IBA editorial team Judith Winkler supports individuals and organisations in developing workplace culture, collaboration and dialogue formats. As Coordinator for Corporate Culture and as a facilitator and moderator at Wiener Linien, as well as an independent trainer, she designs change processes and creates spaces for genuine exchange. In conversation with the IBA Forum, she explains how workplace culture becomes tangible, the role that space plays, and why change begins with personal responsibility.
Judith, you say that shaping workplace culture is the key to long-term success. How can you recognise a culture that truly works?
Workplace culture does not emerge on paper. Mission statements or values posters may provide orientation, but what truly matters is everyday interaction. You quickly sense how people speak to one another in an organisation – whether trust exists, whether issues are addressed openly or remain unspoken. This atmosphere reveals itself in small moments: in corridor conversations, in meetings, or in the way conflicts are handled. I experience this in all the organisations I work with. Culture is something that can be felt. When it functions well, it generates energy, commitment and a shared sense of direction. When it does not, that too becomes immediately apparent.
How do you determine whether cultural development in a project has genuinely succeeded?
Successful cultural development becomes evident when people’s lived experience noticeably changes. Topics that previously remained beneath the surface begin to be addressed, and responsibility is distributed more broadly across teams. Another indicator is whether new routines are sustained over time – for example, different meeting formats, more regular feedback, or clearer decision-making processes. It is also important that leadership and staff share a common understanding of what their organisation stands for. Cultural work is successful when it provides orientation while at the same time opening up room for action.
How do you approach the start of a culture or dialogue process within an organisation?
For me, the starting point is always listening. I speak with people from different areas, reflect perceptions back to them and develop initial hypotheses. From there, formats and measures are designed that genuinely fit the specific context. Psychological safety is essential: people need conditions in which they can contribute their perspectives without fear of negative consequences. This can be achieved through clear guidelines, skilled facilitation or a careful selection of participants. Participation is the foundation for sustainable solutions. Effective cultural work requires time, trust, clarity of objectives and a willingness to adjust course along the way.
How do you engage teams that are sceptical about such processes?
Scepticism is often justified, especially if previous initiatives have resulted in little lasting change. I take those experiences seriously and avoid making promises I cannot keep. It helps to begin with manageable steps and to create tangible positive effects quickly – for example, through new conversation formats or small, jointly agreed adjustments to everyday teamwork. Transparency is crucial: what is open for discussion and what is not? Where is there genuine room for influence, and where are the limits? When this is clear, people are more willing to engage.
Your career combines technical training, law, leadership and coaching. How does this diversity shape your work today?
For me, diversity provides a strong foundation for building trust. I am familiar with different professional logics and ‘languages’: in technical contexts, I understand processes and procedures; in legal contexts, structures and frameworks; in people and organisational development, the perspective of individuals and teams. This enables me to connect different worlds and translate between them. A key moment was when a project manager introduced me to a large technical team by saying, “This is Judith – she’s one of us.” It made me realise that I bring both technical experience and legal expertise. Such experiences help me build bridges in complex organisations rather than reinforce silos.
Many organisations are under pressure to transform and are exploring New Work concepts and hybrid models. Where do you see the greatest misunderstandings regarding workplace culture?
A common misunderstanding is reducing workplace culture to visible measures such as new spatial concepts, flexible working hours or modern tools. These can be useful, but they are not sufficient. Culture emerges through behaviour, communication and decision-making in everyday practice. If these dimensions are not considered, structures may change, but interaction does not. Another misconception is viewing cultural development as a project with an end date that can simply be ticked off. In reality, it is an ongoing process that involves leadership, teams and the organisation as a whole, evolving with each new challenge.
What role does leadership play in this process?
Leadership has a key role because it creates the framework conditions and visibly models behaviour, both positively and negatively. What matters less is a particular leadership style and more a mindset: am I prepared to listen, to share responsibility and to examine my own contribution to problems? Or do I assume that others primarily need to change? Cultural development can only succeed if leadership actively engages in this learning process. At the same time, responsibility cannot rest solely with leaders. Teams and individuals also shape culture through their language, their decisions and the way they handle mistakes.
You emphasise the importance of diversity within teams. When does diversity become a genuine added value?
When it is not merely accepted but actively utilised. Respect and acceptance are the foundation, but real value emerges when different perspectives are consciously integrated into decision-making. This might mean using the team’s language skills to better serve clients or designing working hours in a way that takes caring responsibilities into account. Diverse teams require greater attentiveness, for example in the choice of words or in scheduling meetings – and it is precisely from this attentiveness that learning arises. Diversity then becomes more than a statement on the wall; it becomes a resource that improves products, strengthens collaboration and increases organisational resilience.
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You describe lifelong learning as a “muscle of confidence”. What do you mean by that?
For me, confidence means trusting that things can develop positively despite difficulties, risks and problems. It is more realistic than naïve optimism. Lifelong learning and curiosity are its sources. When people experience that new skills develop and that their actions have impact, they approach change with greater composure. Organisations can support this by creating everyday opportunities for learning, such as project reflection sessions, job shadowing, cross-departmental insights or communities of practice. Learning then becomes less of an exception in a seminar and more of a natural part of daily work.
What significance do spaces have for effective collaboration?
Spaces have a stronger influence than one might initially assume. Seating arrangements, lighting, colours and opportunities for movement directly affect how people engage with one another. If everyone sits rigidly side by side looking at screens, little dialogue emerges. Flexible and welcoming settings facilitate exchange and participation – whether in a workshop room that allows movement or a co-working area that supports different working modes. The same applies to digital spaces: in video conferences, it makes a difference whether everyone has the opportunity to speak, whether roles are clear, or whether a one-sided presentation dominates. For me, designing spaces means creating conditions in which people can contribute, experiment and think together.
In many organisations, culture becomes particularly visible in meetings. What are the concrete levers here?
Meetings are culture in condensed form. They reveal how decisions are made, who speaks, who listens and how tensions are addressed. Well-designed meetings generate energy; poorly designed ones drain it. Concrete levers include clearly defined objectives, an appropriate group of participants, conscious facilitation and simple rituals such as short check-ins at the beginning. It is also helpful to regularly review the organisation’s meeting portfolio: which formats genuinely support collaboration, and which have long since lost their purpose? When meetings are understood as genuine spaces for exchange and decision-making, they can significantly shape everyday work.
Many organisations want to further develop their workplace culture but do not know where to begin. What would you suggest as a starting point?
A good starting point lies in existing everyday routines – meetings, coordination processes or decision-making structures. Culture becomes visible there immediately. When teams consciously examine and gradually adjust these routines, movement enters the system. It can be effective to begin with pilot areas where willingness and curiosity are particularly strong and then share those experiences more widely. At the same time, responsibility exists at all levels, because culture is not shaped solely from the top. Everyone contributes through language, the handling of mistakes and the quality of listening. Development rarely begins with a large programme, but rather with concrete changes in everyday interaction.
Thank you for talking with us, Judith.
