Stimulansz is a Dutch non-profit organization that works in, for and with municipal organizations. Its 70 consultants, each an expert in one or more social disciplines, focus on improving the quality and quantity of public services. The approach provides sustainable support and empowerment for the civil servants involved to optimize their own work in the service of citizens and society. After working as a manager at Stimulansz, Evelien Meester was given the confidence to continue her career as a director at the beginning of this year. Her surname refers to mastery, a — in her words — never-ending path of continuous learning and being less and less sure of what you think you know.
Reflections on Evelien's Connective Leadership Mirror Profile
On the premise that Evelien recognizes herself in the low Blue (Control) and Red (Dominance), high Orange (Getting New Results) and Turquoise (Holistic Coherence), her first reaction is: “A long time ago my DISC profile showed so much Red that I must have been a very unfriendly person if that was true. However, I think I have moved quite a bit over the years, especially in the direction of not knowing. The more I read, the more different truths and wisdom I learn. The suggestion that the turquoise-orange profile is reminiscent of activist leadership — Greenpeace? Amnesty? — or Margaret Wheatley's “Warrior for the Human Spirit”, the relentless do-gooder who acts with wisdom and patience, makes Evelien realize that she has gradually become more patient.”
Examples of Connecting Leadership?
Evelien: “I am reminded of a former manager who really saw me, my qualities and my lesser sides. And no doubt he saw the same in my colleagues, so that these different qualities reinforced rather than disturbed each other. Funnily enough, you don't notice much of this at work, other than the feeling that everything is going well. It is only when things start to grate in the workplace that you realize something is missing … good relationships”. She is reminded of Marcus Buckingham, who shifts from the usual focus on strengths and weaknesses to the qualities and actions that make you happy as a person: “The best thing, of course, is for colleagues to discover and nurture these qualities in each other. One of my first initiatives is to promote working in integral teams, and we are already seeing the energetic and creative results. The diversity of people can make things very lively. All in all, it is quite wise to connect with a colleague who is completely different — after all, we often seek out our like-minded peers — and I hope to set an example by often joining these teams and seeking connection myself.”
How do you make a difference?
It seems a paradoxical question: How do you make a difference? Stimulansz is particularly successful when it can develop something new, something different, together with the municipalities. Of course, the 70 colleagues at Stimulansz are by definition different. It is by working together and combining these differences that the best solutions are found. It seems so easy to assume that everyone will take advantage of this. When asked about her focus for the future, Evelien says: “We live in a time of great differences, in society, between rich and poor, in political views. It is inevitable that our 70 colleagues are equally reflective and therefore diverse not only in their advisory skills but also in their personal opinions. Add to this the fact that they are directly involved through their work in issues such as poverty, the multicultural society, the reception of refugees, cuts in municipal budgets, and I can imagine that they have their own concerns, which can sometimes be expressed in the workplace or even lead to conflicts. I hope that we will be able to maintain and develop the quality of communication in order to maintain good relations. By this I do not mean, of course, that we grow towards each other and become the same, but that we respect each other's uniqueness and otherness. Take me as an example. I have been blessed with a mountain of energy. I work a lot and love to work, I am always reading a pile of books, running means anything longer than a marathon to me, and so I am the director here. Furthermore, I find that sometimes this creates distance, or worse: as if I expect others to do the same. My challenge is to understand that, not to compromise myself and to maximize the value of my colleagues. How do you do this? I'm still discovering it. But it can only be successful in a joint context.”
