Ana Barcot, CSR Specialist
Find out what active participation in conducting social change means for our CSR specialist Ana, how does she approach making the world a better place, and what makes her feel creepy.
1. What are the biggest challenges of social Change today, that you also have to face in everyday work and communication?
Twenty-first-century organizations are increasingly grappling with the growing complexity of our global society. And this isn't simple to deal with. Let's look at the past year - pandemics, the war in Ukraine, protests in Iran, and new discriminatory laws in some countries - they are interconnected and influencing the whole world. The question is how to deal with these complex systems and actively contribute to improving life for today and future generations.
The most important thing is to stay awake and not close our eyes if we see inequality and discrimination. We need to act.
At qohubs, we are aware of the challenge and contribute to a better and more equal society. That is why we are working closely with the National Paralympic Committee in Croatia. We aim to build awareness of "Diversity and Inclusion" issues in the Workplace, so we designed a special qohubs session to support company employees to change their perspective and support awareness on the topic. The first companies have joined the project, and we will mark the International Day of People with disabilities with the first sessions.
In general, many companies are working on sustainable development goals (SDG), yet this is only one part of Change. We also need to change how we see things and our perspectives. And this is where we at qohubs see our role in organizations and society.
2. What are your motives for becoming a part of that change daily?
So many people don't have the privilege to feel belonging and are experiencing discrimination from the day they are born. At the same time, on a broader scale, almost every person experienced discrimination - often, we are not even aware of it - but diversity and inclusion are about all of us, and if I can contribute to the Change - I will. I want to be an active part of that Change. Previous generations have done much, built civilizations, and created innovations. However, there is still much work to do, and accepting diversity and inclusion remains a fertile ground yet to blossom.
3. How would you describe your journey in the qohubs project? What was your biggest challenge?
I would say that my "acquaintance" with qohubs went through three phases:
1. Wtf is qohubs?
2. I wish I could understand qohubs ☹
3. Okay, I think I got this... keep going, keep learning… ☺
As I began to understand qohubs, I started to create new perspectives: how communication and collaboration can function without a traditional, formal hierarchical approach and command & control. I must admit that it was a real challenge to get words like 'boss,' 'principal,' and 'superior' out of my head and to accept that every team member is equally important and has his/her role in the team. With this in mind, the desire and motivation for people to learn and to grow arise without orders and commands.
4. Is everyone prepared to learn and share knowledge within the organization if given the right tool, motivation, and freedom?
It is what makes us human beings: we can learn, think and communicate. So yes, everyone can learn, and everyone has the ability to do so. But it is difficult to say whether everyone is willing to learn because most organizational learning is coerced and divided from work, which builds up resistance. In the right system, employees can decide whether something is relevant to them and their work and if so, they are willing to learn.
With new and relevant offerings and learning approaches, significant changes can occur within the team with the right tools and freedom.
5. What are the top 3 advantages of qohubs?
I would put the focus on something other than the advantages of qohubs. So, I would rephrase the question to, in which contexts is qohubs relevant? qohubs becomes meaningful in all contexts when we need new ideas and solutions, when organizations are ready to unleash people's knowledge and when a shared understanding of collaboration and context is to be built in the organization. Because qohubs has the power to change the individual's perspective, connect people, strengthen teams, and free their creativity.
6. Fun fact about you?
I hate clowns. When I was a child, the clown Ronald McDonald was very popular. I always thought that guy was such a creep.