There's a ring of truth in all that people say, whether it's understood by others or shared as a perspective is a matter of subjectivity. Often a company will come looking for engagement while hanging on to forms of fragmentation, wanting to improve communication while unable to determine where the problem really lies. Hard truths are called for when it comes to Change; everyone is subject to the impacts it presents yet many are reluctant to step beyond their fixed reality.
Can I whisper to the ones who want a ready-meal solution that someone will magically deliver transformation without them having to do anything? After all, the money's top-whack and the job's not as taxing as some, let's say. You leave your work station when you like and those underfoot wouldn't dream of crossing swords. Beyond the double blind you know there's a good chance I can do something extraordinary here; believe me, it's a chance well worth taking.
Employees move about doing their job and nobody looks into anyone's mind, there's a lot of scuttlebutt and assumption in the 'poor communication' field but the one who calls the shots is standing at the edge of a deep forest. Hidden in this wilderness of opportunity and inertia lies a dream, on the floor, struggling to get up. Profits look okay but there's something wrong - everyone can feel it. The unicorn is already down. What do I say, faced with such a vision of imminent destruction, to those with guns in hand? "Don't shoot!"???
He hired me to share the dream and indicated a will to reach it. He's watching the results of doing nothing and it's not particularly pretty but what do you do? There are new kinds of expectations now, with society breaching unknown waters as it increasingly demands unfamiliar ways of thinking. They used to call it "dolphinism" but then Goldilocks was happy with porridge once.
I'd love to carve out in advance what the need for action would be in avoiding annihilation of the dream, but how do I write that in? With a project on the table, dare I suggest those unstudied employees could be brighter than imagined, when the manager I'm talking to holds a firmly fixed impression of collective ignorance? Shop-floor stardust will make itself apparent... the difference between a programme working brilliantly and one that delivers bite-size benefit is in the commitment of the commissioning officer and the loyalty of his aides.
Where a mid-line manager has a personal agenda that makes him happy to scupper the engagement of his teams, I'm going to learn about it pretty fast - that bucked responsibility I'm alluding to kicks in as it becomes clear that something really has to be done to upend the cart and shake things loose.
Attrition is bad enough in this never-ending story to even think about firing people, if that were a solution - which it isn't. Who doesn't want to live a life to the best of capability? Nobody wants inner pain, stress, emotional torment or (unless seriously traumatised themselves) to hurt other people. Given a chance to transform their environment from "a ballache to be in" to one that feels great, most folks are going to take that opportunity.
The one at the top has to commit to the change process and that means communicating with humility, taking proof seriously and being prepared to break new ground in forging the unique, empowered culture that's waiting there to be transformed from its raw, inert state. One ring (of truth) to bind alignment and sustainable C.I. is in your hand while covetousness lurks in the shadowlands, holding fast to precious information. Hearts and minds of the majority harbour a will to break free from negativity and do things differently to make them better - will you let them? I show people how, and most will love it, but those who instead see this bonding as a threat gallop hard and fast to dark defence of a different kind.
Are you brave enough to look at Change with a will to do something about it?
Let's have a chat about what could be holding things down...
#transformation #empowerment #uniqueness #alignment #changemanagement #continuousimprovement #transformation #culturalexcellence #progressiveleadership
