Ten years leading Kouvola have made Marita Toikka a calmer leader

After a decade as city manager of Kouvola, Marita Toikka says she has learned to lead more calmly while keeping the city moving forward, Yle reports. Strong daily routines help her cope with the demands of the job.

Toikka was chosen for the role in 2017. Looking back at a photograph from that time, she says her hairstyle has stayed the same, but her approach has changed. She is more often at peace and better able to understand that people work at different speeds.

“I’ve always been quite quick to act, and sometimes it has felt as if people weren’t speaking at the same pace,” she says. Now she is more willing to find a shared pace. She says some of her earlier decisions came from inexperience or naivety, but those experiences helped shape the leader she is today. She would advise her younger self to take better care of herself during busy periods.

Kouvola, a city of about 77,000 people, is cutting schools, libraries and sports facilities. Decisions to close some day-care centres were made in late spring. At the same time, three construction projects costing more than €30 million each are under way: Marjoniemi school, the Urheilupuisto swimming hall and a theatre.

Toikka considers the city’s overall development and says adjusting services is necessary. She wants to develop services rather than focus on buildings. Kouvola aims to sell or demolish half of its buildings, even as it reduces the number of schools and libraries. “I don’t see everyday life changing very much,” she says.

Toikka says regular family routines help her manage the workload, which can include evening meetings and official events. When her youngest child was small, she set aside evenings for family time, although she often returned to work afterwards. Their routines include walking and caring for their dogs. “Some might say it’s boring, but it isn’t,” she says.

Data centres could bring jobs and tax revenue to the city. Projects are under way in Myllykoski, Ummeljoki, Kuusankoski and Koria, and another is planned for the former factory area in Voikkaa. The city estimates that the data centres will provide 100 jobs next year and 500 in total by 2030. It also expects completed centres to generate about €1.5 million a year in property tax, though Toikka says the figures in the city’s financial plans are cautious.

Toikka, 53, has worked in local government for nearly 30 years. Although she trained as a lawyer and once ran her own legal business, she stayed in the public sector. Some lawyer friends ask why she continues in local government, where finding time for a meeting can be difficult, she says.