Skanska : Meet Iva Janoušková

10/18/2017 11:03 AM CET

Article

Iva Janoušková of Skanska in the Czech Republic has developed her leadership abilities as part of the Skanska Stretch global leadership program. In line with her development plan for her Skanska career, she is back in business after an international assignment in the UK. That assignment included a crash course in Market Making, how we describe providing customers with proactive solutions that contribute to their success.

Preparing for more challenging roles

The Skanska Stretch leadership program is aimed at selected colleagues early in their careers who have potential to take on more challenging roles. The ultimate goal, of course, is to increase the expertise of Skanska's Business Units, in addition to enhancing each participant's personal and professional development.

Iva Janoušková is a great example of such a colleague, and it was all part of a well-planned action from her boss Milan Nocar. Consequently, Skanska Facades - Iva's home unit - has boosted both a young talent and the proactive approach to customers.

'Warmly welcomed'

Skanska Stretch includes leadership training and six to 12 months of working in a different Skanska country. It was decided that Skanska UK was the best fit for Iva's international assignment focused on Market Making. There, Iva grew her skills as a business developer while helping Skanska enter a new region in the UK.

That was a new twist on what she had done over her four years as an estimator and business development manager within Skanska Facades: estimating projects, negotiating new business and being part of an on-site project management team.

'Learning by doing - that is my Stretch experience. Thanks to the super inclusive Skanska culture, I was warmly welcomed in the UK Maple Cross office and immediately put in action. I was part of the Strategic Development team looking for suitable customers and the right contracts in new region,' Iva says.

Expanded knowledge and networks

While she was away working for another Business Unit, her boss Milan kept in touch. They kept the line open all through the Stretch assignment and especially toward the end of it, when they started planning for her return.

'It was continuously planned, re-planned and optimized for the benefit of both myself and the business, and it was critical for me to know where and what I was going to return to,' Iva says.

After the Stretch assignment, Iva returned to the Czech Republic, where she was promoted to Business Development Director in Skanska Facades. Her mission is to improve Market Making and customer focus so the unit develops and grows its business. She brings along her newly acquired and expanded international network to the Facade division's leadership team.

Benefiting from Skanska Stretch

'I have a new and wider network of smart and ambitious people from different parts of the company. It is built on our strong values, our business plan and our culture of working together. This mindset is a true benefit to Skanska.'

Outside of work

'I have played softball since I was little and being with my team friends even outside the softball field always perfectly recharges my batteries, Nowadays, I clear my head also with running and in-line skating. I love music, and in the summer music festivals are the perfect remedy for me,' Iva concludes.