WorldBlu seeks most democratic workplaces

A leadership and business design studio based in Washington, DC, is doing a global search for a relatively new model of organization. WorldBlu is seeking to recognize and promote organizations that employ democratic principles in their organizational design and leadership.

“Greedy, me-first, command and control business is officially passé,” says Traci Fenton, Founder and CEO of WorldBlu. She believes that there is a growing global movement towards creating workplaces that fully engage employees, giving them a voice and a stake in the outcome of their work.

Fenton has spent the last ten years traveling the world, studying and meeting with democratic companies in the US, Europe, Africa, and Latin America to see firsthand how they do things differently and why they are successful. She has identified that all employ certain principles. For instance, they are authentic and open with employees about financial health and strategy. They treat all employees fairly and with dignity. They think the individual is as important as the whole. They know who is accountable for what. But while these organizations are pioneering a whole new way of doing business, they are often unnoticed. The WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ is being developed to “recognize these mavericks and inspire others in the process.”

Fenton says that the WorldBlu Search for the Most Democratic Workplaces is more than a list. “It’s something that will benchmark the start of a whole new era of business. We expect the WorldBlu list to usher in the future of work”

The global search is happening from November 1, 2006 to February 16, 2007. Organizations in the for-profit, non-profit and government sectors practicing organizational democracy are invited to apply at www.worldblu.com.

The organizations that make the WorldBlu List will be featured in media outlets around the world as well as in Fenton’s forthcoming book. The top leader and up to two employees from every organization on the list will also be invited to a two-day gathering where they can “meet and network and learn from one another,” says Fenton. “This is the start of a new community.”

“It’s hard to forecast the exponential effect the WorldBlu List could have on inspiring a whole new generation of business,” she adds. “To me, that’s the most exciting recognition of all – to be held up as a model and have the world say, “We want to be like you.”

On March 6, 2007, WorldBlu will announce the first annual WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ as a part of the first Democracy in the Workplace Day.