The challenge
EnRoot is a Social Purpose Business committed to supporting Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Development in the Middle East and Africa. Due to their accelerated growth in the last years, the organization faces a challenge: informal management is no longer sufficient, and more institutionalization is needed. How to achieve that while maintaining the agility that has served them so well so far? This requires a different approach to leadership and a reassessment of the collaboration between daily management by a young and inexperienced MT and a more experienced Board operating remotely. How does EnRoot ensure sustainable growth of their people and their impact across all their programs?
Our approach
Six amazing women from different continents meet in Cairo – away from their jobs and daily lives – to spend a week learning together with and from each other and the management team and Board of EnRoot. The opening question, “Who are you without your business card?”, immediately leads to personal conversations and deep dives into each person’s learning goals. All together, we travel to Aswan; a stunning natural setting and a family-run hotel perched on a rock becomes our home base for the entire week.
From there, we meet proud female entrepreneurs who bring the impact of EnRoot’s work to life. Both the international and the EnRoot participants get to experience the organization’s impact on the ground and connect with the challenges at a personal level. As a result, a deeper understanding of what’s needed emerges. While working in cross-cultural groups to share learnings, perspectives, and ideas, EnRoot gets a clear reflection of the necessary changes in the ways the Board and management team collaborate for sustainable growth.
Together, they work on an action plan. Because for us, making it practical and tangible is what it’s all about. Happening in parallel, leadership workshops, breakfast reflections and 1-on-1 coaching sessions lead to profound personal reflections and learnings on career development and leadership challenges that everyone will take home into their own lives and organizations.
And while the plans for the week shift and change, everyone remains flexible, curious, and collaborative, strongly motivated by bigger purposes – much like how EnRoot plans to operate as it changes and grows into an even more impactful enterprise.
The result
- Inspired leaders, ready for their next step.
- Sisterhood for life.
- Closure of old issues and a growth action plan for EnRoot as an organization.
Nikki Sterkenburg
It was quite exciting to go on a trip with a group of unfamiliar women, but what a fantastic adventure it turned out to be! By working together with an NGO on-site, it was not only an expedition where we came to learn, but we were also able to share our own knowledge and experience with local staff. And in turn they inspired us back. This created exactly the kind of synergy you want, where 1+1 eventually equals 3. Through this adventure, we have all grown as individuals and leaders and have created a true #sisterhood. Fortunately, we are still in touch and always ready to “straighten each other’s crowns” when necessary.
What’s the bigger impact?
Personal leadership development serving a social purpose and creating lasting impact on individuals and organizations. #nobrainer
