01 - THE INVISIBLE CHESSBOARD

Power.

But what happens…

When you own the game you’re playing? ♟️

For 12 years, I watched organisations play chess.
I learned to read the board… the room.

The players. The alliances. The risks. The patterns.
The moves nobody talked about.

And eventually, I learned something uncomfortable…
Seeing the whole board doesn’t mean you control the game.

HR often sits remarkably close to power.

• We hear what others don’t.

• We anticipate.

• We advise

• We calculate.

Sometimes, we even become the Queen.
Strategically positioned… highly informed and influential.

But… Influence without decision rights isn’t power.
Because someone else still makes the move.

And when the game becomes uncomfortable… The Queen can be sacrificed.
But perhaps the problem isn’t only the player.

The board itself determines which moves are possible.

• The structure.

• The culture.

• The hierarchy.

• The invisible rules.

So ask yourself: Who built your board?
And why are you still playing by its rules?

I’ve spent years learning to read people.

Behaviour.
Patterns.
Motivations.
Risk.

That skill doesn’t disappear because I leave HR.
Strategy is still me.

Playing someone else’s game isn’t.
So maybe the next strategic move isn’t becoming a better piece.

Maybe it’s choosing your own board…

What happens when you own the game you’re playing? ♟️

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Qlassik Thoughts

By Kristina Nilsdotter Malmquist

Ideas worth feeling.
Thinking worth questioning.