Forget your ‘soft era’: MBA grad-turned-Air bp director embraces disagreement & discomfort

You might think that a great team comprises people who think alike, get along easily, and never challenge one another. 

Linn Tonsberg has learned the opposite. At Air bp, the specialised aviation division of energy giant BP, she leads teams across the Middle East and Africa. And what she sees from that senior post in a male-dominated field is this: the best work often comes from discomfort, not harmony. 

Armed with a global education from INSEAD  

A Norwegian born in Hong Kong and raised around the world, Tonsberg is the kind of person who knows what she wants and works hard to get there. She pursued an MBA in 2012 precisely because she wanted to work in the energy sector.  

And it worked out. As of 2026, she has been working in Air bp 12 years, with her current role being the Director bp Aviation’s Middle East and Africa regions, as well as the Managing Director of bp’s Dubai office. 

Yet, despite her prolific resume, an MBA at INSEAD was a no-brainer. One major reason was the fact that INSEAD caps the nationality of each country at just 10% per cohort, forcing students to learn alongside people who don’t look like them.  

And as a graduate of International Relations and Entrepreneurial Leadership from Tufts University, she felt the MBA would let her fuse that and her interest in energy in a unique way.  

Plus, energy is a big part of Norway, and she had hoped to work in her home country – until she learnt about BP’s work and decided to grow her career there.  

Tonsberg recalls that early on during her INSEAD days, she was put in a group. They weren’t given very much information, so they were just operating within their own personal objectives.  

“My group was extremely diverse from backgrounds, both professionally as well as culturally. And we were a group of really ambitious people. We’re like, alright, this is our task, and this is how we’re going to go around about it,” she reminisnces. “And we completely failed in that task that was put forth to us.”  

Why? Because of communication – or lack thereof.  

“Had we all just told each other what our goals were, we would have been able to work together to get the optimum outcome, versus just keep it to ourselves and be very single-minded and competitive in that nature,” she says.  

“And that was a complete breakdown of how I thought I was going to do things and how I was going to experience INSEAD.” 

Another important lesson she learnt at INSEAD was the importance of building strengths rather than fixating on weaknesses. Before her MBA, Tonsberg was convinced she had to focus on her weaknesses and get better at it. But the truth is, sometimes, they are just never going to be your strengths.  

“That’s okay — double down where you’re strong, and then when you get to a point of leadership, build out teams that they can really fill out those weaknesses that you may have or where you’re not as strong,” she says. 

Tonsberg got her bachelor’s degree from Tufts University. Source: Linn Tonsberg

Diversity in not just identity, but opinions 

For Tonsberg, having a diverse team doesn’t just lie in representation of various identities – but different insights.  

“For me, what’s really important is that when we’re sitting in a room with my leadership team, or any sort of a meeting room, we should be fundamentally disagreeing,” she says. “If we are agreeing, it means I don’t have diversity around the table. If we have that diversity around the table and we are fundamentally disagreeing, then I have the right culture.”  

Psychological safety may be a buzzword, she admits, but without it, people stay quiet, and progress dies before it starts. 

“People who disagree very often are the most passionate. That means they care,” the Air bp director reminds.  

She builds that safety through structured meetings where debate is expected, not punished. 

When asked if there’s an example of how these diverse thought processes have had specific impact in her team, she can’t point to one. It happens constantly.  

“If I did [have an example], you know, I’d almost be sad to say that, because that means it will be a standout instance, versus it’s just how we do things,” she says.  

In a LinkedIn post, the Air bp director shares that her father is her “mentor, cheerleader, and a driving force behind my career”. Source: Linn Tonsberg

Not bossy, just a boss  

Since she was five years old, Tonsberg has been told she was bossy.  

But she was lucky to have people who told her “bossy” was just another word for leadership, and she believed them.  

It’s not easy as a woman to find mentors, especially a male-dominated sector, as humans are subconsciously wired to find kinship in people we see ourselves in.  

She pushed through those barriers anyway. 

Tonsberg believes that finding the right partner in life is critical to one’s success too. Source: Linn Tonsberg

To women hoping to lead — especially in industries where few women rise — her advice is simple. 

“Dream big and challenge the status quo,” she advises. “Limitations overall are very often just perception, and that is something that is within your control to change.”