Three beliefs for change as a movement

Change will not flow as a movement if you do not believe in the following:

1. People have more to give than we know and will take ownership for change if we let them.
2. Everyone is a change-maker and problem-solver with a perspective worth exploring.
3. The best change initiatives will emerge through the collective and not be forced into existence.

Easier said than done

There are many ways in which these statements are easier said than done. But here you find a couple of examples that show the reality of what it really means to live by these fundamental assumptions.

People have more to give than we know and will take ownership for change if we let them.

Reality check: When pitching the idea of movements to leaders, one of the most common responses is: “I try to delegate, but it also takes that the person steps up to the responsibility.” For some reason, many leaders have an assumption that employees (subordinates) do not want to take ownership. But how much of that bias comes from the employees’ inability to take ownership, and how much comes from a lack of incentive for the leader to let go of control?

As Gary Hamel puts it: “If leaders feel that they have to treat their people like children because they can’t be trusted, the people will feel that and they will stop making decisions on their own. If leaders try to control every aspect of the work, then what motivation does the employee have to do something new and innovative?”

What could you do to build more trust with your colleague(s)? What might be holding you back from giving away that ownership or responsibility for a task?

Everyone is a change-maker and problem-solver with a perspective worth exploring.

Reality check: Does anyone else suffer from the “my idea is probably better” syndrome? The competing incentive on this statement is that it feels good to be right, to come up with the chosen ideas, to get credit for solving a wicked problem. To counter that “ego incentive”, we have to stay curious. Curious as to the potential of others, what they might be capable of, and what great heights we might reach by putting our minds together.

Brené Brown makes a useful distinction here: “Being a knower and being right versus being a learner and getting it right.”

What could you do to stay curious a little longer?

The best change initiatives will emerge through the collective and not be forced into existence.

Reality check: When testing out movements as a change approach for an organisation, some executives fear that their initiative will be rejected by the community. Just as any great idea, it will live on if the community sees value in the idea, and if people do not have energy for it, the idea will fizzle out.

“People actually begin changing behavior when [an] idea gets validated by their community, rarely when it has not.” – Jeremy Heimans, New Power.

In hierarchical organisations, leaders can rely on the authority of rank to help push an idea through. How do we know if the idea is accepted by your work community if they do not have the freedom to “vote” on ideas with their time, energy and action?

What behaviour could you start, stop or change to enable the honest validation of an idea in your team (or organisation)?