It’s a fact that there is no “perfect” environment in any job or company. If you are the CEO or a member of the leadership team, you have the authority to drive change in areas that no longer serve you or the organization. But what if you are an employee at a lower level of the hierarchy? Can you still influence change?
We frequently come across bold statements such as:
- “If they do not respect you or share your values, just do yourself a favor and leave”
- “If leadership does not care, just do your job & get your paycheck – are you really going to save the day?”
- “If there is a will, there is a way – be the change you want to see and get things moving”
Chances are, you can relate to one or all of the above statements. In any challenging or unpleasant situation, we typically respond in one of three ways: – fight, fly, or freeze.
FIGHT – taking action with the intention of driving change (similar to statement C)
FLY – resigning from the situation altogether (similar to statement A)
FREEZE – becoming stuck, i.e. silently resigning, expecting to be “saved” by leadership or simply complaining (similar to statement B)
We may shift between these stances, but we usually have one dominant stance in our work. This blog is for those of you who feel “just an employee” but would still like to learn how to effectively fight for change. Here are four questions that can help you get started.
How do you really view the challenges you are facing?
The quality of our being determines the quality of our actions. For example, you will not have the same conversation with someone when you are angry. Similarly, you will not be able to determine the most effective intervention if you do not respectfully acknowledge the current reality. Are you mentally connected with how things currently are or are you focused on how they ought to be? You can only work with what is available, and when you are focusing on how things ought to be, you are placing yourself in a non existent realm. Deborah Rowland brilliantly processes this distinction in her latest upcoming book “From Ought to Is”. Respectfully acknowledging the current situation will allow you to act with respect and curiosity, while rejecting it or “accepting” it and silently resigning leads to judgment and criticism.
What are battles worth fighting for NOW?
Probably there are dozens of things you feel require “fixing” based on your personal perspective. But, in order to avoid taking the nihilist critic’s role, focus on the areas that are important to you and/or the organization and can still be addressed in the here and now. If you do not have enough data to answer that, the best thing you can do is tune into the organization and reflect on how you feel about each of the issues at hand. At the end of the day, this is your personal subjective view and your actions will be guided by what you personally perceive to be important.
What is your rightful place and zone of influence?
Every part or member of the system has an effect on the whole. The question here is about fully owning your place without stepping into other people’s responsibilities or leaving part of your role vacant, therefore ending up inflating or deflating your professional self. Can you influence your team, the whole organization, or a specific project? In order to be beneficial to the organization and also feel empowered you need to act from your rightful place and size. Therefore, not too big yet not too small. Avoid believing you can make decisions that belong to the CEO or the Department Head. Yet your voice can help shape those decisions through collaboration, dialogue, and constructive feedback. Remember, you are part of the system, and your actions do have an effect on it.
What is the most effective, yet safe intervention?
Depending on the challenge you are facing in your role, there are a number of practical things you can consider. The safest and quite powerful intervention is “respectfully naming reality”. We most often choose silence, followed by gossiping in the hallways, which falls under the “freeze” response.This only maintains an artificial sense of harmony and rarely makes things better. On the other hand, naming things with criticism falls under the “fight” response yet it usually sparks conflict and resistance as we end up in a battle that someone needs to prevail. Respectfully naming reality usually involves posing a thoughtful question and it is such an impactful intervention. Examples can be:
“Am I the only one that feels the energy in the meeting is low? Why do you think that is”?
“While we want empowered and accountable teams this decision seems to me quite “heavy” leading to slow decision making – how will it affect our path to agility?”
“Maybe we can briefly share what our clients would say if they heard us having this discussion”?
Fight, Fly or Freeze? No matter your seniority in the organization you can have an impact. Will your actions always have the desired effect and result? Absolutely not. It is important to accept that the company you serve is owned by its shareholders and is led by the CEO and the leadership team, but this doesn’t mean your contributions are any less valuable. You can still create movement and space for synthesis. Your view may not always be right…but you can always share it. When done thoughtfully and with respect, being respectfully bold can have more influence than you might think!
