Where I stand
Over the years I have come to realize that I feel most comfortable - or rather creatively uncomfortable - at the intersection of the three areas that I am really passionate about - positive societal impact, technology and the growth of leaders. It so happens that these are also increasingly relevant issues from the societal perspective.
Over one million tech startups are founded annually, not least in the AI space and behind them stand brilliant entrepreneurs - what impact will their growth have on the world? Who will shape that?
Leaders of all generations are longing for a deeper sense of purpose and professional mastery at the same time - will they have a chance?
Societal issues like migration, racism, nature degradation, violence and disconnection abound - will the positive impact of leaders as well as organisations make a difference?
Publications
I love diving into topics a bit deeper and sharing insight, especially when the topics are rather new, innovative and especially when I get to talk to really interesting people as part of the inquiry. Here are a few examples of my publications.
The Futuremakers
- beyond either entrepreneurship or impact
Book based on 365 days of travel and 206 interviews around the world
The Future Makers/ Die Zukunftsmacher tells diverse stories of 23 people from around the world who have made a positive mark on the world through their careers: from an American financial market specialist to tree planters in Africa; from Japanese environmental experts to dancers in Argentina. Co-authored with Wolfgang Hafenmayer.
German edition on amazon.de
English edition on amazon.de
Building Responsible Corporate Leaders
- beyond either leadership or caring
Report based on a series of interviews with Swiss-based executives
Responsible Leadership: Balancing short and long term perspectives in order to preserve or even grow resources. This applies to personal energy and motivation (personal development and sustainability), to the finances of a company and also to the resources of society and the environment.
MyImpact Blog 2013+
- beyond either career or personal purpose
Blog under the umbrella of my previous company, MyImpact
Sharing the latest news, insights and tools on the journey to meaningful careers. Includes content on Social Intrapreneurship, Responsible Leadership and Business Model Innovation.
More about me
The flow
beyond the professional life
My name is Joanna Magdalena Stefanska and I am a heart-centered, intuitive woman with a mind full of inquiry, insight, and imagination.
Deeply inspired by the active integration of holistic methods within the emerging world, my purpose is rooted in restoring balance, beauty, and joy within our lives.
With strong roots in Switzerland, and Poland originally, I have explored far and wide, with a multifaceted ray of experience around the world. Some were: travelling the world for a year to conceptualize and create a book, spending 200+ days in conversations with a wide variety of social and research projects as part of my philanthropic funding work, energy healing training in the tradition of the indigenous Q'ero community of Peru. These potent experiences have expanded me, shedding light on an alternate perspective with the ability to see and hear beyond apparent normality.
My passions are fueled by the tension of duality. I hold space for both light and dark, material and spirit, receptive and active, with the intention to cultivate a new way in a new world. Using my diverse experiences, I inspire to blend entrepreneurial structure with entrepreneurial fluidity, making it possible to be at home whilst leading a business modelling workshop or a women circle.
The facts
beyond the degree
- Director of an international grant making foundation
- Co-Author of the book “The Futuremakers”
- Executive at Microsoft and other roles in IT – 10 years
- Board member and entrepreneur - 15 years
- Independent coach, advisor and speaker on “meaningful careers”
- First Mover Fellow with the Aspen Institute
- Member of the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders network
- Certified Leadership coach (ECA) - 10 years
- Practitioner of conscious dance, meditation, ritual work and other personal growth modalities
- Trained in energy healing (pranic healing) and women temple leadership
- Trained in "Art of Hosting", Business Model Innovation, Business Model You and other collaboration and facilitation techniques
I lived a part of my life carrying the name Joanna Hafenmayer. That's partly how google with find me.
Projects
Examples of projects that I deeply care about and that I find more relevant than ever.
Masawa - impact investment fund
Beyond just capital: Masawa nurtures the invested capital by adding social impact and organizational health.
Masawa's Nurture Capital expands on traditional investment approaches by optimizing two complementary but often overlooked dimensions of impact: organizational health and social impact.
Masawa is the mental wellness impact fund. As a strategic advisor, I helped develop a series of initiatives to foster the pioneering company's development.
Veintree - ethical biometrics
Beyond "neutral" technology: Veintree
Veintree provides biometric solutions that enable secure access to rights and services to all. It is inspired by highest standards of engineering, cybersecurity and respect for privacy of the users. I am helping to further evolve Veintree's approach to impact and ethics, also in the context of defining the right, likeminded mix of use scenarios and funding partners.
Responsible Corporate Leadership (RECOL)
Beyond one-dimensional leadership - Forum and Circle
RECOL was founded in 2011 by five leading corporations, with the vision to build the future of organisations through Responsible Leadership. The RECOL incubation Circle members included Credit Suisse, Swisscom, Novartis, Microsoft and LGT. I initiated and designed the platform and organised a number of annual Forum conferences, as well as researched a status and Good Practice report.
Home Office Day - multi-stakeholder partnership
Beyond office work - started 2010
The national Home Office Day was launched in 2010 as a national initiative in Switzerland and was replicated in more than 10 countries. I designed the initiative while at Microsoft and gathered more than 20 supporting organisations to benefit productivity, environment and quality of life of employees. What sounded almost utopian at that time, became so involuntarily possible 10 years later.
reflection on LinkedIn
today ongoing as Work Smart Initiative
Bookbridge - action learning with impact
Beyond North or South
Through Bookbridge's Capability Programs, candidates from the Global North join hands with talents from the Global South to learn state-of-the-art business skills and develop as responsible leaders while creating community-based learning centers as tangible social enterprises. I helped further evolve the program as a coach travelling with the teams to Mongolia and Cambodia.
MythLab - novel impact gathering
Beyond conferencing - a no schedule gathering on powerful grounds
The world is in need of new stories and new myths - about ourselves, each other and the world. As a deep inquiry and convention experiment a few well networked explorers and I initiated the MythLab. 5 of us invited 40 leaders with maximally diverse background - gender and race diversity, aging from 27-77, business people and medicine men, dancers and futurists. We met at the sacred grounds of Esalen in California and left with a bouquet of learning.
