Jukka Jalonen, the most successful head coach of the Finnish national ice hockey team, gave a speech at a Finnish business seminar "Myyntihype" in Espoo. Jukka Jalonen has won three World Championship gold medals (2011, 2019, 2022) and an Olympic gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Games. He has also earned other medals in World Championships, a World Junior Championship title, and a Finnish league championship. 

Jukka Jalonen's coaching career began in 1992 and he is currently the head coach of the Italian national team. The Italian national team will participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, playing in Group B with Finland, Sweden, and Slovakia.

At the "Myyntihype" seminar on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, Jalonen spoke about the recipe for success from both an individual and a team perspective. From an individual's point of view, success was primarily influenced by three key factors. The first was an individual's own passion.

While a person's genetics and environment play a role, their passion can be directed toward anything—sports, business, music, acting, etc. The crucial thing is to be able to channel that passion into action. A high work ethic and diligence mean a lot of repetition, and through repetition, skills and competence are developed.

However, harnessing passion requires positive selfishness. According to Jalonen, he has been able to pursue his passion—coaching—for over thirty years, and it has never felt like work. In addition to passion, success also requires perseverance and tenacity from an individual. In Finland, this is commonly known as "Finnish Sisu."

In reality, however, perseverance and tenacity require a supportive environment. Family, friends, colleagues, teachers, or coaches all constantly help the individual. Therefore, an individual's success truly requires sacrifices from others. Jukka Jalonen also mentioned that he is eternally grateful to his own wife.

I've been fired three times. My loved ones have always helped me get back on track and back to work.

- - Jukka Jalonen

Team and Leadership Perspective

During Jalonen's tenure, the Finnish national ice hockey team became known for its strong teamwork. The team was always well-structured, so every player played in the right position based on their strengths. According to Jalonen, a coach can choose their players for a national team, but in club teams, they may not necessarily be able to influence the team's composition. However, it is always important in recruitment to invest in background checks, people skills, and to trust your own intuition.

I have never thought about how old the players are. Only their potential matters.

- - Jukka Jalonen

In Jalonen's teams, every player was valued regardless of their role. Respect can be given from the top down, but in reality, respect from colleagues also matters. Respect increases job satisfaction, well-being, and brings a sense of purpose to every individual. Through shared goals and team values, trust is built in the right way, and all actions are always open and transparent.

The most challenging thing in coaching is creating an atmosphere where everyone feels valued. But if you succeed at that, it immediately brings results, and then you always have a chance to win. That's why it's important to always acknowledge every success and tell another person about it. Every piece of positive feedback moves us forward.

- - Jukka Jalonen

Dealing with Difficult Situations and Capitalizing on Good Moments

Jalonen's teams were known for being resilient and patient. The pressure from the media or fans could sometimes be felt within the team, but inside the national team, they kept a cool head. According to Jalonen, teams must have the courage to make changes, especially in national teams where competition is fierce and not all players can make the roster. To handle this, Jalonen has used a few methods during his career.

In Finland, players often want to gather together to hear who made the national team. That moment is happy for some and sad for others, but it's still an open process. In Italy, I tried something different: I told the players who were cut to send me a text message, and then I could tell them the specific reasons and give feedback over the phone. The last time, out of six players who were cut, four texted me and two did not.

- - Jukka Jalonen

Throughout his career, Jalonen has noticed that every country or club has its own culture. However, he emphasized that you must trust people regardless of the country they're from. People everywhere in the world want to be heard. Still, acknowledging different cultures shows up in many ways in the day-to-day life of coaching.

In Russia, we didn't do group work. They are used to the coach leading and telling them what to do. In Sweden and Finland, there's a lot of discussion. In Italy, there's a lot of emotion in the game. In all these different cultures, you have to understand their specific characteristics and adapt to them.

- - Jukka Jalonen

At the end of his business seminar speech, Jalonen reminded the audience that teamwork requires selflessness. He wanted the audience to remember from his speech, above all, that together we can be more than the sum of our parts.

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Valtteri Karjula (@valtterikarjula) on X A curious writer chasing captivating stories and intense steam. Skater. Sauna fanatic. @nhl enthusiast. PR.