I have said previously that words are not innocent (see Taking a step back …). What I mean by this is that words are not flippant indicators of meaning – they are value laden and play huge roles in the way we see our world. This is especially true of our workplaces. There are buzzwords that reflect the culture of the workplace that shape people’s thinking and doing – they tell us what counts and what does not count.
Change, change, change – it’s everywhere!
When it comes to the workplace, change is a necessary precursor to progress. Progress and improvement are two values that change embodies, and so it is a logical option to make progress and to improve results. And so change then becomes inevitable. John F. Kennedy is quoted as saying “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future�.
And so change attains “truth� status as a fact of life. The problem here is that as a “truth� there are those who embrace change and there are those who do not. Fortunately for those who embrace it, life rewards you. But for those who do not, you are left as a stumbling block to progress and improvement – inevitably your lot in life diminishes.
So, is it a problem of concern that change can become exclusive and oppressive?
Do we resign ourselves to the “truth� that there are those who will and those that won’t?
How can we approach change so that it becomes a more inclusive movement?
What can we do to provide people with options regarding the role change plays in their lives?
How do we connect with people who prefer to stick their heads in the sand when faced with change
Taking a step back … change
Like what you’re saying Maiden. I wonder however if we stepped back, had a look at the process of change, the roles that must be present in any change process, and then in assigning those roles (or owning them) we are liberated to play our part, knowing that whether we’re an early or a late adopter our role is as important as each other, and therefore can celebrate the process together?
But I fear your reply will be the correct one. That I’m clearly writting this late at night and the nonsense that has just burst forth is not an easy one (if at all) to implement in the face of the powerful truth that ‘change is the law of life”, or as someone once said, “Go big or go home”
Is change in our time different to those who moved from horses to cars, from steam to electricity? We will always be surrounded by change and people will always choose to welcome it or run and hide. Cavemen had to survive (spot change, adapt and make it their friend) or die. How different is it to today’s suit and tie?
So change is nature’s great differentiator.
You can tell people about it, you can write books, you can blog it or shout it from the rooftops. Some will run out excitedly before they’ve even heard the whole message, some will listen right to the end, mull over it and then adopt it, others will run around like maniacs telling everyone about it and then forgetting all about it in a few days, and others will choose to ignore everything they’ve heard and reason that it worked well enough for the last 10 years and there’s no reason to assume it won’t for the next 10.
So it’s all about personal choice and that old line about leading horses to water….
Been thinking about maindemole’s postings quite a bit. About how to move people to accept and embrace change, where to find and develop the entrepreneurial spirit and what and where is talent.
I believe that the potential exists in each of us for all of the above. Some more deeply buried than others by years of conditioning and longing to fit in.
But there is one thing which keeps most people from realising and acting on their talent – and it’s fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of not measuring up, fear of rocking the boat, fear of not being able to see it through, fear of what others will think and say….
Talent and change are not easy roads to walk. They’re filled with adversity, loneliness, criticism etc. Although the rewards at the end, and along the way, are always worth the blistered feet and sunburnt shoulders.
So it’s about two things: (chicken and egg situation?)
– Help them identify their fear as the thing which is holding them back and then realise that they must act in spite of that fear
– Create an environment which nutures, supports, mentors, challenges. And hopefully make fear not as relevant.
Maybe the connection economy is about those with talent helping others to unlock theirs. Because then we have a sustainable ecomony developed on and by people with purpose, passion and talent. And then watch us change the world!