Leaderlix joined forces with the integrity committee at Audi Mexico, comprised of key leaders at Audi and Volkswagen, to orchestrate the Integrity Talks program: a cultural change initiative and communication skills development for integrity ambassadors with the objective of contributing to the creation of a more congruent and responsible culture within the organization.
This is a completely disruptive method. For me it has been a great way to open my mind, explore new alternatives, step out of my comfort zone and start the new challenge which is communicating more efficiently, inspiringly and motivatingly.
Martin Mariscal Lahusen, Integrity and Compliance Officer at Volkswagen Mexico
Context: A Company with Innovation and Elegance DNA Faces Cultural Change
Since its emergence in 1909, Audi has differentiated itself in the luxury car market through progressive technology applied with discrete elegance. This is something that the entire internal community understands perfectly.
Recently, it has become much more important for the entire Volkswagen Group, including Audi, to strengthen a culture of integrity to ensure that the entire internal community knows and applies the integrity principles that govern the group.
In that context, Audi Mexico created an Integrity Committee originating from the Compliance area, but present cross-functionally across all areas of the entire company. In recent years, this committee has made tireless efforts to foster a culture of integrity through initiatives throughout the company.
The Project: How to Leverage Middle Management to Accelerate the Adoption of Integrity Measures
The Challenge
But there was a problem: despite the numerous initiatives that the Integrity Committee promoted throughout the organization, team leaders lacked clarity on how they could proactively contribute their teams to the different integrity initiatives available to them, which meant that 100% of the responsibility for extending the reach of these projects fell on the shoulders of the Integrity Committee members. And when you're trying to create cultural change in an organization with thousands of people across the country, you need to leverage middle management.
The Solution
For this reason, and given the great importance of creating companies based on values that function as behavioral algorithms, and not leaving difficult decisions to what people consider convenient at that moment, but rather what is right, the Integrity Committee of Audi Mexico partnered with Leaderlix's curatorial and content team to create an initiative that would consolidate all integrity projects.
The Impact
The entire initiative took place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this was not an obstacle to bringing together the entire company. Because, after working intensively with the Champions to help them tell an impactful and inspiring story to the rest of the company, we held the Integrity Talks event, which was a two-dimensional event.
On one hand, we convened a very select group of middle management leaders (observing all corresponding safety measures), and in addition we livestreamed the entire event in each and every office and plant in the group.
Why Leaderlix?
From the beginning, we are passionate about stories. Our mission is to redefine the concept of "thought leadership," and this is very relevant when we are trying to create cultural change in an organization.
Not only that, but at Leaderlix we have a philosophy that permeates all our projects. This philosophy is summed up in the phrase: We are in search of the ideas and stories that are going to change the world.
And that is exactly what we did when working hand in hand with the Audi Mexico team: we helped them find these Champions with these ideas and these stories, and we provided them with a platform of maximum visibility to make them known, contributing to change.
The Challenge: From "Everyone Knows" to "Everyone Participates"
Despite the numerous initiatives that the Integrity Committee promoted throughout the organization, team leaders lacked clarity on how they could proactively contribute their teams to the different integrity initiatives available to them, which meant that most of the responsibility for extending the reach of these projects fell on the shoulders of the Integrity Committee members.
Additionally, the company's internal team contained diverse profiles from professional, personal, and intellectual perspectives. Many of them were aware of the importance of implementing integrity processes and initiatives, but there were also some people who came from past generations in which it became acceptable to not prioritize integrity to achieve business results.
This combination resulted in the company having a leadership structure with specific integrity objectives grounded in plausible plans, and it also had the bulk of the internal community aligned with those objectives and plans. But there was also a small residual percentage of people who, by not sharing those values, contaminated the environment and interrupted the dissemination of integrity projects.
Integrity became a concept that everyone had heard about, and that was politically correct to talk about, but at the moment of implementation, some people knew how to act, others didn't know how to integrate their teams, and there were even those who didn't have the will to participate in these activities. This is why it was important to engage middle management, because when you're trying to create cultural change in an organization with thousands of people across the country, you need to leverage middle management.
This is a completely disruptive method. It is an excellent tool to positively influence my work and personal environment effectively.
Tania León Juárez, Technical Office at Audi, Volkswagen Mexico
The Solution: Integrity Talks: How Audi Used the Power of Ideas to Inspire Integrity in the Organization
For this reason, and given the great importance of creating companies based on values that function as behavioral algorithms, and not leaving difficult decisions to what people consider convenient at that moment, but rather what is right, the Integrity Committee of Audi Mexico partnered with Leaderlix's curatorial and content team to create an initiative that would consolidate all integrity projects.
To provide a solution, Leaderlix joined forces with the Integrity Committee and the Compliance area of Volkswagen Group to create an initiative in which we identified a group of eight "leaders without position": people present in different areas of the organization and at different levels, but who had something in common. All of them were individuals of high informal influence, and all were genuinely interested in promoting integrity activities in the company.
We teamed up to find these Champions, and once we had identified them, we created a formative and leadership growth experience for them, so they could develop their best impact communication skills and thus be able to extend integrity initiatives in local forums.
We concluded the activity with the organization, production and convocation of the Integrity Talks event, in which we brought together these Champions to give them a platform of maximum visibility where they could share their stories and their ideas about integrity for the company.
Impact: One Event, +5,000 People Aligned with Integrity Culture
The entire initiative took place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this was not an obstacle to bringing together the entire company. Because, after working intensively with the Champions to help them tell an impactful and inspiring story to the rest of the company, we held the Integrity Talks event, which was a two-dimensional event.
On one hand, we convened a very select group of middle management leaders (observing all corresponding sanitary measures) and, in addition, we livestreamed the entire event in each and every office and plant in the group.
More than 5,000 people, linked in person and online, heard six impactful stories of change from the integrity Champions. This meant for them the opportunity to see how initiative and proactivity to put integrity initiatives into practice are not only an ideal, but a civic and corporate duty that everyone has.
We impacted the entire internal community with stories of change and ideas of impact, which resulted in contributing to the objective of continuing to build a culture of integrity within the company.
We achieved the ultimate goal of implementation: the entire internal community learned specific channels, with examples close to them, to propose ways to participate in integrity initiatives and engage their teams to contribute to current initiatives. This resulted in the distribution of the responsibility load for the implementation of integrity projects.
From that moment on, it was no longer just a committee with some people responsible, but an entire internal community aligned as a team to achieve it.
Key Learnings: The Best Stories Come from Within
- The Best Stories are in the Most Unexpected Places. The best way to find stories that reflect a culture is to search them throughout the organization. Surprising stories that reflect values and inspire could be waiting in the most unexpected places. Dare to look where others wouldn't.
- One Person can Change an Organization (if we give them the opportunity). Your organization could have at this moment the ideas for change that can help you gain advantage and create the leverage needed to solve the most pressing business challenges, but often those people are not going to speak up out of fear of risk. Finding them halfway and empowering them to communicate their ideas can help you create a platform for sustainable change.
- Champions as Catalysts. Cultural change in a "top-down" format is swimming against the current. The best approach is to emulate the change that happens in society in general, from bottom to top. To achieve this, identifying a team of champions is the best way to do it.
Leaderlix: In Search of the Ideas and Stories That Will Change the World
Leaderlix, since its inception, has been comprised of a group of people passionate about stories. Our mission is to redefine the concept of "thought leadership," and this is very relevant when we are trying to create cultural change in an organization.
Not only that, but at Leaderlix we have a philosophy that permeates all our projects. This philosophy is summed up in the phrase: We are in search of the ideas and stories that are going to change the world.
And that is exactly what we did when working hand in hand with the Audi Mexico team: we helped them find these Champions with these ideas and these stories, and we provided them with a platform of maximum visibility to make them known, contributing to change.
Leaderlix has experience working with very diverse corporate groups, from five-person startups to global multinationals with thousands of employees. What they have in common is that all change begins with a paradigmatic idea.
The only problem is that ideas, by themselves, do not have enough weight to spread and become visible within the company. In fact, often these ideas, far from spreading on their own, generate resistance to change.
That is why it is essential to leverage the power of storytelling, so that ideas gain their own traction and spread by themselves.
At Leaderlix we are experts in this phenomenon of cultural change. We are in search of the ideas and stories that are going to change the world. We are ready to turn your team of communicators or rising leaders into true Storytelling Rockstars.
Next Steps: How to Create Behavior Change in Your Organization
If your organization is going through a moment of cultural change and at that moment you are facing objections and resistance to change, don't worry: it's normal and it's part of the plan.
For change to be relevant, resistance to change must exist. In fact, if there were no resistance, it may be in part because the change you are proposing is not as relevant as you imagine. So, if you are facing resistance to change, congratulations, because you are exactly where you should be.
The next step is to identify the group of communicators who will help you communicate your message and create with them a new corporate mythology: a series of stories with the power to generate the organizational change you are looking for.
If you need help, we're here for you. Select a date in that form and it will be our pleasure to talk about your objectives and help you trace a clear plan. And if it is relevant for you, we will gladly accompany you from that moment until implementation.
At Leaderlix we don't sell courses. We are specialists in business results for cultural change. What that means for you is that we will work with you hand in hand, from the moment of establishing objectives until achieving them.
If you are ready to take the first step, select a date now: