Building Workplaces That Truly Support Change-Makers
Creating a workplace that works for change-makers, not against them, is no small feat. It’s about empowering teams of passionate change workers to navigate challenges together, moving forward with alignment, trust, and psychological safety. As teams grow, it’s easy for information to get stuck, values to blur, and alignment to slip away. Suddenly, the purpose that once felt so clear seems just out of reach. And some days? It feels like no compromise will ever satisfy every passionate voice on the team. So, how do these teams keep working together without bitterness or loss of trust? It’s a tricky balance between making a positive impact and the pressure to turn a profit, which often forces compromises that feel like they chip away at the original mission. Messaging has to be adjusted to secure funding—because without money, there’s no team to worry about. Burnout looms large under this kind of pressure, especially when conventional commercial wisdom around change work feels utterly out of touch.
The Main Benefit: Navigating Tensions with Intentionality
Change-maker teams face unique tensions, but with the right approach, these can be navigated successfully. Here’s what makes this approach stand out:
- Commitment to intentionality and deep critical introspection
- Use of tools like structural organizational trust and organic learning principles
- Focus on inclusion, belonging, and radical hope
- Emphasis on cognitive flexibility and shamelessly asking all the questions
- Workshop facilitation designed to spark honest, hard conversations
- Relentless encouragement and support throughout the process
Understanding the Unique Challenges of Change Teams
Every team is unique, but many share common struggles. They want to work with people who genuinely care about the impact of their work. They crave a team that’s different—daring, creative, effective. And above all, they want to leave the world better than they found it. Yet, as teams grow, the clarity of purpose can get clouded by competing priorities and the pressure to compromise. This often leads to frustration, misalignment, and a sense of isolation. The key lies in addressing these underlying tensions head-on, rather than sweeping them under the rug.
Tools and Approaches That Make a Difference
To build workplaces that truly support change-makers, a toolbox of strategies is essential. These include:
- Structural organisational trust to build a solid foundation
- Organic learning principles that encourage continuous growth
- Inclusion and belonging to ensure every voice is heard
- Radical hope to keep the vision alive even in tough times
- Research-driven insights to inform decisions
- Cognitive flexibility to adapt and innovate
- Workshop facilitation that fosters open dialogue
These tools help teams move beyond surface-level fixes and create lasting change in how they collaborate and grow.
Education and Coaching for Sustainable Impact
Workshops, training sessions, and talks tailored to the needs of teams and leaders provide a powerful way to build knowledge and skills around structural trust, psychological safety, social impact, and inclusion. These sessions can be perfect for company days, offsites, or casual learning afternoons. Coaching offers ongoing support for change workers wrestling with the tension between purpose and business demands. It’s about having someone in your corner, cheering you on, and helping you find your way through the complexities without losing sight of what matters most.
Impact on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – by promoting psychological safety and reducing burnout
- SDG 4: Quality Education – through bespoke workshops and training
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – by fostering inclusive, trusting workplaces
- SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – through inclusion and belonging initiatives
- SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – by building organizational trust and ethical leadership
A Radical Optimist’s Vision for the Future of Work
With a background spanning research, linguistics, DEI, leadership, and organizational psychology, this approach brings a systems-thinking mindset to the challenge of “unshittifying” workplaces. Years of experience in sustainability and social impact, especially in the Nordics, provide a nuanced understanding of the realities behind the scenes. Having been a manager and leader in this space, there’s empathy for the difficult balancing act required. Mistakes have been made, lessons learned, and now there’s a passion for paying it forward—helping teams build strong trust, foster organic learning, and discover new ways of managing knowledge. This isn’t for everyone, though. If you’re not open to being challenged on long-held assumptions, this might not be your cup of tea. But if you can’t shake the feeling that workplaces and managers can—and should—do better, then this is exactly where you want to be.
