Practice #5 of 8 Meaning is the New Money
Change makers can show their respect for the mainstream organisation by being bi-cultural; that is having the language and narrative skills to connect differing perspectives.
Bi-culturalism is a tactic. However, to progress large scale impact and significant change you must connect with the deepest levels of collective and individual identity within the organisation. This is beyond tactics. This about tapping into the source of the organisation’s energy.
I do not believe there is a recipe for connecting with the core identity of an organisation. But the process does begin with believing that every organisation has a “Why” that is not just about making money or selling whatever products or services it offers.
Two Watchpoints
For you as change maker there are two watchpoints to consider.
First, you need to connect your mission in the organisation with who you are. If you try to instigate something, even if it is something noble, but it has little or nothing to do with who you are, you might look good to others and you might even look good to yourself for a while. But you will not sustain the effort.
Second, you need to go deeply enough into the organisation to discover what it truly stands for. If you do not go deeply enough into what the organisation stands for, you will end up trying to coerce your ideas through, and your efforts will be resisted.
People follow purpose. They do not follow direction. And change flows when everything is seen and everyone feels heard.
This requires patient work where dialogue skills are key. Emergent facilitation is an especially useful technique for surfacing meaning. It involves creating “practice fields” where identity can connect with new pictures of the future.
The Originize Project (which I am involved with) is dedicated to enabling more practice field to emerge.
Practice #4 – Create Practice Fields
Practice #3 – Become Bi-cultural
Practice #2 – Start with Ripe Issues
Practice #1- Integrate Learning and Working
Read about the Five Disciplines of Learning Organisations
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