Formation of the WGA Group South

The WGA Group South was formed at a regional meeting of the WGA at Lehenhof about 3 1⁄2 years ago. The trigger and impetus for this was the discovery during the ‘walking part’ of the meeting that Barbara Schiller from stArt international and Beate Oberdorfer from Sonett deal with the question of the living in the company in very different ways: Sonett in dealing with rhythmic processes, the vitalisation of matter and in partnership-based corporate management, stArt on the task of creating a protected space for children in crisis areas out of nothing and being highly present in shaping it. The ‘results of the walk’ were then presented in the plenary session. Andrej Schindler (Schindler & von der Gathen recruitment agency) and Sebastian Neu (Waldorfshop) spontaneously joined us in asking this question about the living and we arranged a first meeting at Sonett.

The group now consists of Arte Nova, Bartenheim - Ostheimer Holzspielzeug, Zell u.A. - Schindler von der Gathen Personalagentur, Augsburg - stArt international, Gröbenzell - Sonett, Deggenhausertal - Waldorfshop, Landsberg a.L. - Götz Feeser, Precensing Institut Überlingen.

How do we work?

At our very first meeting, we gave ourselves a form of how we want to work together. To put it in a nutshell:

•     we visit each other in turn
•     we exchange information in the group about how each company is doing
•     then we immerse ourselves in the host company, its history, impulses, figures and current challenges and then work together on the question that the company wants to discuss in this round.
•     Feedback round to the host company on what impressions or insights the individuals have gained.

There is also exchange and cooperation outside of the 3-4 meetings per year: support in the form of donations, loans and orders as well as human social support.

What is special about our meetings?

The special thing about our meetings is that we have a common starting point: The question of understanding and shaping life processes at all levels of the organisation.
We share an interest in this topic and how it is realised in the individual companies. It is just as important that we take a human interest in each other.

A core group of companies has formed that is continuously involved. Over the years, this has created a relationship of trust that enables us to communicate very openly and transparently.

We are grateful that this open communication has enriched and broadened the human, entrepreneurial and intellectual horizons of all of us.

Further development of our meetings

In autumn 2024, we took a step towards deepening our collaboration and asked ourselves: ‘How can we use the trust that has developed to deepen the original question of vitality in the organisational context?’ How can we approach the corporate spirit of the respective company? After all, this corporate spirit has been condensed into a ‘product’ in which it has an impact on the world. This can be a service, an educational or therapeutic product, as well as a physical-material product, etc.

Using the example of a selected ‘product’, the host company endeavours to facilitate this encounter through action and discussion. We want to summarise the feedback from all participants in a written summary, which will then be looked at again at the next meeting at the same location.

What would you recommend to others who want to embark on this journey?

First and foremost, it needs a common spiritual impulse, genuine interest in all the people and companies taking part, a lively development of the forms of work, as well as commitment and continuity.

WGA - Group South, 21 February 2025