Changemaking at Work

Promoting cultural change within your business

During the Vision Summit 2013 and the Young Leaders for Sustainability Forum, recommendations for intrapreneurs regarding sustainable business were developed based on real challenges. Together we reflected on how cultural change in the working environment can be actively shaped and promoted.
The workshop was based on impulses provided by the following experts: Jade Buddenberg (Collective Leadership Institute), Ralf Dürrwang (Corp. Citizenship, Deutsche Post DHL), Dennis Hoenig-Ohnsorg (Ashoka Germany), Barbara Hoyer (Young Leaders for Sustainability), Dr. Jörg Sander (Detecon International), Dr. Ingo Stolz (Stolz Consulting).

nextlearning designed and moderated the workshop in cooperation with projekt:raum, Rostock.

The results of the workshop consisted of concrete recommendations for sustainable business:

In the field of STRATEGY

• Exploring new horizons: away from path dependencies, influencing core business towards a decision for philanthropy and shared value
  
• Redefining objectives: employee participation, identifying the greater tasks of the company and thereby developing other solutions
• Foresight: developing medium and long-term perspectives
• Clear strategy for employee participation: when and where and what is there to do?
• Providing a clear understanding of roles: responsibilities of the organization and the employees
• Support and motivation from above: multi-level sponsorship

In the field of STRUCTURE

• Opening!: in identifying goals, in fields of action (liquefying borders, cooperating with NGOs and the public sector), getting outside input
  
• Anchoring the vision in management structures: goals, controlling, bonuses
• Communication beyond hierarchies: working groups of changemakers
• Mechanisms for the harmonization of top-down and bottom-up initiatives
  

In the field of CULTURE

• Transparency in change processes
  
• Trust in personnel and their ideas
• Encouraging and rewarding questions
• Addressing failure: Learning from processes with "fail fests"
• Creating physical and mental spaces for exchange (personal, creative, inspiration from the environment and culture)
• Establishing a learning attitude: We are on the path together
• In the field of HUMAN RESOURCES
• Identifying needs of employees: "listening"
• Recognizing talent and making it visible: regardless of position, matching, actively from the company, database for skills and competences
• Change vs. retaining the good "Preservation agents"
• Investing in the creativity and reflection of employees: consciously scheduling time and effort
• Making 5% of the time and effort of the employees / change-agents available during daily work for social innovation, energy levels and balance

Changemaking at Work
Partners: projekt:raum Rostock
Collective Leadership Insitute
Location: Urania, GIZ, Berlin
Format: Workshop, moderation
Period: 2013
Link

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