability in my role as Programme Manager.
– And trust everyone around. We have such enormously competent people at KTH that you must trust them. But, and this is what I want to stress: whoever takes over as Programme Manager must be allowed to shape their way of working.