Insights for the Journey

If you check in with your integrity, you'll probably notice there are lots of rituals of management that you can no longer condone.Lots of things that were barely visible suddenly stand out, ready to be changed. Using your integrity as a flashlight in that way can become a central part of the journey. Sure, there will be big inflection points, big changes you and your colleagues will have carefully thought through. But a big part of the journey also happens when you and others say "Enough! I no longer want to do (xxx) the old way."

Sometimes you need to build trust in your intentions before you start the journey (see previous episode). And perhaps you also need time to mature your understanding of the journey and your resolve for it. Here is a simple way to do it: walk around the shop floor and talk from your heart about your hopes and longings. Learn to speak your message and see how it resonates with others... and what it does to you to share it.

Several leaders I have met shared with me that, before they could start on this journey, they sensed they first needed to build more trust with their colleagues.It makes sense to me: many employees have learnt from past experience not to trust people at the top. And you are asking them to join in a journey that might not make sense to them, at least at first. They will join only if they really trust you.How can you build that trust?

Boards can make or break this transformation. How can the board play a supportive role? How do the roles of a board change?In this episode, I touch upon the topics of control beyond figures and reports, on appointing the CEO, creating spaces for conversations with top leaders and challenging established perspectives.

Traditional consulting methods are at odds with this kind of transformation.Is there a role for coaches, facilitators, or consultants nevertheless? And if yes, what is it?

Long word memos and PowerPoint slide decks feel so tired. They exhale a dreaded corporate smell.Could you engage colleagues in fresher, more authentic ways? What forms would that take? And beyond the format, how can the tone be different (spoiler alert: can you speak from the heart and the guts as well as the head?)In this episode, I'll also touch upon an interesting phenomenon I witnessed (interesting but unsurprising, come to think of it). Before they started on this journey, most organizations were communicating almost exclusively one-way. Now suddenly, two-way communications become central. In practice, how does that look like?

Boy, we take work and ourselves at work so seriously. What role could humor and lightness play in the transformation? And could you perhaps invite more humor and lightness into your own life?

I once attended a fascinating workshop where people from various organizations discussed the shadows they had experienced along the journey to 'Teal'. What are some of the typical shadows? And how come shadows show up in the first place?In this episode I'll share my perspective that the organizational journey that you are on comes with an invitation for you to ruthlessly see and accept reality as it is.

Here is a piece of advice I've heard consistently from leaders who've been on this journey: Some people resist your invitation to a new management paradigm. Focus you energy on the enthusiasts, not on people who resist. That advice makes sense to me. And I want to offer another perspective. Do engage the resisters, but not on a surface level, because that indeed tends not to lead anywhere. Explore the need behind their resistance, because there you might stumble upon a nugget that can help you and them in the transformation. Finally, I discuss another issue: what about people who are not resisting, but simply apathetic?

Some organizations experience, early on in the journey, pent-up frustration, conflict and resentment suddenly breaking out.It can be unexpected and disconcerting to experience... and it can be a valuable phase in building a healthier future.