Most companies list things like inclusion, diversity, and sustainability in their organizational values – but most of them probably aren’t “living” those values as much as they could be. One of our core beliefs here at Limelights is the power of facilitation to bring about long-term change. In other words, companies don’t change; people change companies. In order to bring about change, there must be people within who can facilitate that change – at least initially.
Here are a few tools we use to build facilitators of change in large, global companies:
1. Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model
We often start the change process using Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model, a framework that outlines eight clear steps to break down change:
Change – especially long-lasting, deep-rooted change – can be daunting and hard, but Kotter’s Model offers a simple solution to fundamentally change a business from within. The framework also has a strong focus on employee buy-in and communication, making it an effective tool for driving change across all levels.
👉 Put it into action right away! We made this Miro template based on Kotter’s Model to help you facilitate your change journey. You can also watch the video below, where our very own Joost de Leij explains how to make the most of the template:
2. SDG Impact Jam
To take the first step toward change, we also use the SDG Impact Jam canvas on Miro, a framework that encourages a structured, fast-paced process to empower everyone to collaborate.
During the SDG Impact Jam, you and your team will go through six steps:
📍 Select one of the SDGs that you can help accelerate within your company.
🥊 Discover how you can help and what is holding you back.
❌ Identify and define the biggest bottleneck to making an impact.
💡 Come up with solutions to overcome the bottleneck.
⚖️ Decide which solution works best based on the impact versus effort of your ideas.
🙋♀️ Determine clear action points (and who owns them) to execute.
It’s important to note that this process only works when everyone can be heard. We strongly believe that accelerating sustainability is not possible without inclusion. We use tools like Miro’s voting tools to make more inclusive decisions – in one session with 180 participants, we used Dot Voting in Miro to allow everyone to select their favorite ideas. This might sound rather simple, but it can actually have profound consequences. After the session, Joost received a private message from one participant that said, “This is the first time I’ve ever felt heard.”
Meetings, especially online, can often be dominated by extroverts who are comfortable talking in large group settings. Using tools like Miro as well as practical frameworks, we enable more people – particularly the introverts among us – to have a say. This creates stronger feelings of ownership among teams.
Using platforms like Miro is only one way to foster inclusion and ownership. For us, building inclusion goes beyond the tools we use, as we consistently aim to design interactive and inclusive experiences.
A success story: Creating Facilitators of Change at Royal HaskoningDHV Digital
To demonstrate the power of people in driving change, let us tell you about a case in which we ran a two-day, online session with 150 employees at Royal HaskoningDHV Digital. Beforehand, we trained a team of 10 staff members with key facilitation skills – they would serve as the facilitators for the online session. Using tools like Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model and the SDG Impact Jam, these in-company facilitators worked with their respective teams to propose business solutions for different challenges.
🔟 teams 🔟 sprints 🔟 prototypes
All in all, our Facilitators of Change session resulted in:
🚀 Alignment on strategic ideas for driving further change and innovation within the company.
🚀 An ambitious team of 10 action-ready in-company facilitators, trained in facilitating online sprint workshops (thus expanding their leadership potential).
🚀 A community of employees connected by a shared vision for the future of Royal HaskoningDHV Digital.
👉 Want to make inclusion & sustainability a reality in your organization? Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you cultivate facilitators of change in your company.
A version of this article was originally published on Miro.
