Alignment: the big illusion
Where is this obsession with clarity and alignment come from? We continuously hear that our organizations. People want things to be clear. Management need to bring clarity to their purpose and vision. People want clarity first before they accept to join a project etc… As if clarity itself would magically solve the « Quiet Quitting » and « Great Resignation » problems. As if when you ask people something and you’ve been clear enough on your ask, people will automatically « buy in » and « be aligned ». As if if you are clear on the change of behaviours you expect, then of course people WILL change. As if you didn’t get the approach wrong, but simply the message.
Communication is not change
At humanize, we believe that we need to come clean with the obsession of « clarity » and “alignment”. You should of course work on the clarity and consistency of your message. But communicate to your employees or train them as much as you want, people will still not change their behaviours until they see 2 things 1) tangible facts confirming that this is the way to go (from leaders, from processes and systems), 2) social proof that it is “safe” to change (from peers and informal influencers). Because communication is not change.
Another way is possible
Communication should be used carefully (read more about our view on that here) but good communication is necessary. Equally, clarity of message is absolutely key. And a programme of workshops to discuss purpose, vision and mission may of course be a very important thing to do to engage with your employees. humanize can help you with that. Yet, if you think those activities are enough for people to change their daily behaviours (i.e. to change the culture of your company), you might be disappointed…
If you are ready to try something new, we can help you get your employees to « buy in » and « be aligned » with your vision and strategy. We will just do it in a different way. Try us and our 4 step approach: 1°) investing on humble formal leaders (upskilling&coaching), 2°) leveraging social networks and committed informal influencers, 3°) developing new social norms through orchestration of everyday stories and reframing of collective story, and 4°) mapping and ensuring consistency of key internal processes.
