Our lives are, in many
ways, defined by the questions we are willing to ask and answer. What’s possible? What’s getting in my way? What is truly meaningful? It’s when we are willing to challenge
some of the foundational assumptions that form the underpinnings of our lives
that we discover new possibilities.
The same is true with
organizations. Organizations can
get locked in a stranglehold of their own assumptions about how things are and
therefore must be. They
collectively say things like, “We are nice,” or “We are all about action.” Often this way of being has become so
familiar that they barely even notice the true impact of choosing to be this
way, or the very fact that it’s a choice at all. It’s “just the way things are.”
If you are going to evolve
the culture of an organization, you have to be willing to thoughtfully engage
the organization in a conversation about what’s possible. Organizations, just like people, have
old habits that they fall into.
Habits that, while initially well intentioned, can seriously impede the
organizations ability to embrace significant change.
For example, organizations
that are “too polite” tend to lack the skills and the wherewithal needed to
have the kinds of conversations that are essential to embrace healthier, more
effective ways of interacting. If
you can’t have meaningful conversations, you’re unlikely to accomplish anything
of true significance. Making
change takes courage.
A good question for this
kind of organization is “What does it cost us to be so “nice?” How can we honor the true values that
underlie our intentions to be nice in a more thoughtful and courageous
way? Those are big questions, ones
that contain the seeds of transformational change.
Transforming culture
requires the courage and insight to ask the big questions.
What questions need to be
asked and answered in your organization?
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