At Fronteer, we pride ourselves on tailoring solutions to our clients’ unique challenges. But after an exciting, tumultuous year and the launch of Fronteer 2.0, we turned this lens inward. How could we evolve our organisation to better reflect the bold, innovative approaches we bring to our clients?

Over the past 16 years, we’ve embraced experimentation, learning as we go and fine-tuning along the way—what we fondly call “stepping into our Ferrari.” Now, as we gear up for the future, we’re asking ourselves some big questions:

• How should we organise ourselves for impact? Is a Holacratic model still the right fit, or is there another way?
• How do we learn and develop as individuals? How do we encourage an open feedback culture, and how do we define our growth paths?

To tackle these questions, we decided to apply our own tried-and-tested methods, starting with Parallel Perspectives. It’s a Fronteer favourite: We visit other organisations to have a look in their kitchen and learn from one another.

Learning from the best: The School of Life & Stevin

Our first stop was The School of Life, a cyan organisation known for helping people navigate life’s big and small questions. There, we met Sjors, their Organisation Maker, whose sole focus is to protect and evolve how they work. We came away with some powerful insights:

• Dedicated focus: Having someone who solely manages organisational development is a game-changer.
• Evolutionary mindset: Their approach is to continuously evolve rather than carving its strategy in stone every five years and constantly reinventing itself, they ensure that the organisation can always adapt and improve.
• Guiding principles: They base all decisions on three agreed-upon principles. These frameworks enable self-management and provide a lot of freedom in decisionmaking for the team.

Our favorite takeaway? Sjors’s reminder that

“It’s not about having no problems—it’s about choosing the problems you’re willing to have.”

Next, we visited Stevin, a consultancy for future-proof public infrastructure. We were welcomed by Beau Hong (Human Capital Manager) Ellen van Loo (Office and HR Manager), and Frank Smit (Director) who gave us an inspiring look at their approach:

• Living their values: At Stevin, core values are more than words on paper— They are part of day-to-day communications to help them define their common language.
• Continuous reflection: Revisiting and refining these values has helped them stay relevant, even adding a fourth value along the way.
• Feedback as culture: By embedding continuous feedback systems and open expectation management, they’ve reduced the stress often tied to performance discussions.

Next Steps for Fronteer 2.0

Both visits left us buzzing with inspiration. Armed with these insights, we’re diving into the next phase of Fronteer 2.0. Here’s what’s ahead:

• Lighthouse Session: Use our own model to set a bold strategy for 2025 and beyond.
• Reimagining our structure: A dedicated team is designing a blueprint for our organisation that balances creativity, collaboration, and clarity.
• Feedback evolution: Roll out a new feedback system to support personal and professional growth.

Just like the organisations we visited, we’re embracing an evolutionary structure—one that adapts as we learn, grow, and face new challenges.

Here’s to practicing what we preach and stepping into 2025 stronger than ever!