Are you just trying to cover your arse?

Don’t worry…

According to Jason Clarke, human nature drives us to worry about preserving our reputation. His TEDx Perth talk made me rethink my work…it inspired me.

We’re embracing institutional or social change…but only when it doesn’t threaten our status within our own social or business hierarchy.

But, what have we lost? 

We’ve lost genuine opportunities to challenge our conditioned social norms and translate them into policies that result in a diverse, inclusive, progressive society.

Do rock the boat

I started online school last fall – like nearly every grade school, college and university student across America, thanks to the pandemic.

It’s hard to focus on your studies when you can’t interact in person with your fellow students. The experience is unsettling for old fogies like me…

There’s a reason people talk about a “collegial environment” in their workplace with warmth and appreciation. 

It’s defined as a group of people sharing responsibility, cooperating, and not focussing on advancing their own goals for personal gain. 

Basically, a college or university environment.

However, my new experience as a “mature” virtual student struck me in a different way…

Somehow, my professors have managed to maintain our cohort, adapt their lessons and keep us all engaged.

As I work towards my MBA, I remain in awe of the faculty’s ability to navigate this new, detached learning environment. They’ve continued to innovate and find new ways to captivate their students. 

They’ve abandoned their norms.

I really don’t have an excuse to abandon my work as a catalyst for social justice. I lost countless contracts in the blink of an eye when COVID-19 restrictions were put in place. It was dizzying – and expensive.

But, I can reach people who are embracing social change, and help them maintain their grip.

I just have to keep rocking the boat.

Don’t let the newness get old

When I first started thinking about this, we were all holding our breath and waiting for the national election results.

For many, there was an exhale of relief on January 20th. It was a return to ‘business as usual’…

But it was also a signal that we were ready to hit the reset button. So we can’t let the newness of this change get old…

That would just lead to continued complacency and self-preservation.

If you didn’t have time to watch Jason Clarke’s TEDx Talk, I’ll give you the highlights.

Here are the three things that most occupy us…that don’t result in meaningful institutional or social change: 

1. Arse covering.
2. Turf wars. 
3. Office intrigue.

You’ll notice the tiny green sliver that’s identified as “achievement”…

Yep. In the worst-case scenario, that’s how much time we spend in our workplace actually achieving something that advances the company’s goals.

To be clear, it’s not your fault entirely. If a company hasn’t signalled and explained their goals to you, small wonder you haven’t achieved them.

The same applies to charitable agencies trying to enact social change.

If they haven’t articulated how you can care, not just why you should care, there’s a failure of leadership.

It takes powers of observation to identify a problem. It takes power of motivation to get everyone on board to solve the problem.

Grant me the serenity

You don’t have to be the praying type to appreciate the sentiment of the Serenity Prayer.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Clarke breaks down the arguments against making any change…

”It’s just the way we’ve always done things.”

“It’s tradition.”

“We’ve never tried that before, why would we try now?”

So many social and business norms were tossed out the window in 2020, and they’re spilling over into 2021. Isn’t this the perfect time to reinvent the dialogue about diversity and inclusion?

It was a struggle for me to adapt my curriculum to a virtual platform. This old dog had to learn some very, very new tricks.

But I persisted. 

Most of your employees are working remotely. That doesn’t mean you can’t rock the boat.

Contact me, and we’ll get a conversation started.

Related articles:

 

Meaningful change requires working on yourself first

Are expectations of others unfair? Think ‘present’ vs ‘now’

Why Listening To Others Requires A Genuine Desire To Understand