People first, then performance, then growth: ‘A company can only truly improve by turning everything upside down.’
For Nick Van Langendonck, driving force Unbossers Network, and Paul Van Oyen, chairman of the board at What’s Cooking, it is clear: companies are at a tipping point. The coronavirus pandemic brought more than just an economic slowdown; it exposed a fundamental truth: without people, nothing works. This realisation gave rise to The Unbossers, a network that helps organisations improve themselves from within. It is not a model or a method, but a movement. It has one central belief: the human dimension is the real lever. If that is right, the rest will follow.
Interview by Marnik D’Hoore – Published on Bloovi.
The pandemic as a turning point
‘The world came to a standstill for a moment,’ Nick recalls. ‘And that made us realise that people in organisations are more important than ever.’ Instead of returning to business as usual, he took 25 people to Ibiza for a three-day retreat. Not for a traditional conference, but for an honest, open dialogue. The central question: What do people and companies really need today?
Two clear insights emerged. One: we crave connection. After months of isolation, we realised how essential collaboration and trust are. And two: we need to organise our companies in such a way that this human need is supported, even in difficult situations such as redundancies, strategic shifts or takeovers.
Picture: Playa Benirass, Ibiza April 2022. The final evening of our 1st gathering that planted the seeds for Unbossers Network.
‘Our companies must make a radical choice for people’
At that point, Nick already had a business in innovation consultancy, with clients such as Jaguar, Land Rover and Miele. But something was gnawing at him. ‘We always remained somewhat superficial. Real change didn’t happen. The classic model worked against itself: the more consultants you have on a project, the more dependent the company becomes. And when they leave, the project often collapses.’
A personal upheaval accelerated his change of course. ‘My wife and I had to give up our dream of having children. That turns your world upside down. But it also gave me clarity: I want to devote my energy to something that builds the future.’ This sowed the seeds for Unbossers: a network in which people with diverse roles – from workers to CEOs – exchange practical knowledge about how they bring more responsibility, a sense of duty and care for customers and colleagues into their organisations.
Paul Van Oyen, former CEO of Etex and one of the first participants, immediately sensed that this was something different. ‘I said to Nick: there’s a need for this. Flanders needs a network that helps leaders to really start acting differently.’
What started as an experiment in Ibiza grew into an official network in 2022. At the beginning of 2023, fourteen companies joined, including Belfius, HP and Technopolis Projective Group, Securex, kommaboard and Miele. Their common goal? To create a working environment in which people flourish. And not despite, but thanks to pressure to perform and business realities.
No methods, just stories
Unbossers is not a consultancy firm with a blueprint. It is a place for real conversations between people who face the same struggles. ‘We asked: what do you want to get out of this network?’ Nick explains. The answers were familiar:
‘I want to give my people more responsibility, but I’m afraid of chaos.’
‘I believe in servant leadership, but my board expects hard results.’
‘There is value in better collaboration, but I struggle with silos.’
‘HR feels outdated, but what does that mean in practice?’
For each of these questions, Unbossers seeks out experts with practical experience, not theorists. People active in operations with a wealth of experience who share their successes and failures. ‘This creates an inner shift in participants,’ says Nick. ‘They discover that they are not alone and that things really can be different.’
Picture: Nick Van Langendonck, driving force Unbossers Network and author of ‘Doing Good Works’
Doing Good Works as the only standard that really matters
With the Unbossers Network, we have been building an alternative to dominant corporate thinking in cooperation with some 40 companies. Not a new management model, but a moral compass that provides direction in turbulent times founded on the seven cornerstones that have always been underlying our civilisation and belief in progress: faith, hope, love, courage, justice, wisdom and moderation.
This universal and timeless compass aims to help people at all levels in companies to act not only more effectively, but above all more humanly and meaningfully – also and especially when the going gets tough. Think of decisions during a round of redundancies, restructuring or ethical dilemmas that cannot be captured in numbers.
It is not a utopia, but a concrete and applicable framework that supports leaders and teams to make choices that resonate with our deepest European values. A countermovement against cold efficiency thinking – and at the same time an invitation to every European company to put our moral tradition back at the centre.
Picture: The seven universal and timeless cornerstones of an effective, purpose-driven community – and the seven pitfalls.
Small steps, big difference
This shift often starts with uncertainty. ‘We hear things like, “Yes, but we’re too big. We work with manual labourers. We’re in a traditional sector.” But one barrier after another falls away until all that remains is the realisation that this is possible.’
From there, the real work begins: small actions within one’s own sphere of influence. Try something, see that it works, and then you don’t want to go back. ‘It remains difficult, but you get moving, and then you can’t be stopped.’
The fertile ground
However, not every organisation believes in our Doing Good Works view of business and people. Paul calls this “fertile ground”. ‘If the seed falls on rocks, it’s better not to start. That’s why we always ask: can we speak to the CEO for half an hour to understand his view of business and people and check it against ours? If there is no alignment with Unbossers’ view, there is little fertile ground.’
A second condition is a strong ambition to have a positive impact on people and society. ‘Why do you exist as a company? What do you contribute to society? Companies that put people first, followed by performance and growth, rarely fit into classic capitalist thinking. But they are the future.’
What Unbossers does goes deeper than management. It is cultural work. ‘We don’t call it change, but transformation,’ says Paul. “In change, you go from A to B, and that can be managed. In transformation, you start from A and end up at C (something you can’t predict yet). That requires leadership. In transformation, you don’t have to get everyone on board; 5 to 10 per cent is enough to form a critical mass.
In this network, we meet not to follow dogmas, but to engage in dialogue. Not to worship guru’s, but to lift each other up. We are all both guides and students, teaching one another how to choose the good in the face of daily challenges. For alone, the fire of doing good for others in the corporate world flickers and fades. But together, we keep the flame alive.
And so, we too will forge a new path in business—one where humanity, integrity, and care are not luxuries, but the foundation of how we work.
Picture: Paul Van Oyen, Chairman of the board at What’s Cooking and Doing Good Works Foundation
From network to Steward Owned foundation
Today, Unbossers continues to grow under the banner of the Doing Good Works foundation. ‘We are launching a certificate that recognises companies as “Doing Good Works Companies”,’ explains Nick. ‘Based on a thorough due diligence, companies can see their score and improve it by participating in new activities within the network.’
The foundation will be completely independent, with Paul as chairman and all profits going back into research, innovation and policy influencing. Nick: ‘I am handing over ownership of Unbossers completely. This will allow the network to continue to exist without being dependent on me.’
Get a taste
For those who are still unsure, Paul has a simple message: “Try it out. Start with one concrete challenge, a CRM system, a hiring process, you name it – and do it the Unbossers way. You don’t have to change everything at once. But you do have to experience how things can be done differently.‘
No rigid model, no buzzwords. Just experimentation, dialogue and daring. ’Do an exercise where you don’t make the decision, but you do create the context. That’s where it starts.”
For Nick and Paul, it’s crystal clear: in a time of rapid technological evolution and social unrest, competitive advantage doesn’t lie in tools, strategy or money. It lies in how a company works. In the way decisions are made, how people work together and how care is centralised. ‘The society of tomorrow is already bubbling under the surface,’ says Paul. ‘It’s up to us to make it visible.’
