NEW FOUNDATIONS FOR LEARNING

Towards a sustainable work context

I offer project-based working methods to embrace the following components, all related to building a more sustainable work setting. I take these conditions and values seriously in my project activities, with respect to the current situation. The choice for these elements comes from new education by PBL, Project Based Learning, which is introduced some years ago in the frame:

'Concept Store for Artistic Strategies' is built partly on values from PBL. Though, the learning aspect of creating solutions is not the only component. There are multiple methods where people are assigned to deliver their own solutions to a problem, or designing their own possibilities, also present in business innovation strategies. For me the following components form the fundaments for all kinds of creative strategies to apply in project work:

• Content-driven work setting

The origin to start projects for the sake of improvement need to be content-driven. My strength lays in engaging and connecting people by inspiring projects, based on a vision and driven by a collective passion. For me this is a basic principle that needs to be underlined these days by the great weight of finance-driven motives to re-organize institutes, communities and organizations. This is driven by courage, more than by management competence if you ask me, because it indirectly forces us to stand for a vision, a belief, our ideals and dreams. And I have no problem functioning as an example for this.

• Process-based focus

Projects request a different time urgency. Work needs to be performed in a limited amount of time with a clear assignment from the start defined. I get inspired when the learning process of a project team as well as the development goals for the client or organization are taken into account. Therefor I prefer to to work in collaborative, co-creative setting, where the committed people define together the goals they want to achieve and by what standards, ideals or approaches. This opposed to a result-based, product-based or task-driven project methods where the focus is on the delivered products only. In my vision the process-based approach embraces more sustainable values for designing a work setting with people. To invest in people and make them owner of what they are doing and how they want to do it can only contribute to the health of an organizational work environment as well as engaging the actual delivered products to a social network or community.

• Self-managing attitude

I prefer bottom-up managing policies to lead people in their work and projects, especially when it concerns a re-organization assignment in an existing organization. I trust the potential of people in any kind of organization. It is just a matter of finding a way to invest, inspire and educate the people that are engaged in the project. Therefor, it is of great interest to define a managing frame for facilitating new project activities within a company beforehand. This needs to be prepared and integrated in a project plan. For me this connects to an inclusive approach towards working together: Form and content, policy and execution as well as defining professional roles and acknowledging individual talent belongs together within the facilitation during a project. The only way to facilitate that is by listening to the engaged people, gathering people that match well in working together like this of course, and delegating responsibilities towards people to gain trust in themselves, the team and therefor the project.