Growing Leadership Together in Trakai

Q&A with Esther Burger

Last week we brought together 2 groups, one inspiring location in Trakai, Lithuania, 70 people and one shared goal: to become even better leaders for our people. To give you a closer look, we asked Esther Burger, our Director People & Culture, to reflect on the experience and highlight what made this gathering so special.

What was the overall purpose of bringing everyone together?

Simple: to become even better leaders for our people. As our CEO Louis Rustenhoven said: “Yes, we are a tech-driven company, but our real asset is our people.” We believe leadership is about enabling others to excel. Making sure everyone has what they need to grow. Our leadership journey is built around continuous learning, feedback and reflection, creating clarity in decisions and real connection between teams. These days in Trakai were an important milestone in that journey, bringing our leadership community closer together and preparing us for the next chapter.

What did they focus on during the two days?

We had two groups working in parallel: our executives and our people managers. The executive group (board members and their direct reports) focused on strengthening the foundations of high-performing teams. On Day 1, we worked with the World Café model, translating the company’s purpose into both team goals and personal contributions, laying the foundation for 2026 in an aligned method for all companies. The day was facilitated by internal facilitators who did a great job; many thanks to Agne Pelatiene, Agne Balkeviciute Lajiene, Rob Sanders, Yolanda Rodriquez, Clarinda Dobbelaar and Ieva Kukeviciene. On Day 2, we did a “life line exercise,” where everyone mapped out key personal and professional moments on a timeline and shared them with the group. This not only brought out individual stories but also fostered deeper trust, understanding, and connection within the team. 

And what about the people managers? What was their focus? 

They worked on strengthening their leadership skills around giving feedback and understanding different personality styles. These skills are key to building stronger teams and smoother collaboration. With lots of challenging exercises and interpersonal conversations these days were facilitated by Amy Sestilo and Viktorija Naginione. 

What was the value of bringing executives and people managers together? 

It created meaningful exchanges. Hearing each other’s perspectives and learning side by side brought us closer together as one leadership community. 

Was there also room for fun? 

Absolutely! We added some lighthearted moments, like challenging each other with “Would you rather…” questions. It sparked laughter and made the bond even stronger. 

What are your main takeaways for the future? 

These days in Trakai showed the power of combining focus, learning, and connection. Because change is an ongoing factor of our daily business, leading change will be the focus topic for our next block for our leadership program. With this stronger leadership community, we’re ready to inspire and support our people in the next chapter.