Author: Salla Aaltonen based on Ole Harald Utvik’s presentation on RMP Nordic webinar 3/2025
Equinor (formerly Statoil) is a Norwegian-owned energy corporation and one of the largest energy distributors in Europe. The company has approximately 25,000 employees across more than 20 countries, with several hundred operational leaders, supervisors, and team managers at various levels. Equinor has established an Operational Leadership Development Program. One key element of this program is the Reiss Motivation Profile® (RMP) tool. Ole Harald Utvik, head of operational leadership development at Equinor, shared insights on the use of RMP as part of the company’s Operational Leadership Program in a webinar hosted by RMP Nordic in March 2025.
Ole Harald mentioned that Equinor has a long tradition of utilizing RMP. The tool has been used in leadership development since 2013, and currently, the company has nearly ten certified in-house RMP coaches. RMP profiles have been created for approximately 700-800 company employees and leaders.
The Versatile Use of RMP in Equinor’s Operational Leadership Development Program
In its Operational Leadership Development Program, Equinor integrates the Reiss Motivation Profile® (RMP) into various phases of the program. RMP serves as an effective starting point for identifying key leadership insights, such as:
- What motivates a leader and how they lead themselves
- Potential sources of conflict and misunderstandings in leadership
- A leader’s blind spots and how “self-hugging” (the overevaluation of one’s own values) might manifest in their leadership approach
Ole Harald outlined numerous benefits of RMP in leadership and leadership development. He emphasized that RMP provides a common language for discussing motivation and engagement, establishing a shared foundation for meaningful dialogue. According to him, essential leadership skills include the ability to build trust, manage interpersonal relationships, and understand how others perceive one’s leadership. RMP enhances all these aspects and serves also as an excellent tool for introducing team members working remotely from one another—especially relevant for Equinor’s international teams.
The greatest benefits of RMP for leaders have been identifying their own blind spots, understanding differences among team members, and respecting team diversity. It is crucial for a leader to understand their personal motivators and how these impact their leadership—for example, their willingness to take risks. Additionally, recognizing team members’ differing needs regarding feedback reception and team orientation allows leaders to reflect on whether their leadership style aligns with the team’s needs.
In his presentation, Ole Harald also shared key insights from his experience using RMP:
- It is more constructive and effective to focus on what motivates rather than what does not motivate.
- There are no inherently good or bad motivators – RMP always evaluates individual strengths.
- RMP offers vast opportunities for self-reflection and tools for team dialogues, but it requires time and willingness to explore various perspectives deeply.
To conclude, Ole Harald provided an example: If a leader is motivated for example by a high need for physical activity and a low need for tranquility, their work should be evaluated from these perspectives. How can leaders fulfill these motivators and thus commit more deeply to their work? Essential questions include how to structure the physical work environment, learning opportunities, work rhythms, and risk-taking opportunities.
Throughout the different phases of Equinor’s Operational Leadership Development Program, leaders’ motivational factors are revisited regularly. RMP can be leveraged for self-reflection, strengthening self-awareness, fostering psychological safety within teams, enhancing team engagement, and aligning leadership development with strategic priorities and decisions.
