Building a Culture of Enablement at Fortytwo

I’m writing this on my way home from a couple of exciting days in Fortytwo’s Oslo office. “How It’s Done” by KPop Demon Hunters is playing through my headphones (I blame this on my kids, hah) -- and the title couldn’t be more fitting. The last 48 hours have been all about exactly that: getting things done. Not just ticking boxes, but really moving things forward. We spent the time challenging how we operate, finding smarter ways to work, and shaping what the future of Fortytwo should look like.

There’s something about being in a room where ideas start clicking -- where people bring energy, honesty, and curiosity. That’s where progress happens. And that’s also where our enablement culture really comes to life.

What Enablement Means at Fortytwo

At Fortytwo, enablement isn’t a buzzword — it’s how we build, lead, and work together. To enable means to create the conditions for others to succeed. It’s about removing friction, sharing context, and helping people move forward with confidence.

Those of us in leadership roles see enablement as a shared responsibility, not a title. It’s less about steering and more about listening — understanding what’s getting in people’s way and figuring out how to make their path clearer. The real measure of leadership, we’ve learned, is how well the people around you can thrive without constant direction.

For other companies trying to build something similar, it starts there: teach leaders to ask “What’s in your way?” instead of “What’s your status?” When leadership becomes an act of service rather than control, everything else begins to flow faster.

How It Shows Up Across Teams

Enablement shows up differently depending on where you sit. For our engineering teams, it might mean automating a deployment so no one wastes time on repetitive tasks. For sales and marketing, it means equipping people with the tools, insight, and clarity to tell our story and act fast. For product leads, it’s building frameworks that simplify complex decisions.

But the most powerful form of enablement often goes unnoticed — what we call micro-enablement. The five-minute fix, the quick handoff, a script that saves someone an hour on the next project. Those small moments create compounding value over time. The more teams recognize and celebrate those everyday actions, the stronger the culture becomes.

The Freedom to Create and Own

Enablement also means giving people room to move. At Fortytwo, everyone has the freedom to create, define, and take ownership, guided by a shared strategy and vision. We’ve learned that alignment doesn’t come from tight control — it comes from trust.

For other companies, scaling this balance means giving people clarity on the direction of travel, then trusting them to chart their own route. Provide context, not commands. Build frameworks that guide, not dictate. When people understand the “why,” they’ll figure out the “how.”

Always Refining, Always Moving

Enablement isn’t a static system — it’s a practice. We’re constantly refining how we work. We bounce ideas off each other, consult, challenge, and debate. We don’t aim for perfection; we aim for progress.

The key is keeping enablement action-oriented. It’s easy for it to drift into meetings and documents, but the real impact comes when ideas turn into action. The principle we live by is simple: progress over polish.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what defines Fortytwo.

We enable each other to make things better — and then we actually do it.