Cases
Practical Insights: How Change Succeeds
Every organization has its own dynamics – and that’s exactly what makes change so exciting. Here, you’ll find real insights into my work through cases from organizational development, team development, goal setting, and conflict resolution.
- Short glimpses into my previous projects show how organizations and teams drive change.
- Looking for more details, methods, and learnings? On my blog, I share growing success stories and new ideas.
Creative Agency | Strategy
CONTEXT
In 2023, the organization set out to refine its strategy, translating vision into actionable goals and measurable outcomes. The challenge: balancing core values with sustainable growth. Since January 2022, the organization has been balancing identity preservation with market expansion.
VISION FOR CHANGE
- Teams are aligned around value creation and customer-centricity.
- Company-wide objectives are clearly defined and transparently aligned across all levels.
- Work processes are structured around strategic objectives and priorities.
FIRST STEPS | KICK-OFF
- Teams and Circles prioritize value-driven customer engagement through structured collaboration.
- Objectives are defined, openly communicated, and aligned across all teams.
Work processes are restructured into agile Circles to enhance efficiency and adaptability.
THE CHANGE
- A well-defined business model enhances strategic clarity and decision-making.
- Dedicated structures ensure strategic work beyond daily operations.
- Establishment of interdisciplinary teams with shared responsibilities to enhance customer value.
- Core principles provide consistency in focus and decision-making.
- A single source of truth enhances transparency across all levels.
- Progress is continuously communicated and shared, ensuring alignment and participation.
SUMMARY | MAIN FOCUS
By turning vision into action, we built a unified strategy that drives informed decision-making and structured, scalable growth. Through iterative retrospectives, we refined the objectives process, empowering teams to define their own KPIs. Transparent communication fostered alignment, engagement, and long-term adaptability across the organization.
Global human rights organization
CONTEXT
By 2022, the team had experienced significant growth, leading to the emergence of new roles driving the organization’s digital transformation. The implementation of Salesforce has been a key driver of change in recent months.
As a result, the team has become more diverse, with varying levels of expertise and specialization. This has highlighted the need to strengthen team cohesion and ensure seamless collaboration.
VISION FOR CHANGE
- Strategic and structured development of team functions
- Establish a unified, collaborative, and appreciative team culture
- Define and implement effective ways of working to enhance efficiency and engagement
FIRST STEPS | KICK-OFF
- Team development and structured dialogue:
- Creating a safe and open environment for transparent discussions
- Identifying key areas for improvement and alignment
- Establishing proactive conflict resolution mechanisms
- Defining clear agreements and commitments for collaboration
THE CHANGE
- Stronger alignment between traditional fundraising and digital transformation
- Team-driven initiatives to foster collaboration and engagement
- Implementation of a structured framework for conflict resolution within the team
SUMMARY | MAIN FOCUS
This transformation focuses on improving collaboration, optimizing alignment, and embedding a sustainable conflict resolution framework. A transparent and structured team environment provides the foundation for effective teamwork, strategic clarity, and long-term success.
Global Distribution Business | DACH
CONTEXT
The organization has embarked on its journey to becoming a Teal Organization in the sense of Frederic Laloux. This transformation is driven by the need for structured change and sustainable organizational development.
In this context, “Teal” means developing a future-ready operating system that provides employees with:
- Clear structures and effective collaboration tools
- Empowerment to continuously refine and optimize ways of working
Employees are encouraged to work both in and on the organization, actively shaping its development. Transparency in decision-making, responsibilities, and roles, as well as structured communication, are essential elements of an efficient, self-organized company structure.
VISION FOR CHANGE
- Establish clear roles and decision-making ownership to foster accountability and collaboration
- Cultivate an open feedback and learning culture to enable continuous improvement
- Develop efficient, result-oriented, and transparent processes to strengthen collaboration and trust
- Clearly define roles, responsibilities, and tasks
- Implement structured frameworks for transparency and decision-making accountability
Introduce regular feedback mechanisms to enhance agility and effectiveness
FIRST STEPS | KICK-OFF
- Define responsibilities across an interdisciplinary value-creation process
- Implement clear role definitions and task assignments to ensure operational efficiency
- Establish decision-making frameworks to enhance transparency and effectiveness
THE CHANGE
- Establish clear responsibilities across a company-wide value-creation process
- Implement efficient meeting and communication routines to optimize collaboration and alignment
- Form circles with shared accountabilities
- Enable self-organized teams to refine processes and enhance accountability
- Introduce performance and impact metrics to guide and optimize decision-making
SUMMARY | MAIN FOCUS
This transformation builds a transparent, accountable, and adaptive organization, fostering long-term success. By embedding structured processes and a culture of accountability, the organization creates a resilient and agile framework for sustainable growth.
External IT Fullservice Partner
CONTEXT
By 2022, the team had experienced significant growth, leading to the emergence of new roles driving the organization’s digital transformation. The implementation of Salesforce has been a key driver of change in recent months.
As a result, the team has become more diverse, with varying levels of expertise and specialization. This has highlighted the need to strengthen team cohesion and ensure seamless collaboration.
VISION FOR CHANGE
- Strategic and structured development of team functions
- Establish a unified, collaborative, and appreciative team culture
- Define and implement effective ways of working to enhance efficiency and engagement
- Enable autonomous operations by 2025, allowing for a seamless CEO transition
- Design and continuously optimize a tailored operating system
FIRST STEPS | KICK-OFF
- Team development and structured dialogue:
- Creating a safe and open environment for transparent discussions
- Identifying key areas for improvement and alignment
- Establishing proactive conflict resolution mechanisms
- Defining clear agreements and commitments for collaboration
THE CHANGE
- Stronger alignment between traditional fundraising and digital transformation
- Team-driven initiatives to foster collaboration and engagement
- Establishment of Circles and Roles with defined Purpose, Domains, and Accountabilities across all teams
- Formation of cross-functional Circles with distributed responsibilities
- Implementation of structured goal-setting frameworks and measurable effectiveness indicators
- Adoption of agile governance practices to ensure adaptability
SUMMARY | MAIN FOCUS
This transformation establishes a framework for self-managed teams, distributed accountability, and agile governance, ensuring adaptability and long-term strategic alignment. The goal is to build a scalable, self-sustaining operating model that enhances long-term adaptability, strategic coherence, and operational independence.
Contact
Wähle dir über den Button einen Termin aus. Alternativ erreichst du mich hier.
Email: heike@yourlifematters.de
Phone: 0163 4662151
LinkedIn: Heike Ehmann
Instagram @yourlifematters.de
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