Currently, as an organizational consultant, I am supporting an ambitious, craft-oriented Westphalian medium-sized company with around 40 employees. The goal is to drive holistic company development while sustainably establishing a modern form of employee management. More specifically: transformation in the medium-sized business sector.
Our goal
We want to create a company that, after an intensive growth phase, not only gains structure and clarity but also consistently places its employees at the center. Because only in this way can a healthy and sustainable organization be created in the long term.
Establish management system
Together, we are working to develop a leadership system that, on the one hand, creates clear responsibilities and, on the other hand, enables distributed leadership. This creates a dynamic interplay between management and self-responsibility – fitting for the corporate culture.
Strategic employee participation
Especially in times of change, actively involving employees is crucial. That's why we focus on workshops, dialogues, and transparent communication. This way, we create a culture where everyone can contribute to strategic development alongside their day-to-day work.
Learning through leadership
Leadership development forms a central element of the transformation. Targeted coaching, continuous training, and practical impulses strengthen leadership qualities at all levels. This is not just about methods, but about attitude, effectiveness, and personal development.
Develop and align vision and goals
A shared focus on a vision and concrete, annual target images provides direction. Because only when there is clarity about the „why,“ „where,“ and „how“ can the path to the future be designed in an understandable and motivating way.
Methods and tools
To achieve these goals, we rely on proven as well as innovative methods:
- Elements from the LOOP approachhttps://www.thedive.com/en/the-loop-approach), to address changes appropriately and in well-portioned steps.
- Narrative methods to make invisible organizational knowledge visible and simultaneously promote the exchange about the future (according to Christine Erlach & Michael Müller).
- The values and principles backbone of the OKR framework, with the aim of making strategic work collaborative and purpose-drivenwww.die-agilen.de).
Tangible effect
A particularly noticeable example of the success of this work was when a technician from production met me about three months after the beginning of the transformation and said:
„Jens, good that you're here! I've been here for 10 years now – and in such a short time, a lot has really changed for the better.“
More than change
This transformation in the mid-sized sector is far more than just a structural change. It is a collaborative process in which agility is experienced not as a buzzword, but as an attitude and a daily practice on equal footing.
