Ariadna Manent González

  Original article published in Catalan on 03/25/2025 In recent weeks, I have been reading the first edition, from July 2003, of the White Paper on the Civic-Social Third Sector of Catalonia[1] (Castiñeira, A., & Vidal, P. (Eds.).(2003)). Although almost 22 years have passed, I believe it is a very good book to understand who or what the Third Sector is Civic-Social in Catalonia, as well as strengths, weaknesses, and future challenges. After reading it, however, I have been left with a certain feeling of concern, as many of the challenges that were detected then, I consider to still be very much in force in 2025, making me aware of the slowness of changes and asking myself what we can do to accelerate transformations that have been identified as necessary for years. We find ourselves in a moment of high social complexity, in which it continues to be more necessary than ever to work on and reinforce democratic values, and here the third sector (TS) and the Administration hav...

  The intention of this reflection is to share what more participatory, more democratic management models should be used for, as well as point out some ideas to promote change based on learning from lived experience. By promoting participatory management models, we are essentially democratizing management within organizations. But what are we really talking about? By "democratizing management," we mean that the responsibility of managing should not be limited to a few individuals or teams within the organization—such as a management committee, coordination committee, department heads, or business unit leaders. Instead, this responsibility should be taken on by multidisciplinary teams with diverse knowledge bases, and these teams should be flexible over time when needed. Thus, the goal is to develop management through more complex organizational structures to better respond to the complexity of our environment [1] . It’s important to clarify that when we talk about manag...

  The Third Sector and the Administration share the mission of working for the common good, contributing to welfare and social transformation both through the provision of services and the production of public policies. In a moment where the common denominator of problems and challenges is their complexity, it might make sense to think that both share the challenge of moving towards organizational models that facilitate responses to new realities and social needs. As Quim Brugué points out: “Today, it is not as simple as it used to be to find a professional for every problem. (...) In situations of complexity, there is an overproduction of routines that can end up saturating the organization. On the other hand, evolution and innovation become more difficult.” Brief Evolution of Organizational Models in Public Administration and the Third Sector In the realm of Public Administration, a theoretical framework of how organizational models have evolved and where they are headed co...

  Original article published in catalan on 08/14/2024 Most organizations in the 21st century rely on the knowledge of the people who make them up, so one of the main challenges will be knowledge management. However, knowledge management should not be approached merely from a "classic" perspective—where one or a few people define training and development plans for employees—but from a more comprehensive and holistic view of organizations. People close to me have likely heard me refer to a quote by Steve Jobs: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do.” Therefore, one of the challenges organizations face is how to design and implement organizational models that encourage the contribution of knowledge from employees. These models must also be flexible enough to facilitate the emergence or construction of the most relevant knowledge at any given moment. A more comprehensive and holistic view of organizations involves seeing them as complex sy...

  Original article published in catalan on 07/14/2024 The way an organization is structured and governed is not neutral in achieving what we aim to accomplish, which is why it is important to dedicate effort to thinking about and designing the model we want to guide the organization, project, or ecosystem we work in. At the same time, it is crucial to keep the mission and the purpose of what we are doing in mind. If this is not the case, we risk losing focus on why we are redefining organizational models, both in terms of their structures and their dynamics. This is why I believe it is important to define in a participatory way the purpose of an organizational change: What do we aim to achieve? What is the point of redefining the structure? The dynamics? Afterward, try to specify how, when, and who will work on the change. The “why” should guide and orient the path of transformation. It is like keeping the North Star in sight if we have decided to head north. However, the how, when...

  Original article published in catalan on 06/01/2024 A few weeks ago, I was asked to explain what leadership means to me. To do so, I turned to influential authors who have spent many years studying and writing about the subject, complementing their insights with my own perspective. Leadership is a vast concept, and I thought the best way to address it was by drawing from well-known experts in the field. However, upon further reflection, I believe that leadership does not have a single perspective and is likely nourished by a multitude of ways to see, live, and experience it. It encompasses diverse forms and styles, and also varies from the angle of moments when one is expected to lead and the angle of witnessing someone else in action. Therefore, I will continue to contribute some thoughts on what leadership is or should be in organizations today, specifically in those that aim to value and incorporate the voices of their employees into their strategies. What is Leading? ...