Chapter 5 Episode 3: Katja Schipperheijn

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In the final commentary episode of chapter 5, we are happy to welcome Katja Schipperheijn, internationally awarded author, learning influencer, futurist and keynote speaker on learning, innovation and being human in a digital world. With years of experience from the EdTech company, Katja is the perfect match to guide Zebra Apps at this chaotic point in the story.
Katja sums up this story episode as "a mess". Zebra Apps is struggling to survive as a company, and Marie is managing everyone in separate groups, not seeming to understand the power of bringing people together.
We discuss corporate rebels and how they are wonderful, but sometimes lack people skills. We talk about how an external moderator (and Marie does not count as one!) would be helpful to navigate the stakeholder landscape and facilitate the needed discussions. How shall the people of the Zebra Apps organization overcome imposter syndrome? And what does it mean - and what do you do -when your CFO *literally* takes a bite of your bun without asking?
We learn about Katja's "future readiness approach", which is facilitated in two parts:

1. Invite a diverse group of people from all across the organization to individually write down their biggest obstacle, then discuss
2. Forget the problems around us and make the top management reflect over the purpose and values of the company and where they want to go. Then, have the people of the company work together to align on opportunities.

Another practical trick from Katja is to implement three standard practices in Zebra Apps. The first one is to make "why" a standard question at the end of all meetings. Secondly, create an environment where people feel secure enough to say "I don't know". And finally, celebrate your fuck-ups!

Towards the end of the episode, we learn from Katja about the status and trends in the EdTech industry (and yes, one of them is AI, and no, not many know what this means).
If you want to learn much more about learning, innovation, and technology, check out Katja's website, where you can find a lot of great resources (like examples of keynotes, workshop formats and an inspirational blog). Katja recently launched another book - The Learning Mindset - which is about the people of organizations and how to combine human competencies with technologies to thrive.

What do you think Marie should do? Join the conversation on our LinkedIn page
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Anne Katrine & Ivanna