7 Ways to Turn Your Organization Upside Down

One of the major obstacles to change and growth in an organization is something we call “Organizational Inertia.” In physics, inertia is: the tendency of matter to remain at rest if at rest, or, if moving, to keep moving in the same direction, unless affected by some outside force.” In common language this means that people – especially in bureaucratic systems – will repeat old behavior and defend the status quo even when they are not getting the results they want.

One way to create change, then, is to exert an “outside force” on the existing system. In other words, change the workspace and you’ll change the way people behave in that space.

Seven Ways You Can Turn Your Organization Upside Down and Backwards to create new perspective:

1. Begin every meeting with a “good news report” instead of a “what’s broken” report. You’ll shift the mood of the room into a more creative, optimistic space, which will lead to better problem-solving and faster-decision-making.
2. Shift primary responsibility for employee assessment from managers to their team members. I speak from ten years of personal experience when I promise you that (once people receive basic training in the process) the quality and depth of performance feedback will INCREASE when individuals shift from passive receivers to active partners in their performance appraisal process.
3. Add an Upward Appraisal to your feedback system.  If you’re really serious about improving leadership in your organization, add an element of upward feedback to encourage frank conversation about teamwork (even entry-level folks have great ideas about what their manager could be doing to support them better!)
4. Write “contracts” with project team members, versus impose deliverables..  Goals created in a conversation of mutual commitment are more likely to energize AND get met, on time, than goals imposed from “on high” without negotiation.
5. Engage team members in the process of selecting new members of the team, or even (gasp) their new boss.  When people are invested in the hiring decision, they will view that person’s success in a different – and more positive — way.
6. Ask people what they think BEFORE you make your decision. Yep, that’s what I said.  Hold as a possibility that you DON’T know everything!
7. Hold (at least some of) your meetings standing up. Notice how the energy of a meeting shifts and becomes more efficient when the physical props change.

ACTION ITEM: Hold this question in front of you for the next month: How might I challenge the status quo, shift the environment, or create new ways for people to work together?

Remember, Leadership is not about a title: Anyone can be a leader who deliberately seeks ways to challenge organizational inertia, and strives to help others step up and take a more active and engaged role in their work.

Do it backwards for a Change!

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a rut, seemingly unable to change a habit or a feeling? Have you heard the quote, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” and thought, “What does that mean for me?”

One way to creatively approach any stubborn situation is to Reverse It – do it backwards, upside down, or from an opposite point of view.  The Reverse It technique pulls you out of the fog of Habit and helps you notice or shift things that were not possible when you were following your usual process.

I use the Reverse It technique in many areas of my life. For instance, when I find myself getting bored with my fitness routines, I can change up simply by starting at the end.  When I walk, I nearly always turn left out of my driveway, but when I turn right instead I have a totally different walking experience.

What are some ways you might Reverse It to shake up a part of your life that you want to change?

1. Instead of trying to take a deep breath to calm down in the middle of a tough conversation, try taking a minute BEFORE the conversation to calm and center you.
2. If getting to the gym is not working for you on your current schedule, flip your visit to the other end of your day and see if shifts your motivation and/or energy.
3. Start a few conversations by stating what YOU want instead of first dancing around and trying to figure out what the other person wants.
4. Park at the back of the lot instead of the front, and use the extra minute of walking to let your body warm up.
5. Come in to a building via a different entrance and notice how things look from a different perspective. For example, enter your workplace via the customer/patient entrance vs. the employee entrance.  Or use the front door vs. the side door of your church/temple and notice the new view.
6. If you’re rushed in the morning, but then spend an hour glazed over in front of the TV at night, try reversing that hour of your day – move up your bedtime and “flip” an extra 30 minutes into your morning.
7. Instead of waiting for someone to recognize or appreciate you, reverse the conversation and take time every day to offer a compliment or gratitude to someone else.

When you change the way you approach a situation, you create new points of view that can lead to different outcomes and different emotions.

An Action Step

Back to that quote:  stop the insanity of repeating old, ineffective behavior!

Pick an aspect of your life or work that is “not working” for you right now.  Step back and ask, “In what way(s) might I Reverse this to create a different motivation, reaction, or perspective for myself?” Then put that opposite into practice a few times and notice what you learn from the experience.  If your outcomes change, then you have a winner!

Pay Attention to Your Limitations

“Interestingly, Koi, when put in a fish bowl, will only grow up to three inches. When this same fish is placed in a large tank, it will grow to about nine inches long. In a pond Koi can reach lengths of eighteen inches. Amazingly, when placed in a lake, Koi can grow to three feet long. The metaphor is obvious. You are limited by how you see the world.” — Vince Poscente

Koi, of course, are more often known as the common goldfish.  I’ve seen the above phenomenon play out when we’ve taken goldfish won at a carnival from a bowl on a shelf and moved them to our neighbor’s pond.

The funny thing about this self-limiting growth is that the fish is completely unaware of their environmental constraints.  They simply grow into what ever is available to them.  In a like manner, human beings grow into the space that’s available to them, often without being aware of the constraints others have placed on them.  We grow up to meet the expectations that others — and ourselves — have of us.

A big difference between humans and fish, of course, is that the fish will never really be aware — whereas the human has the capacity to notice their environment and intentionally choose to change it.

Do you choose to live your life in a small or big way?  And if you’re not happy with where you are, what are you doing about it?

In happiness, J