The Win-Win Workplace Awards

The Win-Win Workplace Awards recognize leaders and organizations that redesign work and technology as systems that expand human agency while delivering measurable business results.

Unlike traditional workplace awards that focus on culture, perks, or popularity, the Win-Win Workplace Awards honor organizational design choices. They recognize how work is structured, how decisions are made, and how technology is deployed in ways that give people real agency and create sustainable performance.

Grounded in the Win-Win Workplace framework, these awards highlight organizations and leaders who treat work as leverage rather than necessity. Honorees demonstrate that when agency is built into work systems, people thrive and businesses become more resilient, innovative, and competitive.

The awards are presented annually at the Win-Win Workplace Summit and reflect real-world implementation, not aspiration alone. Winners are selected based on evidence of work redesign, expanded agency, and measurable impact, with a focus on practices that can be learned from and replicated by others.

Award Categories

Together, these recognitions showcase what is possible when people are centered in the design of work and technology and when leadership is defined by systems built, not personalities amplified.

Agency by Design Award

This award recognizes an organization that used AI as a force multiplier for people, redesigning work and job roles to expand agency in an AI-enabled workplace.

Human-Centered AI as a Force Multiplier Award

This award recognizes an organization that used AI as a force multiplier for people, redesigning work and job roles to expand agency in an AI-enabled workplace.

Shared Agency Leadership Recognition

This award recognizes four to six individual leaders across multiple organizations who exemplify the next generation of enterprise leadership by redesigning work systems so both they and the people they lead gain greater agency.

  • Yes. The 2026 awards are inaugural.

    This year marks the first time the Win-Win Workplace Awards will be presented at the Win-Win Workplace Summit. In addition, four to six leaders will be recognized as the Founding Shared Agency Leadership Cohort, setting the foundation for a future leadership fellowship and deeper collaboration within the Win-Win Workplace community.

  • No. Company size is not a determining factor.

    We welcome nominations from organizations of varying sizes and industries. What matters is not scale, but substance. Judges are looking for intentional work or system redesign, meaningful expansion of human agency, and credible evidence of impact.

    A smaller organization that has redesigned core decision rights in a disciplined way may be more competitive than a larger organization with a high-visibility initiative but limited structural change.

  • Yes, self-nominations are allowed. However, they must include clear evidence of work redesign and measurable impact, along with references where appropriate.

    The awards are designed to be accessible but serious. The standard of review is the same for all nominations.

  • All nominees are evaluated based on:

    • Clear evidence of intentional work or system redesign

    • Explicit expansion of human agency

    • Removal of structural constraints that limited initiative or performance

    • Measurable or observable business impact

    • Alignment with the Win-Win Workplace pillars

    • Practices that others can learn from and reasonably adapt

    The awards prioritize system change over programs and real evidence over storytelling polish.

  • Nominations open publicly in early February and close at the end of February.

    Following the close of nominations:

    • Internal review and shortlisting takes place in early March

    • Finalist validation occurs in mid-March

    • Final selections are confirmed by March 16

    • Award recipients are notified privately approximately seven weeks before the Summit

    The awards are presented live at the Win-Win Workplace Summit on May 5.

  • Competitive nominations clearly demonstrate:

    • Intentional redesign of work, roles, decision rights, incentives, or technology

    • Removal of a structural constraint that previously limited initiative or performance

    • Concrete expansion of agency for identifiable groups of people

    • Measurable or observable outcomes

    • Practices that others can learn from and reasonably adapt

    The awards prioritize signal over volume and evidence over narrative.

Submit A Nomination

Nominations are open until March 15, 2026. If you know a leader or organization redesigning work to expand human agency while delivering measurable business results, we invite you to submit a nomination here. Self-nominations are also welcome.

Awards Ceremony

Awards will be given at the 2026 Win-Win Workplace Summit on May 5, 2026 in Chicago, IL. Award winners will be notified ahead of time to allow ample time to coordinate travel. If you’re interested in attending the Summit, you can request an invitation here. Attendance is not necessary to nominate an award recipient.

FAQs