Incorporate IdentityInspiring people

Hélène Søpnel | TOTAL IDENTITY

Incorporate IdentityInspiring people

Hélène Søpnel

2008 TOTAL IDENTITY Amsterdam

“Tell me and I’ll forget;

Show me and I may remember;

Involve me and I’ll understand.”

Confucius (551 BC– 479 BC)

5

First of all...

Everything we surround ourselves with, from the sofa we sit on to the

company we work for, is a manifestation of our desire for self-realisation.

Not so much the brand, but the authenticity and essence of the organisa-

tion behind it play key roles in the way we express ourselves. This means

that an organisation is judged on the way it manages to make contact

with its stakeholders about essential subjects. Is the organisation able

to get to people and bind them to itself by making it clear what its right

to exist is and how it wishes to use its employees to develop?

If the idea behind job market communication is to inspire, then it must

first be clear what a company is really all about. What’s then required

is to convey this essence to the existing and prospective employees of

an organisation in an inspiring way. This involves more than simply for-

mulating a clear mission statement. It is about sharing and getting sup-

port for an ideological ambition. This requires an organisation to come

up with other competences than familiar concepts such as controllabil-

ity, efficiency and manageability.

If the organisation is capable of doing so and manages to go on to take

the next step and inspire its employees by getting them to contribute to

the ideological ambition, then what emerges is something that can best

be described as Incorporate Identity.

This essay will explore the content and the dynamics that take place

when Incorporate Identity occurs and it will explain why organisations

that manage to achieve this are more successful in attracting and inspir-

ing people.

6

7

Perspective 1

Job market communication in development.

Looking at how organisations communicate with the job market, it is pos-

sible to observe a development in the way that this happens. Up until

around 10 or 15 years ago, it was quite common for a recruitment adver-

tisement to explain what the job entailed, what requirements the candi-

date had to meet and what the organisation stood for. A link to the com-

pany website for further information would have been unusual because

the internet was less widespread than it is today. With the exception of

house style requirements, there is hardly any relationship between cor-

porate communication and a company’s job market communication.

Job market communication as one-way traffic

Many organisations still use job market communications as a one-way means

of communication through which the organisations announce who they are

and what they’re looking for. However, in a changing world in which people

are looking for authenticity and involvement, and in which organisations are

changing from closed fortresses into open network organisations, this

method of informing and announcing no longer has a place.

In the period that followed, organisations became aware of the need to

set themselves apart, not only in terms of product or service, but also

when it comes to recruiting people. The act of recruitment tries to convey

something of the organisation’s characteristics in addition to the famil-

iar list of requirements and corporate texts. Organisations spend increas-

ingly more time thinking about what sets them apart from other organ-

isations, which values the organisation is guided by and how these can

be used to put a message across. Moreover, job market communication

8

is gradually becoming more integrated with other forms of communica-

tion. Companies realise that what they voice at counter A has to match

what they say at counter B to people who are consumers at one moment,

but who, a week later, may be applying for a job at the same company.

Later on we saw messages in which companies no longer mention their val-

ues literally, but translate them into a more conceptual approach that can

be more widely deployed than for recruitment alone. In addition, this con-

cept also appeals at a deeper level than image and text, having the gener-

ation of feeling as its objective. A person often features in the message for

the purpose of identification. Integration with other forms of communica-

tion within the organisation is also frequently well carried out.

The above development which goes from ‘telling’ to ‘understanding’ via

‘showing’ matches the way in which the economy is developing from one

in which people purchase products and services which are attractive in

terms of price and (later) quality, to one in which people choose based on

projectmatig werkenanalytisch

communicatief

gepromoveerd

bruggenbouwer

Een hoofd en vijf inspirerende en ervaren beleidsmedewerkers

voor Academische Zaken

initiatiefrijk

Academische Zaken

Academische Zaken draagt bij aan eengoed onderzoek- en onderwijsklimaat.Ze adviseert rechtstreeks het Collegevan Bestuur en fungeert als intermediairtussen het College en de zeven faculteiten

op strategisch en tactisch niveau overthema’s als kwaliteitszorg en accreditatie,onderwijs vernieuwing, onderzoeksbe-leid en kennisvalorisatie. AcademischeZaken werkt in toenemende mate projectmatig.

Wat bieden wij

Een zeer afwisselende werkkring, metveel ruimte voor eigen initiatief. Vanuithartje stad, het Maagdenhuis, heeft uvoortdurend contact met medewerkersin de hele universiteit. De UvA biedt

uitstekende arbeidsvoorwaarden en eencollegiale werksfeer.

Wie zoeken wij

Ambitieuze specialisten met kennis vande universitaire wereld, leergierig eninitiatiefrijk. Bovenal kenmerkt een collega van Academische Zaken zichdoor denkkracht, analytisch vermogenen de vaardigheid om voor complexeproblemen in heldere bewoording oplossingen aan te dragen.

Hoofd Academische Zakenmax. ca. € 96.000, schaal 16Het hoofd geeft sturing aan de afdelingen leiding aan de collega’s. Hij/zijdraagt in zeer belangrijke mate bij aande formulering van het beleid en destrategie van de UvA op het gebied vanonderwijs en onderzoek. Deze functiewordt gecombineerd met één van de senior beleidsfuncties.

Senior beleidsmedewerker Onderwijs (1 fte) en een Senior beleidsmedewerker Onderzoek (1 fte)max. ca. € 80.000, schaal 14Deze senior beleidsmedewerkers ontwikkelen beleid en strategische doelenop het terrein van onderwijs of op hetgebied van onderzoek. Zij adviseren hetCollege van Bestuur en evalueren bestaand beleid. Zij zijn op de hoogtevan nieuwe ontwikkelingen in het inter-nationale wetenschappelijke onderwijsof onderzoek, anticiperen op nieuw beleid en ze ontwikkelen en onderhoudeneen relevant internationaal netwerk.

Beleidsmedewerker Internationalisering (1 fte)max. ca. € 67.000, schaal 12De beleidsmedewerker internationali-sering draagt bij aan de versterking vanhet internationale profiel van de UvAen ontwikkelt strategische doelen en

nieuw internationaliseringsbeleid. Hij/zijvolgt nauwlettend de ontwikkelingenbinnen de internationale onderwijs-markt, en ontwikkelt en onderhoudteen relevant internationaal netwerk.

Beleidsmedewerker Virtual Mobilityand Distance Learning (0,5 fte)max. ca. € 33.500-19 uur pw, schaal 12De beleidsmedewerker vertaalt univer-sitair onderwijsbeleid naar moderne ICT-toepassingen en adviseert en begeleidtuniversitaire projecten op dit terrein.De medewerker stemt het UvA-beleidaf met dat van de Hogeschool van Amsterdam.

Manager Quality Assurance (1 fte) max. ca. € 67.000, schaal 12Dit is een seniorfunctie op het terreinvan de kwaliteitsbewaking. De managerQuality Assurance heeft een taak bij deontwikkeling en handhaving van allekwaliteitsmanagementsystemen, en

draagt zorg voor een resultaatgerichtkwaliteitsmanagement.

Medewerker beleidsondersteuning(1 fte) max. ca. € 50.000, schaal 10Deze medewerker ondersteunt bij beleid- en besluitvorming, organiseert(commissie)vergaderingen, neemt deelaan projecten en ondersteunt bij fondsen-beheer. De functie is met name geschiktvoor een startende professional metambitie.

Inlichtingen

Meer informatie over de vacatures ende sollicitatieprocedure:www.uva.nl/vacatures

De sluitingstermijn voor solliciteren is 2 juni 2008.

Acquisitie naar aanleiding van deze vacature wordt niet op prijs gesteld. CG

O 0

8.26

5

De Universiteit van Amsterdam neemt internationaal een vooraanstaande plaats in en wil deze positie in

onderwijs en onderzoek stevig verankeren. Ze behoort tot de League of European Research Universities.

Een eervol lidmaatschap dat verplichtingen schept. Ons Instellingsplan 2007-2010 kreeg als motto mee

‘Leren Excelleren’. De gehele universitaire gemeenschap wordt nu nog meer uitgedaagd het beste uit

zichzelf te halen: de wetenschappelijke staf, de studenten en de ondersteunende diensten. De UvA is

ambitieus, kwalificeert zich op meerdere fronten tegelijk, en wil het momentum vasthouden. Om deze

ambities te realiseren maakt de afdeling Academische Zaken een nieuwe start met het werven van zes

beleidsmedewerkers. Eén van de senioren gaat de functie van hoofd van de afdeling vervullen.

9

the feeling that the product can induce. Who will I become if I buy this

product? Which product perfectly expresses who I am?

We now live in a world in which the individual goes one step further. They

no longer want a product whose origin is an organisation whose identity

is carefully managed. They want an artificially generated experience. This

individual wants authenticity and honest products made by organisations

that send out the message that they are made of flesh and blood. Organi-

sations that give us the feeling that they were born instead of just being

a ‘desirable image’ that was thought up on the drawing board.

Organisations are children of their time. The way in which they communi-

cate forms a true reflection of what preoccupies people at that moment.

In fact, organisations are in this respect nothing more and nothing less

than interpreters of mankind’s development process.

10

Perspective 2

Only that which is real exists

The need for authenticity in the world around us stems from an urge for

self-realisation, which each 21st century person has now that the most

immediate needs have been met. In addition, Generation Y is among us

and with it a large group of young people for whom personal develop-

ment is important.

We are continually thinking about who we are and how we can express

this through our interior design, our clothes and through the choices we

make, down to the smallest detail. Within the design of our own unique

self, products and services play a vital role. The authenticity of the organ-

isation behind the product or service determines how we associate our-

selves with it. Is it consistent in its behaviour and the messages it puts

out? Is it credible? Is it able to make its motives clear to me? And does

this all match the person I want to be? Does the product or employer fit

the image I want to project? Do I want to identify with it ... and, in no way

less important, does this employer want to identify with me?

Our desire to design ourselves is the outer projection of the way we

are occupied with ourselves. What we purchase in the physical world

is a manifestation of the movement to which our spiritual development

strives.

Self-realisation concerns finding the answer to the questions, ‘what does

the real me want?’ and ‘who am I and where do I want to be in my life?’

The need for authenticity is not the goal but a means in the search for the

answer to the question, ‘what does my true purpose consist of?’

11

Perspective 3

Inspiring as a condition

People demand authenticity from organisations, but there is an implicit,

underlying demand for contact with the real me. People want to feel some

connection and want to move towards their own essence. If the manner

in which organisations express themselves actually forms a reflection of

what motivates people, it means that organisations will increasingly be

occupied with their raison d’être.

The essence is the soul or the heart: it is the inner self that is affected if

something of substance occurs. From this core, inspiration, which forms

the basis for connection, can arise. If an organisation is to inspire, it has

to show something of its own essence and share this with its surround-

ings, otherwise it’s not going to get us very excited.

And yet we are more inclined to put energy into changing form. Changes

in essence go from here to somewhere. However, wherever this ‘some-

where’ may be, we cannot know in advance because it is concealed. The

goal is hidden like the stone in a peach.

Organisation

change

Showing change (in form)Current practice: Future:

Making it possible to experience the raison d’être

Showing change (in form)Current practice: Future:

Making it possible to experience the raison d’être

12

Changes in form can be established in advance. It’s a matter of setting the

goal and taking purposeful action. Changes in form can be carefully man-

aged. Profiling is a good example of a conscious moulding of the outside

of the whole while keeping an eye on a certain effect. Profiling is useful

and can bring about all kinds of feelings, but it doesn’t inspire.

Perspective 4

The humanised organisation

It is no easy task to move towards something that is invisible, has no

shape, is unknown and, what’s more, leaves you uncertain as to how you

are supposed to reach your goal. This is, however, what drives people.

After all, they are looking for inspiration and passion.

There is a striking similarity between a person and an organisation. In

fact, organisations, like people, are systems that possess their own iden-

tity and soul which develop according to the same principles and rules.

A person functions thanks to a model that has been internalised through

education and experience, enabling them to set their goals and work

towards them. However, the way a person functions isn’t only based on

this model. Each person also has a personal longing. It’s because of this

that we search for significance, driven by a desire to fully connect with

ourselves and our surroundings.

In that respect, organisations are not much different. On the one hand,

organisations consist of an industrial model in which there is regard for

the form that is deployed in order to reach objectives. On the other hand,

organisations consist of a learning and living component that has regard

for shared values, not just for management rules and for learning instead

of establishing. An organisation also has ambition, a longing or calling,

13

and asks itself what the relevance of its existence is, just like a person

does. Finally, organisations also strive to connect with their surroundings

and employees, their ideas and their efforts.

It’s in this collectiveness where the solution lies. The organisation is able

to start a movement and act as context for people who would like to

connect with an inspiring vision. While searching for a connecting inten-

tion, people’s response brings them in touch with their own dreams and

longings.

Organisations are asked to assume the role of a hero by putting across

their own personal and sincere philosophy in such a way that people

recognise their own longings in it. This philosophy then forms a binding

factor between the organisation and individual longing and also offers the

individual something to hold onto in accomplishing their personal share

within the context of a joint goal.

The hero and individual heroism

The role of hero is reserved for leaders who don’t go for self-centered

profit but for the ideal; for the bigger picture. An ideal needs people who

inspire because most people aren’t heroes, even though they are capa-

ble of recognising heroism by its heroic deeds, power, idealism and cour-

age. Heroes inspire, convince and motivate those people who are less

heroic. In the same way that a winner only exists by virtue of there being

a loser or losers, heroes can only exist by virtue of those who recognise

them as such.

Inspiring people is not just a matter of setting out a vision and depicting

a glorious goal. It is also about offering all participants the opportunity of

becoming heroes themselves by making their individual contribution part

14

of the whole system. What is important is space for the individual and a

collective reaction to the idealistic development of the organisation. The

learning process of both the organisation and its employees needs to be

facilitated. New insights and growth come about through the sharing of

ideas and visions, by working together, by letting go and applying new

ideas, and through respect for each person’s individual contribution. This

attention to the essence of the organisation - and thus the essence of

each individual - often leads to a change in form. By contrast, a change

in form will never bring about a change in essence.

Good leaders are able to bring about the feeling of solidarity among their

people. On the one hand, they see the unique contribution of each indi-

vidual and create space for it. Whereas, on the other hand, they know

how to link it to a vision, an inspiring view of the future or new oppor-

tunities. Good leaders are heroes. They invite others to participate in an

organisation’s heroism in order to experience for themselves what it’s

like to be a hero.

Perspective 5

Connecting occurs from two sides

Before inspiration can occur, an organisation has to adopt its own philoso-

phy and ideological ambition. It must then manage to unfold this ambition

in a clear and inspiring way for people inside and outside the organisation.

After that, people have to be invited to provide their own personal insights

with which to contribute to the idealistic development of the organisa-

tion. This does not concern a clearly defined task, but a personal inter-

pretation of what the organisation needs in terms of insights, initiatives

and solutions to get closer to its essence. New insights and growth come

15

about through the sharing of ideas, visions and opinions by people who

stimulate each other and work together. Barriers that block the way are

removed and deadwood is identified. This is how the organisation grows

towards its essence and each individual brings something entirely unique

and personal to the collective development, resulting in mutual inspira-

tion and connection.

This way, an internal dynamic that needs to be facilitated arises between

and with employees. The realisation that things are relatively unmanage-

able and the knowledge that there is a difference between achievability

and the ability for things to come into existence within certain frame-

works, is a key factor. After all, in the case of developments regarding the

essence of something, the way in which change is implemented is less

predictable. It requires letting go of what we have elevated to the prin-

ciples for successful management: ‘controllability, efficiency and man-

ageability’.

This is because we still think we can control our relationships, our work

and our organisations. However, this is only partly true. Our western way

of thinking is not only based on the logical cause and effect principle; as

our welfare increases, the idea that we are able to design our lives our-

selves has also grown. Nevertheless, there is little in our lives that we

fully control. We often ascribe much more influence to ourselves than is

actually the case.

Bringing things into existence demands the occasional willingness not to

steer, to dare to let go and to trust in what will arise with an unknown

future. Obviously, an organisation must set up and manage its business

16

processes; however, in addition, space is required for that which cannot

be forced. An organisation that realises this makes use of more than just

the knowledge and experience of its employees. It makes use of their full

potential which is not freed if management is looking over their shoulder

all the time, but can only be yielded if they are driven by a shared objec-

tive. The result therefore equals more than the sum of all its parts. Con-

trary to carrying out the usual tasks and living up to their responsibili-

ties, each employee voluntarily puts in a supreme and full effort in

exchange for personal inspiration. The moment individual and collective

heroism coincide is the moment Incorporate Identity begins. This is where

the inspiration belonging to the individual and the organisation unite.

Self

-rea

lisat

ion

Orga

nisa

tion

’s a

mbi

tion

Organisation Collective ideology Individual

Incorporate Identity

Deve

lopm

ent

of c

olle

ctiv

e id

eolo

gy

Internal

dynamics

17

Finally

Matchmaking in the future

An organisation is judged on the way it is able to make contact with its

stakeholders about what it sees as essential subjects. This is a key detail

for job market communication. Many companies formulate their mission

statement as a static expression from which every development is miss-

ing, and they now need to clarify the dynamics in their mission and ambi-

tion. Organisations must examine the question that addresses their right

to exist and which mission they are pursuing. Only when they dare to talk

about this and clarify how they wish to develop, with employee back-

ing, will an organisation be able to reach people and connect to them. An

organisation’s Incorporate Identity uses this to determine the success of

job market communication, which is aimed at inspiring people within and

outside the walls of the organisation.

What illustrates the lack of complete manageability of organisations is

the movement towards open and network-oriented organisations. These

are much less manageable than traditional, closed organisations that are

built up of clear units with respective goals.

We are heading towards learning and living organisations in which man-

agement exists alongside space for interaction between where the organ-

isation and the individual want to be. Organisations that make a link that

is meaningful and inspiring for both parties.

For job market communication, this means that the recruitment and selec-

tion of people based upon job profiles, competences or evaluations is no

longer sufficient. We are ready for a new interpretation of matchmaking

between organisations and potential employees. People will have to be

18

While writing this essay, I was inspired by the ideas of Wessel Ganzevoort and René Tissen,

among others.

selected not so much because of what they can do but because of who

they are. Personal qualities and the motivation to develop them in rela-

tion to their surroundings or employer will play a vital role. By seeing edu-

cational demands, competences and experience only as preconditions and

by paying more attention to vision, original ideas and having the courage

of conveying personal convictions, an organisation will open up other

paths. This enables obsolete structures or fixed ideas that stand in the

way of an organisation’s development to be dissolved.

Because the individual judges the organisation on its authenticity and

does so at every moment of contact, job market communication starts, in

fact, with the first step an organisation takes towards its rightful place.

On the road to relationships and connecting with its surroundings.

That’s why authenticity and consistency within what an organisation

does and says are of crucial importance. What an organisation claims

and does today has to match the personality that they say they have and

wish to develop. If it goes on to inspire its employees and surroundings

by creating space within its ideal organisational development for the per-

sonal progress and development of its people, then there’s a twofold ben-

efit and Incorporate Identity is created.

The Netherlands

TOTAL IDENTITYPedro de Medinalaan 91086 XK AmsterdamTelephone +31 20 750 95 00www.totalidentity.nlinfo@totalidentity.nl

TOTAL PUBLICMauritskade 1Postbus 2212501 CE Den HaagTelephone +31 70 311 05 30www.totalpublic.nlinfo@totalpublic.nl TOTAL ACTIVE MEDIA Pedro de Medinalaan 91086 XK AmsterdamTelephone +31 20 750 95 00 www.totalactivemedia.nlinfo@totalactivemedia.nl

PARTNERS

Belgiumwww.totalgramma.beinfo@totalgramma.be

TOTAL GRAMMAGijzelaarsstraat 29B-2000 AntwerpenTelephone +32 3 230 42 70

Germanywww.wirDesign.de

WIRDESIGN BRAUNSCHWEIGSophienstraße 40 38118 BraunschweigContact: Norbert GabryschTelephone +49 531 8881-0 welcome@wirDesign.de

WIRDESIGN BERLINGotzkowskystraße 20/21 10555 Berlin Contact: Florian Breßler Telephone +49 30 275728-0 Berlin@wirDesign.de

South Koreawww.cdr.co.krcdr@cdr.co.kr

CDR ASSOCIATES60-12 Dongsung Bldg.Nonhyun-dong, Gangnam-guSeoul 135-010, KoreaTelephone +822 518 2470