How do we design care back into our organisations, deliberately, structurally, and strategically?

In this episode, Dr Lena Belin joins Janna to explore care not as sentiment, but as a strategic asset. Drawing from her background in anthropology, strategic design, and systems thinking, Lena shares a compelling framework for care as infrastructure, a set of relational, temporal, boundary-setting and integrative dimensions that shape how organisations operate, relate, and adapt.

Together they unpack:

• Why care is a strategic choice, not just a personal value
• How care, when embedded, increases an organisation’s ability to absorb stress, reduce hidden risks, and operate more sustainably
• The cost of designing care out, from burnout to brand erosion to system failure
• What tangible signs of care (or the lack of it) look like across services, structures and everyday interactions
• Why saying you care isn’t enough, and what it takes to bring care into policy, practice, and organisational design
• The role of leadership humility and shared responsibility in making care real

For organisations looking to orchestrate for impact, care is more than a nice-to-have. It’s a generative force, one that underpins trust, coherence, resilience, and long-term contribution. If we want systems that support people and communities, we must design care in from the start.

00:00 Introduction to Orchestrate For Impact00:38 Lena's Background and Perspective on Care03:15 The Concept of Care in Organisations05:26 Strategic Choices and Organisational Ethos09:39 Infrastructure of Care: Key Dimensions12:39 Practical Applications and Benefits of Care17:22 Challenges and Real-World Examples35:14 Leadership and Personal Responsibility42:58 Final Thoughts and Reflections

Links & Resources

• Dr Lena Belin https://www.lenabelin.com/
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lenabelin/
• Substack lenabelin.substack.com
• Coming soon - The Shift to Care, a podcast with Dr Lena Belin

Follow Orchestrate for Impact

• Website: www.orchestrateforimpact.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/orchestrate-for-impact
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OrchestrateforImpact/podcasts
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/37BnWvatGQyU5AkRY7ibXU?si=G2f_htBsRi6LvDzjPzhcAw
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/orchestrate-for-impact/id1816620342

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Music

Intro and outro music by Eli DeVylder “43 (fin)” - used with permission

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