Leading For Creativity.
Leading With a Strong Point of View
Organization’s Purpose and Vision.
I am in the process of starting a business that will bring bespoke teams with outsiders (experts from very diverse backgrounds) to intensify, versify and deepen the empathy and insights in an early design stage of businesses.
My Purpose.
Bringing the outsiders insight empowers corporations with the expertise they need to build an authentic, inclusive, and empathic product or service.
My Vision.
The world I want to see is that corporations work together with a variety of eyes, bodies, and feelings so that they can truly empathize, feel and see what is possible. This way, they can use their teams, knowledge, expertise, and skills to create a meaningful impact because they built on the foundation of golden insights shared by the outsiders.
Three Problems.
Transformation.
Transitioning into a new leadership position, transformation into a new role, entering a new world.
Outsider.
I am bringing my rich network of outsiders, rebels, misfits, witches, and creative thinkers. I know their value for corporate businesses because I have been in touch with some insiders who come outside. However, I am still one of the outsiders, and I don't have the right connections on the corporate inside yet.
Corporate Resistance.
The image that the outsiders, rebels, misfits, creative thinkers form a risk, a threat.
Outside / Inside.
When I was thinking about these, the following image came to me. From my studio window, I am looking at the cities fortifications built in the 12th century, and it sparked a picture that illustrates my three problems.
In this image, you see:
me, the woman
the outsiders, the dragon
the corporates, the people behind the wall
the corporate resistance, the knight
Problem 2
I don't have the right connections on the corporate inside
Reminder to self > Be broad enough to be inspiring, not too abstract, narrow enough to be actionable, but not too directive.
How Might I embody a more fitting leadership style to connect to the corporates: From a sweet Mary into a Joan of Arc?
How Might I reach the leaders on the other side of the wall?
How Might I deliver/communicate the message of the value of inviting the outsiders to the table?
How Might I make myself and my network more visible, so they come to us?
How Might I create a vehicle to bring my network of outsiders into the establishment?
How might I create a vehicle to bring my network of outsiders into the establishment?
Leading Through Culture.
Gaps & Tensions
As a soloist, I am invited into existing cultures and asked to inject existing cultures with new impulses. So, I am bringing a new perspective. Or, I am creating/hosting/facilitating a temporary culture by bringing people together to collaborate for a specific time. I have always seen myself giving people a peek into different cultures, which are not necessarily mine either. So I am more like a tour guide, a translator, or a guide building bridges between cultures.
Unity.
When I am looking at the culture between my diverse global network of experts, outsiders, rebels, misfits, creative thinkers one of the things that are missing is a feeling of unity. They are spread around the world, and most of them are not even aware yet that they are part of my pool of experts.
No ‘Home’ • No Physical Space • No Solid Ground • No Vehicle • No Common Ground
Commitment.
I am curating bespoke teams to bring new perspectives and ideas. The tension there is that it is hard to create a long-term commitment when I work with temporary and changing teams. And the teams will be working on external problems which might not give them a sense of ownership. They will be injected for a short time.
Temporary Teams • No Longterm Commitment • Ownership • Teams Doesn’t Exist Yet • Between Cultures
Flip the tension
Finding a way to create a culture between cultures
Reminder to self > Be broad enough to be inspiring, not too abstract, narrow enough to be actionable, but not too directive.
How Might We use our diversity to our advantage?
How Might We create unity and commitment between outsiders?
How Might We create an inspiring setting to connect while being across the world?
How Might We create a vehicle that creates a unity of outsiders which attracts leaders out of their establishment?
Brainstorm.
To design a ritual I looked at ways to create a culture between cultures and find ways to celebrate the diversity of being between the different cultures of our outsiders. I have then organized them into three categories.
Physical
Studio Tours / City Tour
Have Something Tangible
Bring The Team & Clients Together
Bi-Annual Event (Physical)
Bringing Team Together Through Travel
Digital
Bi-Annual Event (Digital)
Invite New Outsider
Make Digital Meetings An Experience
Easy Connection Through Phone
Human Connection Without Being There Physically
Hybrid
15 Min Weekly Live
Make Our Shared Space An Experience
Using Video To See Into The World
Peek Into The Lives of Outsiders
Create Short Video of Studio Visits
Inspiration
Something Tangible Create Badges for Each Project, and one for being a family member of the business.
Create Short Video of Studio Visits / Peek Into The Lives of Outsiders This is an example of the videos I have in mind that I wish could be made from some of the visits I make.
Bi-Annual Event This is one of the most inspiring festivals I have worked with (Into The Great Wide Open). It inspires me for a physical event that brings people together on an island, or some other inspiring place to create new work together.
Outside/In:
15 minute Live which gives a peek into the world of our outsiders.
I want to invite one of the outsiders from my network to take us to a special place for 15 minutes on a live call. Right now all the live calls are through zoom and behind desktops, which makes every place the same. I want to go outside with them, to their studio, a special place in town, or somewhere special they want to show us.
I am thinking to plan this for next week, for I have to invite a few people to join us and invite someone to show us around. I have been talking to one person about this idea a few months ago, so we'll just have to make this happen now!
It can also be something like these short videos where Ben is taking us on adventures, climbing into trees if he wants to show us the best experience of a sunrise:
I am planning to do this soon. I hope I'll be able to make it happen before I travel to Peru myself. I am leaving before the course is over, so hope to arrange it before then. But the TikTok from Ben shared here is a good example. The other experience of having someone take you out into town, I experienced myself on two occasions:
One where people in the Netherlands went out into the street, which had a lot of wind, and the connection with the people at home was unstable. The same problem of instability of wifi was when we walked out into a village in Thailand with a local there. I have to say the experience of being there live with him and being able to ask him questions and to show certain things from a bit closer was magical! That is a special moment that you don't have when it is prerecorded as with the example above.