finding the soul

purpose, values and volition in organisations

soul.com has developed a well-structured programme called “finding the soul”. Its primary objective is to give direction and meaning to the organisation and to build a strong foundation for working in unity. 

It consists of a series of workshops in which the purpose, volition and values of the organisation are made explicit through a process of sharing stories. About the history of the organisation, the culture, milestones, turning points, and victories. Through these stories, the essence of the company is uncovered and defined. These workshops are facilitated by soul.com facilitators or by people in the organisation themselves who are then trained and accompanied by soul.com staff. It can be done online or offline. 

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stories

Stories. Your organisation is full of them. Stories of success, joy, sacrifice, perseverance, care, teamwork, and more. Such stories tell the story of who you are as an organisation and what strengths you have together. When we are able to discover the underlying patterns in all these stories, we have found the soul of the organisation.

unity-in-diversity

soul of your organisation

The soul of an organisation is visible in those intangible things that matter most: how people relate to each other (values), what motivates us to do our work (volition), and how our organisation is contributing to a more just and sustainable society (purpose):

Shared Values

Values describe how we relate to each other. They give guidance to our behaviour, attitudes and decisions. Shared values bring social cohesion and bind people together. When people share values, they have laid a strong foundation for lasting collaboration. They promote trust, respect, and friendship between people. Values make community happen. 

Common Purpose

The purpose describes how our work contributes to a more just and prosperous world. A purpose changes one’s perspective from survival to becoming a source of progress to others. A common purpose unites and inspires people. It sets priorities and creates alignment. Being clear about the organizational purpose makes our work meaningful.

Collective Volition

This will power is our collective intrinsic motivation: not because we are told to do so, but because we want to. This volition propels individuals to work from the heart. It gives energy and joy. When we become aware of our collective volition, we can create the conditions for us to work as one and to achieve amazing results together.

finding the soul

soul.com has developed a well-structured programme called “finding the soul” to give direction to the company and provide a strong foundation to work in unity. It consists of a series of workshops where people share stories with each other and gradually make the soul explicit and thus define the essence of the company. These workshops are facilitated by soul.com facilitators or by people in the organisation themselves who are then accompanied by soul.com staff. It can be done online or offline. 

for the people, by the people

Identifying the purpose, values and volition is not done by just a handful of people and then “rolled out” to the rest of the organisation. It is important to engage as many people in the “finding the soul”-workshops with the greatest diversity as possible (different positions within the company, age, experience, gender, background, etc.). It would be desirable, moreover, to have the entire Management Team present, as well as representation of the middle management, if applicable.

systemic growth

In order to make more impact and to reach more people quickly within the organisation, some of the participants can be trained as facilitators for the program. They do this by participating in the capacity building program Soul-driven Leadership course 1 (trust) and 2 (hope). In addition, they will study the program “finding the soul” in greater depth. These people will be accompanied by facilitators of soul.com in their efforts to facilitate the program.

After this, many more people can be accompanied by these trained facilitators, the organisation can scale the efforts to anyone interested. Together they change the culture, practices and reality of the organisation. 

outcome and results

Besides bringing greater alignment and shared enthusiasm of who we are as a company and where we are going, the programme “finding the soul” does more.

It helps people to build their capacity to have conversations with each other about what binds them together and why their work matters. Participants learn how to listen to each other, increase their understanding and appreciation for each other, and develop greater ownership for their work and their company. As a result, more social cohesion is created between teams, departments and management. Finding the soul is a must for every organization that needs:

  • to grow considerably in the coming years 
  • to collaborate with a wide diverse group of companies or people, such as cooperatives, network organisations, and the like
  • to consolidate different cultures into one forward movement because of mergers and acquisitions
  • to profoundly change its culture to make their work meaningful and sustainable
  • to create alignment and cohesion within the organisation

Are you interested in our program?

Please fill in the form below and one of our colleagues will contact you for a personal conversation.