<\/i> go back<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Change in practice<\/strong><\/p>\n I support change efforts, especially around societal challenges such as climate, education, and health care. My work is rarely limited to organizational change itself: we address internal changes only when they are needed to create greater impact externally. I always work with those involved, not for them. I do not take over what they can do themselves and I strengthen their ability to handle more over time. That is why I prefer to work in contexts where people are willing and able to take responsibility for their own learning.<\/p>\n In practical terms, I stay involved in several such change efforts over multiple years. I also coach change agents on the job, but behind the scenes. I conduct research into extraordinary practices that offer much to learn from. And I am open to experiments: exploring how something might work, especially when something remarkable could grow from it. I look for a mix of these four kinds of work.<\/p>\n Wise counsel for practice<\/strong> Wisdom, to me, lies less in what I know and more in puzzling along with some modesty: listening to and connecting with the experiences of those involved, helping them take a closer look, make sense of what we see, stretch their thinking, and explore possibilities. Preferably, I do this not alone, but with others who look on from different angles. Yet what those involved discover through inquiry in their own practice remains the most reliable; the choices to be made are theirs too. Wise counsel does not stand above practice or lead it; it supports practice while challenging it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> If you have a request that fits this, send me a message<\/a>. The issues I work on are rarely controllable or predictable. That means the approach cannot be known in advance, much less rolled out as a project. In such cases, I treat change as an ongoing process of understanding more deeply, designing more intelligently, and acting more powerfully. I work independently, but not alone. I always work with others. The most intensive collaboration happens when we are trying to effect change or create knowledge. I then spend a stretch of time alongside those involved, especially those who act as change agents and connecting weavers. I work on societal challenges, first and foremost. That means I do what the challenge calls for, not necessarily what a client wants or what I personally prefer. Those three do not always align. Innovation, after all, often requires breaking with routines, which can make it contentious. Societal challenges are multifactorial: social, economic, political, cultural, and psychological. As a change professional, developing both an understanding and a feel for them requires a lifetime of learning without ever being done. That is what I have enjoyed doing, and still do.about what I do<\/h1><\/div>
\nIncreasingly, I also offer advice and reflection as an engaged outsider. Think of a standing role on a council or think tank, serving as an expert to a citizens\u2019 assembly, or acting as a mentor in residence. Sometimes I fulfill a similar role in more fleeting contexts: as a guest at the table or as a speaker on stage. I see all these as risky roles, precisely because of their distance from practice and the fleetingness of a public stage. Before you know it, you may find yourself preaching what others should do or flattening complexity into an inspiring tale.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/hansvermaak.com\/en\/files\/hans-vermaak-1.jpg\" "\\"hans-vermaak-1\\"")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nMy availability is limited, but I can quickly indicate whether I may be able to do something.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>about how I work<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nRead more <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nabout who I work with<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nRead more <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nabout what I stand for<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nRead more <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nabout my experience<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nRead more <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":2,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3439","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t