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Donnie SC Lygonis: Why Innovation Culture Starts With Leaders

We speak with Donnie SC Lygonis; innovation strategist and business coach at KTH Innovation, entrepreneur, and TEDx speaker; on the inspiration behind his non-profit organization, the characteristics of strong innovation culture, the misconceptions of sustainable innovation, and more.  

 
Don’t miss Donnie SC Lygonis’ session on Building a corporate culture that fosters innovation at StrategiTorget Bank & Försäkring Sweden 2023. Join now.
 

What inspired you to start your non-profit organization, Entrepreneurs Without Borders (EWB)?

I’ve been working with entrepreneurship for the past 25 years — starting my own companies or helping others start their own, teaching entrepreneurship at schools, mentoring entrepreneurs, or judging entrepreneurship competitions, so I have a long and diverse experience in the field, and all of that came to fruition at one defining moment during a trip to India back in 2012.  

I was presenting how we work at the innovation office at the university, and after the talk, one person from the audience came up to me and said: “I’m an engineer here in India and we need what you are building in Sweden. We have people with incredible ideas, but we don’t know how to develop them.”  

On the flight home, I was thinking to myself, “How can I make that happen? How can I start an innovation office in India?” and then I thought “why stop there? Why not start 100 innovation offices worldwide that are connected to each other, so we can spread good ideas faster?”  

From there I then embarked on a journey to get this started, and in 2016 I gave a TEDx talk on this new idea that I then called “Entrepreneurs Without Borders” – shortened EWB, and from there on we have tried and done several different things.

 

How has the journey with EWB been like so far?

It has been a roller coaster ride with a number of trial projects leading up to 2020 when we were just about to start our first big accelerator program down in Kenya together with another NGO, Hand in Hand. They work with grassroots entrepreneurship and help mostly women start a livelihood company for themselves and their families. 

Together with them, we were going to run a project working with the 3,000 people they’ve helped over time, and run the most suitable ones through a 10-month program to help them grow and scale sustainable businesses, all with the goal of creating more jobs, sustainably. Getting people into jobs is key, and has a huge multiplying effect, one person can support up to five people in their social circle.  

Then of course in March 2020 the world turned upside down and all financers pulled out, so that project, together with all other activities, was put on hold.   

Over the course of the pandemic we redefined how we do things, but our why is still the same; to help entrepreneurs create a living for themselves and their families and at the same time try to reach the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Job creation and sustainability are the two main goals of EWB today. 

 

What do people get wrong about entrepreneurship vs social entrepreneurship?

I’d say we need to redefine the word entrepreneurship. At EWB we don’t talk about social entrepreneurship as one thing and then all other entrepreneurship as another. We mean that all entrepreneurship (and all business as such) needs to be sustainable, period.  

Sustainable entrepreneurship should be the only kind of entrepreneurship out there.  

By calling some entrepreneurs “social” you automatically create a divide between them and all the others that call themselves entrepreneurs, which also means that we burden the social entrepreneurs with fixing the world by being socially responsible and the rest don’t have to care.  

We don’t mean that all entrepreneurs need to have a UN SDG goal to reach, but ALL entrepreneurs need to relate to the UN SDGs so they ensure that they don’t make things worse by having a negative impact on the world.  

And this goes for everyone in business today — you don’t need to have a specific goal in mind to reach, but you need to make sure you’re not breaking any of the other ones.  

So yes, all entrepreneurship and all businesses need to be sustainable, and when I say sustainable I don’t only mean environment or climate, I mean sustainability in its full sense, so running a business in an ethical way with fair wages, no corruption, equal and diverse workforce, and understanding contextually your part of society and taking the consequences of that, being socially responsible.  

I often use the quote “Always leave it better than you found it” which applies to life in general and also entrepreneurship and innovation as well. Innovation can get quite carried away. It’s cool to come up with new ideas but we also need to take responsibility for the ideas we bring to life. We need to understand that we’re all part of the same planet, and that planet is not doing very well right now and it needs all the help it can get.  

 

What are the characteristics of organizations with a strong innovation culture?

The most important characteristic is curiosity. Fostering an honest, transparent mindset of curiosity within the organization where people are curious about how to build better products for customers and becoming better versions of themselves. Trust is also very important. Organizations need to trust their people and vice versa. For example, employees need to be able to voice out great ideas and trust that no one else will take credit for them. There’s also freedom. Not only freedom of speech but freedom of ideas too. It’s about creating an environment where people can express different opinions and question how the organization does things without being criticized for it. Those three are fundamental to address in order to become a better and more innovative organization.  

 

Does innovation culture start at the top?

Yes, it starts there, it is a leadership, top-down effort. Leaders need to be honest and open about what they want to see happen, and when they start initiatives, they need to follow through on their promises.  

I’ve seen too many examples of creative workshops and Dragon’s Den events that end up only for show, with little or no follow-through, which leads to it actually being counter-productive since people get disillusioned and unwilling to try again next time.  

And it is also not only about what you say, but also how you say it, organizations make this mistake all the time — they go out and say, “We ARE a curious organization!”, and the employees call their bluff because it comes across as management mumbo jumbo. Instead, I’d like an executive to say, “Look, we know we are an old and tired organization. Let’s all work together to become a fun, playful, curious six-year-old looking for new and fun things to do.” 

 

What are the three things you hope attendees will take away from your session at StrategiTorget Bank & Försäkring 2023?

Firstly, I hope to convey the basics of what makes an organization creative and innovative. I will also be talking about the importance and beauty of ideas; large organizations tend to get scared of new ideas because they think they will take time and cost money. But if we don’t have a dialogue about new ideas, then how will we ever get them? Understanding and being able to separate the two processes; going to work, serving customers, and making money today doesn’t have to be opposed to asking “What are we going to do tomorrow? Where will we be in 10 years? Then of course I want to end by saying: “Now you know how things work – Go talk to your people and make it happen!”.  

 

*The answers have been edited for length and clarity. 

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The Art of ‘Quiet Quitting’ in Employee Management

Quiet quitting, reverse hustle, work-life integration, acting your wage, working at work, morale-adjusted productivity – these are the different terms for the concept that has taken the business world by storm.  

Reintroduced to millions by an engineer on TikTok, the idea of quiet quitting is now seen as a further residual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some say it is the next stage of the Great Resignation.  

As leaders, how do you identify quiet quitters? How do you manage them to avoid major negative impacts on your business? Is quiet quitting a threat to organizational success? 

We took these questions and more to our Business Buzz Outlook session with Ira S. Wolfe to uncover his insights on quiet quitting and how leaders can best manage this situation with their employees.  

 
Ira S. Wolfe is a Top 5 Global Thought Leader in the Future of Work and HR, Workplace Futurist, TEDx Speaker, and best-selling author. He is also known to his peers as the Certified Prophet of Workplace Trends.
 

Quiet Quitting Looks Different to Everyone 

 

Whether you’re the employer or employee, the definition of quiet quitting can vary. From a manager’s perspective, it can have a negative connotation of employees quitting on the job and not taking the initiative to hide it. This is similar to the idea of presenteeism, where people show up and don’t do their jobs at all or only do as little as possible. 

On the other hand, quiet quitting from an employee’s perspective is giving 100% at the job they were hired for, not more or less. They are showing up but not giving 110% of their performance for just 100% of the pay. 

Ira noted the high level of burnout and overwork that people are experiencing since the pandemic. Coupled with more options being available, people are quitting. They’re also reflecting and evaluating their lives and trying to reset.  

“It was really people just trying to set boundaries, healthy boundaries, for themselves. They did take care of themselves, and when employers are short-handed, they didn’t like that,” said Ira.  

He added that the definition with the best intention is that people are setting healthy boundaries. It doesn’t mean they are trying to get away with just 70% of the work for 100% of the pay. Instead, they are willing to do the work but they’re also going to set boundaries.  

Ultimately, the pandemic prompted employees to reflect on the “hustle culture” that they were living before the lockdowns forced them to slow down. They realize they want more out of life.  

Another major transition that came with the pandemic is that many baby boomers left the workforce – whether due to retirement or COVID-19 deaths. This means millennials and Gen Z, who have a different work attitude, now make up the greatest proportion of the workforce. 

 

“Baby boomers live to work, younger generations work to live,”

– Ira S. Wolfe 
 

Another point he made was that many quiet quitters tend to have multiple jobs. So, it’s not that they are neglecting their work so much as they have to leave to do other things – whether that’s unpaid labor like caregiving or a second job.  

“They’re not quitting. They’re just not willing to give you that extra push, they’re not willing to do it for you for the same level of pay,” he stressed.  

However, he added that it’s not always about pay. Sometimes it’s a feeling of disrespect or detachment from their leaders that causes them to be less likely to invest more in work. 

 

Employers Must Change Their Mindset?

 

When asked if there’s a positive spin to quiet quitting, Ira responded that this is a chance for reflection. Given that many organizations are experiencing a skilled labor shortage while challenged by an aging population and declining working-age population, they have to pivot.  

 

“We should be taking care of people and we shouldn’t be burning them out,”

– Ira S. Wolfe 
 

Citing the World Health Organization’s classification of burnout as a legitimate mental health condition as a result of people putting in more than 100% at work, Ira stressed that living to work is not the best thing for humans or for the planet at large.  

 

What can employers do? 

 

With all that in mind, how can employers make this work for them? Ira suggests simply starting a conversation.  

Though this isn’t a fix for a complex problem, it is a good place to start. He encouraged leaders to check in on their team members, ask them how they’re doing, and have conversations about what inspires them and what they want out of life. This is especially pertinent for younger employees who are more willing to talk about these things.  

Ira also pointed out that employers focus on experience and education when hiring someone, but people are actually looking to make a difference with their work. They want to work for an organization that allows them to feel like they belong to a cause and a community. Yet, those aren’t the conversations that hiring managers have with candidates.  

“It’s simple. Just have a conversation with your employees,” Ira said.  

How Much Should Employers Monitor? 

On the question of whether monitoring employee performance could be effective in solving the issue of a lack of employee engagement, Ira says trust should be the foundation. Monitoring can be beneficial to all parties but it can also seem like too much or overbearing if there is a lack of trust between employees and employers. He described it as a George Orwell dystopic culture.  

 

“When employers are [monitoring employees] to squeeze out every bit of performance, that to me is where it breaks down because there’s a lack of trust”

– Ira S. Wolfe 
 

However, a lack of monitoring means a lack of data on how productive or effective employees and processes are. Ira stressed that when monitoring is done properly with good intentions and the right analytics, it can also be beneficial in helping everyone set healthy boundaries.  

For that to happen, employees must be able to trust that they are not being monitored just because their leaders don’t trust them to be working.  

“I don’t think it’s as much of a problem of invasion of privacy and over-surveillance as it is a lack of trust, which needs to be addressed,” he stressed.  

Leaders should have open conversations with their employees about the kind of monitoring that is being done and how it can benefit the whole organization. It must be made clear that employees are not being taken advantage of and that managers do care about their teams. Still, this is an uphill climb. 

Ira said: “We are entering this level of transparency and authenticity and trust, and the importance of trust in the workplace. But organizations have a long way to go, managers have a long way to go on how not only to build that.” 

Ira added that companies that have cultivated a safe space can have honest conversations with their employees about surveillance – from the importance and benefits to figuring out when it is overstepping.   

“Very few organizations have that and very few managers have been trained, mentored, or coached on how to achieve that,” he explained.  

 

It’s all about healthy boundaries 

When asked whether people who are passionate at work are at a higher risk of overworking, Ira made a distinction between good and bad stress.  

“When people are passionate, when they feel that they’re making a difference and they belong to a community, they will overwork but it’s not stressful,” he elaborated. 

“It’s a healthy level of stress that we’re excited, we’re inspired, we put effort into it”.  

The important thing is to create boundaries around work and change the mindset that an 80-hour work week is a ‘badge of honor’.