Feel-Think-Tank©: Women Solving Workplace Challenges

Think tanks are good at analysis. They gather evidence, test arguments and publish recommendations. But many of the hardest problems at work are not only analytical. They live in how people feel: excluded, overlooked, exhausted, afraid to speak. Solutions that ignore those feelings tend to look sensible on paper and change very little in practice.

A Feel-Think-Tank© is the WomenH2H answer to that gap. Members can apply to join one and look together with other women for new answers to the big questions at work, so that we can fulfill our mission as women and co-create the more beautiful workplaces we all long for.

Why "feel" comes first

The name is not wordplay for its own sake. From the start, WomenH2H has been built around the idea that work today needs a better balance of feeling and thinking, love and power, human flourishing and prosperity. Our founder, Natalia Blagoeva, believes women have a special role to play in bringing that balance to the workplace.

Putting "feel" first reflects the order in which people usually experience a problem. We feel it before we can explain it. A woman senses she is being talked over long before she can point to a pattern. A Feel-Think-Tank© treats those signals as information, then brings careful thinking to bear on them.

The kind of questions a Feel-Think-Tank explores

The big questions at work are the ones no single person can answer from where she sits. For example:

• How do we keep people engaged when change never seems to stop?
• What does inclusion look like on an ordinary Tuesday, beyond the policy document?
• How can hybrid and remote work be fair to the people who are less visible?
• How do we introduce new technology, including AI, without leaving people behind?
• How do women build influence without becoming someone they are not?
• What would a workplace look like if it were designed for human flourishing as well as results?

These are examples, not a fixed list. The best questions usually come from members' own working lives. If office politics is the one that keeps you up at night, our guide to dealing with office politics as a woman is a good place to start thinking.

The principles behind it

Different perspectives, on purpose

WomenH2H brings together women from many countries, sectors and generations, and that mix matters. We tend to look for support from like-minded people, yet we often grow most alongside people who see the world differently from us.

Safety to say the real thing

Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson's research on psychological safety shows that teams learn more when members believe they can take interpersonal risks, such as admitting a mistake or asking a naive question, without being embarrassed or punished. Without that safety, groups stay polite and stuck. Honest answers depend on honest conversation, so the safety comes first.

Lived experience as evidence

Members' stories are taken seriously as information about how work really functions. When a pattern shows up in several women's experiences, across different countries and industries, it is worth paying attention to.

From insight to action

A conversation that ends with "that was interesting" is only half done. The aim is new answers: ideas members can try in their own teams and organizations, and learn from.

Who should apply

A Feel-Think-Tank© suits women who:

• care about a question at work that goes beyond their own job;
• are willing to share their experience honestly and listen to experiences very different from their own;
• are comfortable not knowing the answer at the start;
• want to use what they learn to make a difference where they work.

You do not need to be an expert on the topic. Curiosity and candor count for more than credentials.

How to apply

Places in a Feel-Think-Tank© are by application, and the starting point is the free WomenH2H community. Join the community, take part in conversations, and when a question at work keeps pulling at you, take that as a sign you are ready to apply. If you would also like to build your own skills as a leader of change, take a look at the Master Change Whisperer© learning journey.