October 1, 2026 | 4 min read

Mondays, Renovations, and Leadership Without the Ego

Meet Martin Arnbom, Manager for NetSuite Services Scandinavia

Most leadership stories begin with titles, achievements and career milestones.

Martin Arnbom's begins with Monday morning conversations about barbecues, home renovations and kids' football matches.

Because for Martin, high-performing teams are not built through control. They’re built through trust.

"When the team dynamic is right, the results tend to follow," Martin says.

Martin leads a team of around 20 ERP professionals across Sweden and Norway. His leadership philosophy sounds simple, but it shapes everything from customer work to Monday morning meetings.

And no, Mondays don’t begin with project updates.

They begin with life.

Mondays that don’t start with work

Every Monday morning, Martin’s team gathers for a standup.

But there’s one rule: For the first part of the meeting, nobody talks about work. Instead, people talk about their weekends. Kids. DIY projects. Sports. Renovations. Whatever feels natural.

“It sounds like a small thing," Martin says. "But it really kicks off the week with good energy.”

At first, Martin had to actively pull people into the conversation. Now, the discussions flow naturally.

And once work conversations begin, something important has already happened: people feel comfortable speaking openly about workload, potential challenges and support they’d need.

“When people feel safe enough to say early that something is going sideways, that’s actually a success.”

“I’d rather be an enabler than an answer machine”

Earlier in his career, Martin was often the leader who jumped in to solve problems himself. Today, he sees leadership as something done with the team, not for them.

One example is his preference for "walking talks": one-on-one conversations outdoors instead of another Teams meeting. It's a practice he picked up from a previous manager he valued, and one he's carried with him since.

During those conversations, he rarely jumps straight into solutions.

"Halfway through explaining the problem, people often realize the answer themselves," he says. "They just needed space to think out loud, and someone to think with them."

That, for Martin, is the real role of leadership: not having all the answers but creating the space where the team finds them together.

Expertise matters. So does courage.

In consulting, customers expect expertise.

But Martin believes great consultants need something more than technical knowledge: the confidence to challenge respectfully.

"Customers work with us because they trust our knowledge," he says. "If we know there's a better way, we should be brave enough to say it. I encourage my team members to act as trusted advisors."

That mindset reflects Staria's core values, courage, commitment, and collaboration, which Martin sees as deeply connected in daily work. Courage to speak up. Commitment to follow through. Collaboration that crosses countries, teams, and the line between consultant and customer.

"We're one team together with the customer.

The people who enjoy it most

Ask Martin who tends to thrive in his team, and the conversation quickly moves beyond technical expertise.

Technical skills naturally matter in ERP consulting. But Martin repeatedly comes back to something else: Mindset.

“For me, personality is just as important,” he says. “Being open in discussions, wanting to learn, wanting to contribute as a team player.”

In other words?

The people who thrive at Staria are rarely lone wolves. They’re people who want to build success together. For each other and for the customer.

Off the clock

Martin joined Staria a little over half a year ago after more than a decade in consulting, including years abroad in Poland, Norway, and Australia.

Today, he’s based in Stockholm with his partner and kids.

Outside work, there’s an ongoing DIY house renovation, plenty of cross-country skiing, and a self-appointed role as sofa-based football commentator.

Connect with Martin in LinkedIn.

ERP Consultants at Staria

Curious to learn more about our ERP team?

Get a closer look at the work, the team and what the role of an ERP consultant can look like at Staria.