92 | Democratizing Organizations To Democratize The World with Ralph Hoefliger

Sacred Changemakers

Our guest on the podcast today is Ralph Hoefliger, an OD consultant. Ralph has a deep purpose and passion to support organizations in their transformational change process, raising consciousness, and leading them to the essence of what makes them great. Ralph lives in Switzerland and as a citizen of that country, being a member of true democracy and having a say in how the country is run has truly inspired his passion to democratize organizations and the ripple effect this would have on the world.

Today Ralph shares his passion for helping leaders shift from feudalism to democracy and the immense benefits that bring to humanity. He shares some great examples of the benefits of systems thinking and creating role-based organizations where everyone understands the value they bring, He talks about how profit is a direct result of value and his vision for the future of business where everyone is included and engaged in their work. That sounds to me like a world where we could all thrive.

Listen in as Ralph talks us through his transformational process, the steps that move an organization towards democracy, and the benefits that bring to all involved. He works with leaders and employees to create safety, to hold the space for the ideas of all employees to be heard, and how when leaders are able to embrace a different perspective on their organizational systems, energy, ideas, and innovation flows. And to prove the efficacy of such a shift Ralph speaks to the structures inspired by Switzerland as a country that has taken them from being one of the poorest countries to one of the best places to live globally. So incredibly inspiring!

If you are a leader, consultant, or work within organizational life, I think you will gain some great insights from Ralph that will inspire you to harness the energy within different roles and the fractals of organizational life. I suspect you’ll enjoy Ralph's perspective on what we can do to bring more awareness and engagement into the workplace. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Key Takeaways

• Ralph’s own life experienced how living in Switzerland has inspired his work
• How to create the safety and the courage to democratize organizations
• What steps to take to harness the value and the energy of the organization
• Mindfulness and the systemic perspective
• How to foster self-organization and the benefits that are produced as a result

Memorable Quote

“Mindfulness is on the individual level, the capability to observe yourself, the state of yourself on all levels, and direct democracy is mindfulness on a systemic level”—Ralph Hoefliger

Episode Resources:

• Ralph’s Website - Hoefliger Partners
• Ralph’s Linkedin Profile
• Book: Democratizing Organizations (in English)
• Book: Democratizing Organizations (in German)
• SacredChangemakers.com
• Our Sacred Community
• Jayne Warrilow on Instagram

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