About this Session
You have more to contribute than you think. Extend your knowledge and personal toolbox to make a positive impact on your organisation and team.
Company culture doesn’t change through mandates, it changes through modeled behaviour. In this talk, Dian Wessels shows how designers can use their design thinking mindset – empathy, experimentation, and iteration – to influence how teams work and how decisions get made. Sharing inspiring real-world stories, he demonstrates how small, intentional actions can create ripple effects that shape team dynamics and even reach leadership.
Rather than waiting for permission, designers can actively model the behaviours they want to see: listening deeply, testing ideas, and bringing others into the process. Through practical examples, from mini design sprints to cross-functional innovation workshops, this talk illustrates how to engage stakeholders, build momentum, and turn creative collaboration into real organisational change.
Key learnings:
- How to model design thinking behaviours to influence team and company culture
- Practical ways to bring colleagues along through collaboration and shared ownership
- Techniques to engage leadership and turn ideas into action
- How to create opportunities for change instead of waiting for them
