New adventure as Managing Director of NOBL in the UK and Europe
Short version: I’m joining the NOBL team working with the exceptional Bud Caddell and the brilliant Bree Groff.
FAQ’s
Yes, I'm staying in London
Yes, we're looking for the best organisational designers and psychologists
Yes, I want to talk to you and your team(s) about how you are working through change together
Yes, #upfront will continue to live and deliver confidence workshops
Email me lauren.currie@nobl.io or talk to me on twitter
Longer version
“This week we’re making a big announcement and welcoming a new team member. Lauren Currie is joining us as the Managing Director of UK and Europe. Lauren is a luminary in the field and has made it her life’s work to help others. Bragging on her behalf, Lauren was awarded an Order of the British Empire for her services to design and diversity in 2017. She’s equal parts ambitious and compassionate, which is exactly what all of us at NOBL strive to be. We’re thrilled to welcome her and we hope you will be, too. She’s written the update below as an introduction, and you’ll be hearing much more from her in the future. If you’re in London, grab a coffee.”
NOBL (pronounced no-bell) is a global agency dedicated to making the world a better place by helping organisations make themselves a better place. NOBL are based in LA, NYC, Vancouver and now London! The business was founded 4 years ago by Bud Caddell and is driven by our CEO, Bree Groff.
I’m ecstatic to join NOBL as Managing Director in London. I’ve spent the last 10 years founding and running a service design agency, designing and leading a Master’s program in Experience Design, and building businesses to transform how the charitable sector funds its work. In every organisation I’ve worked with, the one constant has been change: I’m passionate about helping people work together more effectively and authentically. The second constant? Regardless of mission and function, people are frustrated by problems that appear unsolvable.
It seems that no matter how hard we work to create stable and healthy organisations, they defy control. Every day I meet people—from CEO’s to my dad, who works for a local authority—who are held back by the outdated systems most of us are forced to work within. People don’t suffer from a lack of ideas; they suffer from ways of working that squash their power and kill their creativity. I want people to see their own power.
“In organisations, real power and energy is generated through relationships. The patterns of relationships and the capacities to form them are more important than tasks, functions, roles, and positions.”
But there’s hope. I’m driven by an unwavering belief in people and a determination that things can be better. Not only that, we are moving into the third phase of service design. The first was educating and teaching; developing tools and training workshops. The second was building internal capacity; creating in-house design teams. The third is change: designing systems and cultures that are fit for purpose. Even the most exceptional ideas and most beloved prototypes don’t stand a chance against institutional dysfunction, so we must focus all our efforts on team and culture.
The time is right to introduce NOBL’s tried-and-tested approach to Europe. That’s why I’m joining NOBL: they’re challenging the traditional consulting model by embedding their teams directly on-site with their clients, providing active feedback and truly iterative organisational design. Every day, they drink their own kool-aid. And they make things. The results speak for themselves: clients have identified $15M in new revenue, $15-20M in cost savings, and seen productivity increase 27%.
For me, this next year is about finding NOBL's confident voice in London and charting a path to help even more leaders around the globe who are both ambitious and compassionate. My experience would suggest it’ll be up and down and the downs will be made bearable by both the incredible people we work with and the love of my friends and family.
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This is going to be an adventure, and you’re invited! Talk to me about your teams and how you are working through change together.