Mentimeter has helped bring inclusivity into boardrooms and conferences across the world: from the US to the UK, Australia to São Paulo, spectators have become participants as speakers have used our platform to make their presentations fun and interactive. Some of our international users believe that inclusivity is a Swedish thing. We would like to think so. Some have asked us if ‘flat hierarchies’ and giving everyone a voice is something to do with Jante: the Swedish social code which seems to confuse everyone outside of Sweden, and be a never ending topic of debate at home.
Some Swedes claim that Jante is what gives us an edge in business. Others state that dropping the Jante is the key to success. As we look to recruit new people (including roles within our sales, marketing, and product teams), we hear the same contradictory arguments… “the only Swedes good at sales are jante-free ones”; “understatedness is the key to success and that’s why Swedish design works”; “the Stockholm startup scene succeeds in spite of/because of Jante”.
At Mentimeter, we don’t really have a strong opinion either way or an answer to who has got Jante right (or how relevant it is to doing a job well), but as a Swedish company consisting of more than 13 nationalities, we thought it would be fun to offer you the chance to test your ‘Jante level’.
The test is anonymous but you can choose to share your score on social media if you like.
We have teamed-up with Dr Maria Appelqvist (the author of “You and Your Jante: A Travel Guide Into The Land of Jante”) of Malmö University, to create a Jante self-tester: a five minute, multiple choice test in which your responses to various scenarios are assessed to give you an idea of the extent to which you are governed by the laws of Jante.
One thing is for certain, whatever your score, don’t think that it makes you special...
Maria Appelqvist, Ph.D., is the author of “You and Your Jante: A Travel Guide Into The Land of Jante” (Swedish title: Du och din Jante - reseguide i Janteland). In addition to her role as a celebrated writer, Appelqvist is a doctor in sociology, researcher, and senior lecturer at Malmö University. She also works professionally as a business coach, helping leaders to reach their full professional potential by relinquishing their inner ‘Jante’ and other unconscious layers of shame.