“Action expresses priorities” – Mahatma Gandhi

One of the biggest obstacles to generating sustainable transformations is that they need to be credible. There need to be “signs” that give people confidence that we are all pulling together to the same side. This starts with those of us who lead these processes and here we link organizational and personal change. The system and the individual feed on each other in vicious or virtuous circles. We do not have to change and evolve because “we have to”, because it is “what is expected”, or because it is a trendy term. Slogans do not work here. They do not hold up over time. This is a common problem.

Many leaders express, privately and publicly, that they want to change and drive organizational change. They recognize, generally with good intentions and conviction, that it is a great idea to achieve an evolution of culture and, that each member of the organization should develop where he or she needs it the most. That they need to be supported because “Culture is key!”. That it’s a priority. That without it they will not be able to achieve the results they have set for the future. That they must change the way they work.

However, many times those good intentions are left unfulfilled, and these statements end up being nothing more than a very good declaration of intentions with an inspiring slogan. A story that may be attractive and effective in narrative terms but does not necessarily focus on producing sustainable results. Instead, it creates a new layer of immunity to change which turns into a double-edged sword that will make everything even more difficult for those who will come after us.

In a world of hyper-communication with constant new ideas and fashions, we are faced with the problem that many leaders fall in love with talking about concepts rather than falling in love with “doing”.

Powerful question to ask yourself:

What are you and your team going to do today that is aligned with your purpose?

Make change happen:

Try this!

1. Find out the purpose that your organization promotes (Slogans, advertising…)
2. Observe your own internal speech and analyze your and your team’s daily actions
3. Make changes to your and your team’s speech and actions to better align with the organization’s purpose
4. Implement 1-3 changes every week for the next few weeks
5. What are you going to do in the next 24 hours to initiate that change?