Real change begins at the edges, never at the center.
The center is dogmatic and certain. The edge is open and curious, the gateway to possibility.
To work from the outside in for your team, your work group or even your family, you might consider a series of small but potent actions in service of your highest aspirations:
- Small gatherings of like-minded colleagues marked by a commitment to knowing the people for who they are, not just by what they do,
- Brief but sincere check-ins on values and culture to lead off every meeting or meal,
- Brief but sincere recognition offered at the end of every meeting or meal,
- “Below the line” conversations with customers about who they are, what they care about and how we can help them achieve it,
- Common sense support for healthy distance from work after hours, on weekends and on vacations,
- Regular, rich, candid and mutual conversations about performance that make “performance reviews” irrelevant
- And how many more can you think of?
These acts do not require permission, nor do they require authority. They require initiative.
These acts, over time, lead to a more open system, a system that is learning how to learn and therefore, learning how to change.
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