One of the sayings I am fond of using when it comes to changing culture in large organizations is that “it takes time for aircraft carrier to make a turn.” The analogy is apt. Smaller organizations, akin to a ski boat or, in naval terms, a corvette or patrol boat, can “turn on a dime,” but by contrast, the culture of large organizations takes time to change. It’s a little more than just turning the wheel and seeing what happens in under a second.
It’s pretty easy to see that this is matter of numbers. Leading an organization through profound and substantial change is a lot easier when organization consists of 10 people and a few roles and a location or two as opposed to hundreds or thousands of people, a comparable variety of roles and departments, and locations spread across single nations, multiple time zones, or several nations.
From my own experience in organizations large and small, a few generalities and guideposts emerge for those involved in culture change, and of these, one links all the others: you are the change – which includes the reverse of the individual coin, you are NOT the change. Stated simply, what this means is that what you have the most control over is you. Your behavior, views, responses to change, and impetus to make changes. Easier said than done, but stated simply, if there is to be change, it starts and ends with you: the person looking back at you in the mirror (my title only harkens back to the great 1987 Michael Jackson song).
The analogy is apt. Smaller organizations, akin to a ski boat or, in naval terms, a corvette or patrol boat, can “turn on a dime,” but by contrast, the culture of large organizations takes time to change
This leads to a decision, but it’s one that only you can make: is this the change I’d like to see, and be a part of? If that answer is yes, then you’ll have to be an agent of the change, and you’ll have to figure out how to do that in your present role, and as the leader of a team within the organization, or as leader of team leaders, and so on. If that is no, you’ll have many more questions to answer about you and where you will fit in the organization’s future. You are presently part of the organization and have a role, but if the organization is changing in a way that’s not compatible with you, your “decision tree” will grow some more branches.
With that said – change starts and ends with you – here are the generalities in being a part of organizational change that I’ve seen emerge:
The only thing you can control is you. You must decide whether be a part of the change or not a part of the change. The change will happen with you or without you.
If you’re “on board” with the change (ship analogy again), then you are an agent of the change and you must understand your role in the organization as it relates to the changes that will be occurring.
Once you’ve understood your role, have the changes been communicated to you clearly, and with expectations, and are you then clearly communicating the changes and expectations to those you’re expected to guide through these changes?
Are you modeling and transmitting to those you’re expected to guide through these changes that you are there to empower them to be their own agents of change, and that they need to go through the same process you did in evaluating their roles in the organization and how they will respond to the coming changes?
Remember, for most people, evaluating ourselves, and how we fit in to organizations, and how those organizations change takes time. The more people that must go through the above and taking into account, always, the nearly infinite diversity of individual approaches to circumspection, the longer changes will take before they are substantially complete. (Of course, deciding how long change can, should, does take, and is another subject entirely.)
Notwithstanding other “certainties” in life, it’s an aphorism that the only thing that is constant is change. Remaining circumspect with yourself, first and foremost, will not only help manage change, but also be the fullest and most effective agent of that change.
