 The year 2022 has been very eventful; some may remember it for good, and some for other reasons. I will remember it as a year when I consistently wrote a weekly post for almost three months. Those who know me, including myself, consider this an achievement, as expressing myself verbally and in writing is a development area for me. I initially thought to use the final post to reflect on the key messages I have shared since I picked up the blog again, but as I think of all that has happened in the last few months, I wonder what purpose my posts have served the larger scheme of things.
I discussed organisation politics, the role of everyday unsung hero/heroines, high-performance culture, values, leadership expectations and managing post-change, yet, I read the news and think to myself, are my efforts better placed elsewhere, as there are probably people who have better insights than I? The world is plagued with the same troubles it always has, and the cycle continues. We read the stories of wars, economic crises, displaced people, poverty, mass downsizing, racial tensions, etc. I wonder whether we need some type of world retrospective to explore why some of these issues are still issues and agree on a jointly acceptable way to address them once and for all. I am not naïve to think that we can solve the world's problems with a retrospective. However, we need to consider the lessons of what got us here. There will always be issues, but the noise seems so loud at the moment, and I can't help but feel helpless. As I reflect on some of my posts, it looks like child's play in the face of the challenges some of us are facing now. Amid the feeling of helplessness and gloominess, I realised that my posts, are for an audience of one, me, to fulfil my core purpose, and maybe those who are encouraging and supporting my journey to do better and feel better. So, as I round up the year with this post, who/what is your audience of one? An audience of one is usually centred around purpose, faith or family. It would involve a single active focus on one thing, just as Luke Skywalker was focused on shooting the Death Star's core in Star Wars. If you are a person of faith, you will be familiar with the concept of living for the audience of one, which would usually be a deity, for me, my Christian faith. You hear musicians/songwriters use this concept. When asked about their inspiration for a song, they respond with I wrote it for my wife/partner or parents. It's fascinating how that audience of one appeals to millions. In sports, at the end of a great win, the star player refers to their family who is watching the game. Hollywood has made the concept of the audience of one even more popular. You see it in movies like the pursuit of happiness, hidden figures, the king's speech, and joy. Living to the audience of one serves multiple purposes. It satisfies you with each step you take forward. Fulfilment, once achieved, fuels you up in times of adversity, brings you closer to your loved one and strengthens your support network. In addition, it brings joy to your audience of one. The character, Meena in the animation "Sing", received the courage to sing from those who supported her and loved her. It brought people around her joy and gave her joy. As the year closes, reflect on who or what your audience for one is and focus on it. Like me, many of us can't change the world, but we can make little ripples where we are. With each ripple, we make the world a better place. Make a start regardless of whether it makes sense or not. Do you need a personal retrospective to know who or what your audience of one is, or do you need a support system around you (by the way, feel free to reach out to me if you need help with either question)? I hope everyone who reads this does better and feel better, even if it is to the audience of one. As we draw the curtains on the year, I wish all who read/like or comment on my posts season greetings, and I hope 2023 brings you all that you hope, dream or desire, especially your audience of one.
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 There are several articles about dealing with change. The study of how human beings deal with change has been reviewed through several lenses, with numerous models, which I am not qualified to discuss. Harvard Business Review will probably do a better job. But as the only constant thing in life is change, and we may not have the power to change how a change programme is received regardless of our best efforts. Whether or not, it meets the business goals it sets out to achieve, it is crucial we set the scene post-change so that colleagues don't experience what I call post-change fever which is the loss of the old and the confusion about the new. It goes without saying that change leaders must involve employees' input to enable engagement. It is also essential to have staff trained in the new ways of doing things. The expertise to carry out their new responsibilities will engender confidence in the new ways of doing things. Not only should the structure signify change, but the new relationships and the informal roles must signify a change in direction. Even the way of dealing with conflicts experienced post-change should suggest a different way of doing things. Whether you have done all of the above successfully or not, post-change fever is likely. So how do you deal with post-change fever? Post-change fever can be managed by doing the following:
Create a transition ritual by mourning the past. Why is transition important? William Bridges explains why in his book Transitions. He says, "Change is situational. Transition, on the other hand, is psychological. It is not those events, but rather the inner reorientation or self-redefinition that you have to go through in order to incorporate any of those changes into your life. Without a transition, a change is just a rearrangement of the furniture. Unless transition happens, the Change won't work, because it doesn't 'take'." This aligns with step eight of the Kotter change stage; nurturing and shaping a new culture to support the emerging innovative ways. What does this transition look like in practice? To mourn the past, allow space and time for colleagues to explore their feeling about the Change. It could be at an all-staff meeting or on an away day. An external person can help facilitate this process. This stage can be likened to seeking therapeutic support post significant change event or supervision. Assess how much time your staff need to let go of the loss but actively remove things that signify the past. Budget permitting, change of the office layout, and spaces that have symbolic importance of the previous way of doing things should be taken down or repurposed. Old policies and processes should be removed from drives and physical space. Create an orientation programme post-change, assume that everyone is a new starter and develop an orientation programme to signify Change. This is where your change champions can be very helpful. Share the stories of the journey, celebrate the heroes of the Change and decide on the appropriate send-off for those leaving the organisation. For those leaving, unnecessary lingering will not be helpful. Creating a new cultural identity is vital at this stage, as lamenting about the old way will become the norm in the absence of one. People will hold to negative stories if there are no positive stories to bond them together. The future can be celebrated by celebrating small wins, communicating the business impact of the change, creating new rituals, and design a hopeful vision of the future rooted in the organisation's history. Rituals and ceremonies are hardwired into humans to signify change (births, weddings, loss); it must be no different in organisation afterall an organisation is defined as a body of people with a particular purpose. 
 My recent blog posts have made me reflect on the expectations we place on leaders. I don't subscribe to the idea that there is only one leader in an organisation and everyone else is a follower. However, a great responsibility is placed on those at the apex of an organisation. Even though they sit at the top, their leadership shadow can be likened to an inverted pyramid.
This made me wonder if many of the expectations we place on them is realistic. They are expected to enable a thriving culture; lead with authenticity yet be answerable to their numerous stakeholders’ needs; ensure a constructive political work environment; manage change efficiently and effectively, bringing people along; provide situational or transformational leadership depending on what school of leadership thought, and the list goes on. I wonder if any leader has asked themself if the expectation placed on them is achievable or have many leaders accepted the norm of over-promising and underdelivering. After all, the world is full of those types of leaders who are still lauded as greats. This over-expectation made me think of the concept of one message and pursuing a singular idea in leadership. Is a leader permitted to lead with one message, or must they have multiple messages that suit the varying needs of their constituents? In politics, the use of one message is rife; in Barack Obama's case, it is 'yes we can', for Ronald Reagan, 'let’s make America great again', for Brexiteers 'take back control', and the list goes on. In business, we also have leaders who have subscribed to the power of one message. Indra Nooyi (former CEO of PepsiCo), performance with purpose; Jeff Bezos's (Amazon) customer-centricity; John Timpson (Timpsons Group) upside-down management, which means giving employees complete autonomy; Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group) – employees come first. All these leaders have one thing in common, they focused on one core value proposition and viewed all their organisation endeavours through this lens. Whether you like the listed organisation or not, the one core message has stood the test of time. Many of the stories around this one message concept have been used for several case studies on leadership, both positively and otherwise. Where to start your one message as a leader? Examine your core values as it relates to your role at the top of the hierarchy and use this to create a vision. This vision must address the organisation's current challenges and the hopes and values of your employees with a future narrative that signals greatness on the horizon. Ensure that it is simple, particular and even inspiring. If you are not yet a leader but aspire to be one, recall your strengths, the informal roles you play in a team, your north star (your personal mission statement) and your passions. All these create a professional presence that speaks to your one message. This differentiates you from others. In my case, it is 'do better, feel better'. I want everyone who interacts with me to do better and feel better, myself included. In closing, you can't do it all as a leader; the expectations are huge, the time you have is finite, and the impact you can have is limitless, so what is your one message? Let that drive all that you do, and you will invariably meet the needs of your stakeholders and avoid spending your energies on commitments you can't fulfil. Reflect on these whether you are a leader or not. |
AuthorJust me, 
a HR professional listening, learning and working towards an enhanced people experience at work
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