OUTreach/ In Your Workplace
Photo by Geralt on Pixabay
Manila, 7 August 2019 — What change do you want to influence in your workplace this year?
Workplace
What do you mean, in your workplace? That’s the first question I was asked.
Your workplace means the business, organization, or project where you work, and specifically the people you work with. Perhaps they are with you in one location. Or, more likely these days, your team is spread out in several remote locations, in different cities, countries, and across timezones. Is your workplace in one location or spread out?
Purpose
What kind of change? For the leaders I work with, this is about making positive changes happen in support of their Big Purpose. Most often, that has something to do with sustainability and social impact, often expressed with the language of the Sustainable Development Goals—or the Global Goals as they’re also called.
Others refer to working for People, Planet, and Prosperity. Contributing to their big purpose (their big Why) gives them meaning in their life and work. Being inspired by that big purpose is what increasingly drives disruption, innovation, climate action, and social entrepreneurship in workplaces around our world.
Are you with me so far? Then let’s come back to the question.
Community of Leaders
What is the change that you want to influence in your workplace this year, that will contribute to that big purpose you are pursuing?
That question has been our focus of discussion over the past couple of weeks during the pre-launch phase of the Community of Leaders we are preparing to start next week. Influencing change in your workplace is what the community will be about.
We also discussed about a modern way of working in the community, using 21st-Century Skills and ushering in cutting-edge practices from the Future of Work that is already manifesting in workplaces around the globe. From the discussion, for example, we found that we’re keen to learn to work more collaboratively as peers, even if we are from diverse backgrounds and stages in our careers.
Think of it this way: 21st-Century Skills and the Future of Work are everyone’s concern, across the generations in our workplaces. That applies equally whether you are in Gen Y (Millennials), Gen X, the Boomers, or in the vanguard of Gen Z. Learning, unlearning, and relearning are something that all of us need to engage in. What better than to do that together, to influence and create change in our workplaces together, and share experiences as we go?
Collab
So, learning and experimenting together is what we will do in the community. We call it Collab: that means a combination of Col for collaboration and experimental learning as in a Lab for laboratory. Collab on-the-job, in our workplaces where we want to influence change.
In an earlier post Care to Collab, we discussed that three operative words will help you put Collab in action: Open, Discover, and Play. They also remind to lead with your heart, head, and feet.
Too Busy?
Among the leaders who said that they’re interested to join, some were concerned about the amount of time that being a member in the community would take. That’s a valid question, and it needs an answer. Being leaders, and identifying with being leaders, they are super busy already. Does that sound like you?
Our perspective and response is that you join the community to achieve the change that you want to influence in your workplace, and to accomplish that change more effectively, efficiently, and with more fun and satisfaction than by doing it on your own. It’s all about you leading change with Collab in your workplace. Moreover, in using 21st-century skills, we will use hacks and behaviors that take very little time to demonstrate.
Participation in the community will therefore, integrate seamlessly with the work you do every day, in a most practical way, through effective leadership behaviors. And, to keep us all focused on practical implementation and getting the results we want, joining the Community of Leaders will require a commitment from you to lead positive change together with three leaders you invite to grow and Collab with you.
That’s where the pre-launch discussions to date have helped a lot to clarify what interested leaders want to find in the community, and how to co-create the results and process we will use together.
Your Voice
Now, does this sound like a Community of Leaders you want to join? Then sign up to join the pre-launch discussion right away, as we still have a week to go and you can let us know what you are looking for, the change you want to influence in your workplace, and any questions you want to get answered.
Will the community be a good fit for you? If yes, then sign up here to join the discussion.
If you’re not sure yet, then let three guidelines help you.
Yes — if you are passionate to influence positive change in your workplace and you are an executive, an expert, or an emerging leader with at least two years of working experience after your college degree.
Yes — if you are an engineer, city planner, water manager, social entrepreneur, or other development professional and you are inspired by a big purpose for sustainability, social impact, people-planet-prosperity, or responsible climate action.
Yes — if you are ready to get out of your comfort zone and take on the challenge of growing leaders around you to influence change together in your workplace, while also leveling up your own communication and leadership skills in the process.
Membership is by invitation and free of charge—not free of commitment. When you sign up now, you can let us know what are you looking for in a community of leaders, to make sure it will be a good fit for you.