Let's paint graffiti on corporate walls!
Why communities are a balm for the rough edges of the corporate culture
I spotted this a few weeks back on my morning walk and coudn’t take my eyes off it. Weird, gross, repugnant. And also mesmerising, magnetic, and beautiful.
Fungi thrive on decay. The “ugly” work of decomposition in a forest boosts growth. Late autumn sends us a strong message: Nature flourishes not in pristine order but in chaos and decay.
We assume beauty is inherent to something clean, functional, and polished.
What if there’s beauty to be discovered in unexpected places—the abandoned, the overlooked, the imperfect, the decaying?
In Japanese philosophy, Wabi-Sabi celebrates the beauty in imperfection. A cracked tea bowl becomes more beautiful because of its flaws, not in spite of them.
Known for his distorted and haunting portraits, Bacon found beauty in revealing the human psyche's raw, sometimes grotesque aspects. His work suggests that ugliness can be a profound expression of our humanity.
Once seen as vandalism, graffiti has evolved into an art form that captures urban beauty in rusted buildings and crumbling walls, revealing the vibrancy of life lived in imperfect spaces.
The corporate world is giving rusted buildings and crumbling walls.
Unrealistic sales targets dragged from year to year.
Organisational restructuring. Layoffs. People shoved from one side to another.
Digital transformation and automation leave a lingering taste of uncertainty and fear.
Unclear strategic direction and constant shift of priorities.
Inefficient ways of working, silos, and slow decision chains.
Lack of budget. Lack of innovation.
A pressure to present perfect results in perfect slide decks and sanitised narratives.
A relentless quest to smooth over conflicts. Keep stakeholders happy. Keep our colleagues happy. Keep our bosses happy.
No one speaks up. No one takes any risks. There is no room for vulnerability.
A polished culture that sucks the life out of authenticity and breeds a lack of trust.
All you’re expected to do is deliver. Deliver. Deliver.
And more and more, on a personal level, disengagement. Frustration. Cynicism.
We question the purpose of our work, the stability of our organisations, and even our own value.
***Takes a deep breath iiiiin… And oooouuutttt…***
The once stable, predictable, safe, and desirable corporate dream is in shambles.
If you can swallow that bitter taste and find a shred of hope, I invite you to gather around this question with me:
What if the beauty we seek lies in the things we’ve been trained to ignore: failures, frustration, dysfunctions, conflicts, and stagnation?
Communities are the graffiti the corporate walls desperately need
It’s my seventh letter here and the first one in which I focus on communities.
If you landed here by mistake, you should know that I have been building communities of practice for the past six years—an internal Trainer’s community at Ace & Tate, L&D Shakers, and the Butter Community. I wrote my master's thesis on communities of practice in academia. Today, I help organisations tap into the power of communities for collaboration, learning, and innovation.
Communities are my happy place, and there are many reasons for it.
They are messy and raw. Unpredictable and exciting. Challenging and rewarding.
They bring out an authentic expression of individual and group identity, reminding everyone of our shared humanity.
Like graffiti on the gray facades of old, abandoned buildings.
How has graffiti evolved from vandalism to an art form?
Graffiti started spreading in New York in the late 1960s after artists like TAKI 183 started writing their nicknames in stylized letters on subway trains, creating mobile works of art. It was a way to claim space and resist authority.
By the 1970s, graffiti had evolved to elaborate, large-scale works, often incorporating 3D effects and wildstyle lettering. Artists used it to challenge societal norms, comment on issues like inequality, and push back against the notion of private property. This evolution elevated graffiti's artistic potential so much that by the late ‘70s, artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring transitioned from street art to gallery spaces, bridging graffiti with contemporary art.
Today, artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey are blurring the lines between graffiti and fine art. Brands and institutions began collaborating with graffiti artists, further cementing its status as a legitimate art form. In Amsterdam, we even have a museum dedicated to street art.
In other words, graffiti:
—Provided an outlet for creative self-expression, particularly for marginalized communities.
—Defied formal systems of control, prioritizing autonomy and self-driven collaboration.
—Pushed the boundaries of traditional aesthetics, introducing bold innovations and complex designs.
—Captured urban life's vibrancy, struggles, and aspirations and challenged viewers to rethink their environment.
—Challenged norms and addressed political issues, which added depth and meaning and resonated with broader audiences.
Much like graffiti, communities exist on the edges of organisational hierarchies. They resist rigid, top-down structures, favoring informal knowledge-sharing and distributed leadership. Like graffiti, their value often lies in their grassroots spontaneity, which can disrupt rusty processes and inspire new ways of thinking.
The informal nature of communities creates a beautiful mess that works with rather than against the natural tensions and imperfections inherent in any large system. They provide spaces for authentic exchange, healthy conflict, shared purpose, and personal growth, becoming fertile ground for individual and collective transformation.
🌱 From siloes to collaboration that drives performance
Almost every state of work industry report points an accusatory finger to the decline of collaboration. In a report released last week, Gartner found that only 29% of employees are satisfied with the collaboration at their organization, from 36% in 2021.
Despite the robust tools available, we’re caught on a hamster wheel of inefficient ways of working within and across departments, and all we do is pedal forward.
Communities gather people around a shared goal, often across roles, locations, and departments. Connections lead to relationships, which lead to a shared understanding of the common context of the organization as a system. Slowly, people start to see beyond their siloes. Focused on creating value for each other, members are more likely to engage in behaviours that will, in turn, positively influence their performance (Lesser, E. L., & Storck, J. 2001).
They:
—Find experts and helpful resources faster, in the moment of need
—Get exposed to fresh ideas from the fringes of their daily work
—Are open to asking and answering ideas, mentoring, and coaching others
—Build safe environments for brainstorming and testing ideas.
🌱 From sterile perfection to rawness and honesty
In many corporate cultures, there’s a subtle pressure to be polished, “on brand,” and even artificially harmonious. Ideas have no chance of survival without a so-called “business case.” We devise complex plans and strategies and are forced to deal with the nightmarish ROI no one can calculate beyond the production line.
Communities disrupt this sad scenery by creating spaces where people can experiment without fear of failure, bring half-baked ideas, openly address challenges, and offer honest feedback to each other. They allow for conversations that are less about polished presentations and more about real problems and practical solutions.
The unpolished nature of interactions fosters candor, followed by depth.
By welcoming imperfection and “messy” experiences, communities encourage employees to see that struggles, failures, and missteps are not flaws to hide but growth opportunities.
🌱 From glossing over disagreements to harnessing tension for creativity
When people from different roles, backgrounds, and perspectives gather, tensions are inevitable. Yet, in our organisations, mistakes, inefficiencies, and conflicts are often hidden, ignored, or punished.
By contrast, communities thrive on transparent exchanges about what’s working and what’s not. They embrace members' differences to foster innovative thinking because they all work toward a shared purpose of learning, growth, and improvement.
The friction of opposing ideas sparks creativity. By creating a space where it’s safe to disagree, communities become a testing ground for new ideas that would otherwise go unheard in the homogeneous corporate environment.
🌱 From lack of purpose to collective vision and impact
We’re exhausted by the grind. Tired of feeling like we’re yet another cog in the machine. Lack of purpose is often paired with a good dose of uninspiring tasks repeated over and over again, with little to no visible impact.
By design, communities invite participants to co-create knowledge, share expertise, and build a collective sense of purpose and agency. They offer a time out from the transactional nature of corporate life, providing an environment where people can refocus on meaningful goals.
Members have a stake in their professional development and in shaping their collective experience, turning them from passive participants into active contributors.
Everyone’s input is valued, breaking down rigid hierarchies and replacing them with a more organic, cooperative structure. This shared ownership and camaraderie can ripple outwards, subtly shifting the wider corporate culture by creating a collaborative engagement model.
If a whole wall feels daunting, paint the first stroke.
Grafitti might have reached the highs of art today, but remember, it all started with one rebel painting their nickname with one stroke of colour on a metro car.
If the idea of a community feels too big now, ask yourself: What could be the first cheeky paint stroke you could paint?
Here’s what they could look like:
🖌️ Speak up in meetings and contribute perspectives on overlooked topics.
🖌️ Share relevant and thought-provoking articles in your team’s channel with your opinion, and invite your colleagues to share their views.
🖌️ Start and lead a small, informal project (e.g., a book club or a sharing circle) around topics like leadership, innovation, or well-being, and invite your colleagues to join.
🖌️ Regularly cheer for other people’s success in shout-out Slack channels, during meetings, or 1:1 conversations.
🖌️ Reach out to colleagues from other locations or departments for coffee chats and be curious about their work.
🖌️ Respectfully question policies or rituals that hinder inclusivity or innovation and offer alternatives.
🖌️ Share set-backs and celebrate your lessons learned from failed projects, and encourage others to share theirs.
Keep bringing your spray paint to work. And surely, one day, you’ll see a fresh stroke of paint on the corporate walls, one that’s not yours, and you’ll know it was all worth it.
Personal reflection questions
In closing, I am leaving you with a few reflection questions:
—What hidden treasures lie within things I dismiss as “ugly”?
—What “decay” in my work could be creating life beneath the surface?
—What if embracing contradictions and obstacles was the way to create something truly original?
If we can learn to see beauty in the ugly, we unlock not just new layers of creativity, but also the acceptance that our work, like life and nature, is messy, rich, and ultimately beautiful.
Snippets from my world
The applications for Building Community from Within NOcourse are open, and only eight more spots are available. ✨ We kick it off in February for a 12-week learning journey.
If you are building internal communities, reach out. Sophie and I are about to launch season three of Mapping Ties and want to share your story with the world!
And if you want to treat me with a coffee, you can do so here. 🌟
That’s all I have for now. 🫣
Until next time, stay curious out there.
Anamaria
Unexpected approach to community. Thank you for this perspective shown.
Beautiful, măi ☀️