Reveal your hidden treasures · TEDx TwenteU · 2021

Reveal Your Hidden Treasures · TEDx TwenteU · 21 March 2021

Introduction by host (Matthias Haalstra)

The next speaker is an extraordinary woman. She does something with organisations that most people would run away from. She gives a voice to people who are silent. And she reveals their hidden treasures. How does she do it? And what does she need to create this magic? Sonja Wekema will tell this in her talk.

Reveal Your Hidden Treasures | The Talk (Sonja Wekema)

We live in a wicked world. Don’t you think? I believe we do.

We live in a wicked world, which is called life. Where ambiguity and uncertainty are all around us. And where everyone of us needs to find his or her own path.

I am here to invite you to dance with this wicked world.

We all know that change is the only constant. New developments and innovations occur every day. There is digitisation, robotisation, globalisation and more recently: vaccination.

The old way of leadership that we were used to does not work anymore. Controlling and hierarchical leadership. That was of the past. We now need to dance together to face this wicked world. We need to embrace all our knowledge and skills and horizontal and more inclusive leadership.

Unfortunately, not all organisations are ready for this yet. Leadership know they need to make a shift…. But how? Everyone seems to be waiting and looking at each other. But nobody dares to take a step. And with it, both leaders and employees are silent. They don’t dare to speak up anymore. And they take their work and life for granted.

That needs to change!

So, why do I care?

The last 20 years, I’ve worked in a lot of different organisations, primarily in technical organisations. And I’ve seen that people want to change, want to make a move. But they are stopped. They feel lonely. They are neglected.

And THAT breaks my heart!

And with it, frustration levels go up, energy leaks away and the level of trust is deteriorating.

I’m here to show that we all need to reveal our treasures. We need to be able to use our your full operating system, all the skills that we were born with. Because we need them. Now more than ever.

Neglect in organisations

Neglect in organisations is an underestimated subject. In occurs where people don’t speak up anymore, where leaders don’t listen up and where people just seem to work in silos. Policies and procedures do exist, but only on a piece of paper. And with this, the people are not seen anymore. They are in the shadows. And they stay in the shadows. And that is what makes me so sad.

The problem with neglect is that it occurs in the undercurrent. It is visible, but only after a while. You can, yeah, compare it with brushing your teeth, an example by Simon Sinek. If you brush your teeth for two minutes each day, you won’t see a thing. If you don’t brush your teeth, at some point, your teeth will just fall out. That is similar to neglect in organisations. And since that happens so gradually, people in these organisations don’t even notice that their context is shifting. Do they even know what normal IS?

When I did research on this topic, I found striking evidence in a Gallup study. Only 15% of the worldwide employees are satisfied with their jobs. And in Western Europe that number is even lower: 10%. And what I also found is that 70% of this employee engagement score is related to the mindset and behaviours of mid-level leaders. And what is even more concerning is that, the further away from the top management people sit, the lower the engagement level are.

So, let’s take a look at these lower engagement levels for a while.

A few years ago I met Peter. Peter worked as an operator in a chemical factory. And Peter was really energetic. Until that day. He was so sad. He was crying. When I asked him what was the matter, he said like.... I have so many great plans... This machine that I’m working on, I have a plan to make it more cost effective, safer to work with, yeah... and just easier. For everyone. And he went to his boss already, five times. But his boss did not listen. In fact, his boss never even came back to it. Until a certain moment.... about one year later. A new machine got installed. And Peter, he was thrilled! Eventually. Until he found out that the machine didn’t work. And he was never even consulted. That hurt!

And this is just ONE example.

And this is also an important example. Because this is where you can find your hidden treasures, in your organisations. So just see this as your wake up call.

But finding hidden treasures does not happen overnight.

To do this, you need to create a really healthy environment. A psychologically safe, empowered environment. And that can only start when you have a solid foundation. And to create that solid foundation, top management needs to take a role. So we role models. The leaders who are listening out there. You are the role model! But not just the top management. Also the lower level management. We need leaders who embrace different perspectives. Leaders who are not afraid of bringing their head, heart and soul into the organisation. But also leaders who bring clarity, vulnerability and purposeful patience.

And with that, people will be able to trust again, to open up, to dream. And to work with you, towards a bright future.

So you might think why I find this so important.

Well, as a consultant, friend, mother, I’m really really curious. And what I do is... I GO to people, have REAL conversations, ask QUESTIONS. But I also listen and observe.

And what I want to know is what makes people tick. Why do they do what they do? What is their purpose? Which they have forgotten in a lot of cases. And I have a optimistic outlook. And a mirror, which you will find in your package. And that mirror, you can use that to play detective. Go underneath the surface and around the corner. And maybe you will find some hidden treasures yourself.

But, life hasn’t always been like this for me.

About eight years ago, I found myself in a situation that I was, maybe, hidden. I felt that I was covered underneath a thick layer of dust. And everything I did, did not make sense anymore. I was just scanning my environment, copying the behaviour of the people that I saw. And I completely forgot myself. I became much more of them and less of me.

Until my mentor said to me: Sonja, why are you holding yourself back? You have so much more to offer!

But I didn’t see it anymore. I was drowning. And my self-worth was on the lowest level ever. And I hit a wall.

And at that moment, I understood that only I was accountable for my own happiness. And for my life. And time was ticking away. And I started having really good conversations with friends, ex-colleagues. But I had to ASK first and find a shared language.

And with that, in that process, I really found that I needed to – not run away from my fears – but truly embrace them, feel them. And when I did, I finally got free and I could spread my wings again. And find my hidden treasures!

Which brings me to this TED stage, to this dance floor.

I’m not here for me, I am here for ALL of us... to show you that we all can get of lousy situations.....

Two weeks ago, Peter gave me a call. And he was really happy. Peter had a new manager and she had heard him speak about his ideas and gave him improvement projects to work on. And eventually, Peter was promoted to Operations Manager. And 50% of his time, he can just spend however he sees fit.

So, like Peter and I, you can also do it. You can find your hidden potential. And, acknowledging your own potential starts with growing your self-worth. And with it... your resilience. And WHEN you hit a wall, because you will, just take a deep breath and use your mirror to look at different perspectives.

And with that, you can create a strong core, become a role model yourself. And create a ripple effect. And you can create a better world for our children, the next generation.

Frustration will then go down, energy levels will go up and trust as well. How do you want that? That’s the best thing ever.

What is really important is to understand that you can’t always choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it.

So, get out of your chair, and start dancing! And make this a bright future, together. Because, we are the world!

Q&A afterwards

Why is this topic so important for you and the audience?

This topic of neglect is something that a lot of people find important. I haven’t spoken with anyone who doesn’t. The only thing is that they don’t know where to start and who should start it. So, that’s the key thing. If you do something, in organisations, with people, you need to really believe in it and do it with the people IN the organisation. And not just a subset of it.

So you need to get in there and do it all together, from the bottom to the top?

Yes, and start small. Because people are so tired of new initiatives and new changes. So if you start small and if you start it with a spark, at some point a fire will come, or a oil effect (olievlek), You need to start small and with people feeling the energy coming. And then, at some point, they want to become part of it. And then it spreads out in the whole organisation.

Beautifully said. I have another question: What will you do differently tomorrow, for yourself and for the people around you?

You ask that to me or to our dear audience?

To you as well.

What I mentioned in my talk, I wasn’t doing much on this topic until about four years ago. And when I got free and spread my wings, this became my mission. So, I am here just to share with people how I look at the world, but also taking them by the hand – if they still need it – to go and dare to take that journey.

And how do people start dancing?

How do people start dancing? With nice music! So I was thinking of doing a nice Spotify playlist with this TED talk, because there is so much inspiration in art. And if you listen to the music, there might be something in there that you can use as inspiration.