For 25 years, Jesper Lund has been a trusted and highly regarded consultant at Mercuri Urval (MU). He has supported numerous organisations in strengthening their leadership, performance, and development by identifying the right leaders for the right challenges.
Jesper is also a respected organisational development advisor, working closely with leadership teams and boards. With a strong understanding of interpersonal dynamics and organisational complexity, he helps organisations create clarity and take their next step in development.
Let’s hear from Jesper as he reflects on his journey at MU
In my previous roles, I realised that I had a strong interest in working with and developing people and organisations. I was also highly motivated by achieving results and making a real difference. However, in my role as a public servant, I did not have the right framework to fully pursue that motivation. Too many boundaries and bureaucratic obstacles made it difficult to achieve the results I believed were possible. I therefore felt a need to move to an organisation where it was both accepted and encouraged to set ambitious goals and work actively towards them. I was also looking for a place where effort and results were recognised in a more meaningful way.
At MU, I found exactly the environment I had been looking for. I joined colleagues who were equally motivated by helping organisations improve the way they work, develop their structures, and appoint the right people to achieve their goals. From the beginning, MU gave me the conditions I needed to grow, stay motivated, and continue developing my capabilities. I have felt — and still feel — that this is the right place for me to work. Of course, as a partner, I continue to see opportunities for how MU can become an even better workplace. But overall, I am very pleased to have spent 25 years of my professional life here.
Several other things have also been important to my motivation over the years: close and inspiring colleagues, the opportunity to take initiative and strengthen our teamwork, and the chance to support and mentor younger colleagues as they develop their potential.
Last but not least, my clients have been a very important part of my daily work. Their organisations and challenges are often complex, and I greatly value that so many of them continue to invite me to serve as a trusted advisor.
My career at MU has included many highlights. In the early years, I was somewhat hesitant to advise clients on organisational matters. I did not initially feel fully confident offering that kind of support. However, with strong encouragement and inspiration — especially from one colleague — I gradually built both the competence and the confidence to take on this part of the work.
A key factor in this development was MU’s thorough work analysis approach. It helped me see organisations not as simple, two-dimensional structures, but as complex, interconnected systems. This perspective has given me the ability to understand and discuss how the way one person or department works can affect other parts of the organisation. In that sense, it has allowed me to help clients work more holistically and strengthen collaboration across their organisations.
One example that stands out is my long-term collaboration with a Danish harbour, where I have worked with the client for the past 17 years. My first assignment was to support the recruitment of a new CEO. At the time, I had limited knowledge of the sector, which was both publicly owned and commercially operated. Over time, I was trusted not only to help recruit key leaders, but also to support the organisation in making the changes needed to achieve a major business turnaround.
As part of that process, it became clear that the organisation also needed a new board with stronger sector-specific competencies to complement the local politicians. To support this work, I completed a board education programme at Aarhus University. Our collaboration has continued ever since, and most recently, together with my colleague Peter, we successfully recruited five highly qualified new board members. They are now helping the organisation consolidate its progress and continue delivering results that few would have thought possible.
One of the exciting projects I have been involved in recently began when a client approached us with a specific challenge. For many years, they had used an outdated dialogue format in conversations with managers and specialists, and they wanted a completely new approach.
At the same time, two of our students were completing their master’s thesis on motivation in organisations. Their work focused on four key elements of motivation: autonomy, belonging, meaning, and coping. Based on this theoretical foundation, and in close collaboration with the client, we developed a new concept for preparing and conducting development dialogues with managers and specialists. The concept has since been adapted and used by several other clients as well.
In addition, we were asked to develop a method for group development dialogues, typically in teams where one manager leads several employees. Together with a young psychologist, we identified a relevant theory that explains the link between an individual’s experience of motivation and motivation within a working community. This became the foundation for a new concept designed for teams of around 8–12 people. This concept is also now being used by several clients.
Another current area of work relates to leadership team development. Over the past two to three years, two younger colleagues and I have supported an organisation in recruiting a CEO and two deputy directors. Following a recent municipal election, the executive board experienced significant change. As a result, they wanted support in setting goals for the coming period and identifying how they could develop as a team within a new political context and with new priorities.
They also wanted to strengthen their ability to work more across functions and with a more holistic organisational perspective. Together with the group, we identified relevant tools and methods and developed a tailored programme. That process is now underway and has been well received by the members of the executive board.