From #consciousquitting to #goodorganisations: Why We Should Glue Ourselves to Boardroom Tables!
[LEADERS FOR HUMANITY & THE FUTURE OF WORK]
Early in my career, a friend of mine told me that I should always have a plan B, so that when my ‘red lines’ came under threat I couldn’t be pushed beyond them in a desire to stick to plan A. I found out later that he was absolutely right.
Quitting is never easy. Whether quietly, or consciously. But exit, as Paul Polman suggests, must be the right option whenever our values are being compromised, and all reasonable options for ‘voice’ have gone. That said, we should make sure we understand what our values are in the first place, and why — and be fully committed to making ourselves, our work and our society better. Commitment to the point that we will leave if no positive change is possible, but equally resolved to battle until the last hour. Because if we do not “become the change we want to see”, nothing will ever change. And chances are that no organisation will ever become better, if all the good people leave — sadly, those who have no other options but to remain, will be the ones who lose most.
We strongly believe that crafting “Good Organisations” requires, above all, a change in our thinking. If as team members, leaders or #HR we want to combat organisational suffering and “functional stupidity”, we must have the courage to re-examine our societal and business narratives, and reconnect to sound ethical reasoning. Only then can we coherently enable good work for our colleagues and the societies we live in, whilst also enabling commercial viability. And it won’t come for free. It means re-examining our purposes, goals, products, policies, processes, structures and behaviours — to ensure we are effective in giving work the meaning it deserves: to actualise our best human potential, together.
In my experience, none of this is easy. It requires the courage, skills and wisdom to lead ourselves and others, and the willingness to work across boundaries to unite and scale our impact: only together, can we interrupt a paradigm that instrumentalises humanity. But everything else, frankly, is “purpose washing”, or sometimes maybe even personal convenience — either way, it will ultimately do very little to stop the acceleration of a system out of control. Maybe it is time to glue ourselves to board room tables: “If you’re on the road to hell, whatever you do, don’t go faster!”
Listen to the extended keynote here: https://lnkd.in/e6z8YKrJ
More information and recordings from the #HRCongress World Summit 2022 here: https://lnkd.in/e-8SPux8.
More information about the “Good Organisation” inquiry: https://lnkd.in/dCVeY-m
#leadership #management #philosophy #wef #grli #goodorganisations #leadersforhumanity #agile #teal #businessethics #organisationalchange #transformation #hr #hrm #leadership #personaldevelopment #strategy #business #virtueethics #futureofwork
