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Creating Sustainable Change
I mean, not just checking things off a to-do list or focusing on an employee survey score and raising it. This is about really feeling a sense of awe because together you did something different this time. You found the high leverage points to achieve success. You had real conversations with your co-workers that inspired creative thinking. There was no fear of conflict and you eliminated surface talk. It can happen. It does happen. Are you up for it?
What Does Your Organization Smell Like?
I RECENTLY CAME ACROSS A VIDEO SHARED BY A DEAR FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE (WHOM I’LL GUSH ABOUT IN A MOMENT) THAT HAS RESONATED DEEPLY WITH MANY (HUNDREDS ACTUALLY) OF THE LEADERS I’M WORKING WITH. IT’S CALLED “THE SMELL OF THE PLACE” AND IT’S AN 8 MINUTE CLIP OF PROFESSOR SUMANTRA GHOSHAL SPEAKING ABOUT DETECTING “CONTEXT” OR ”TONE” IN ORGANIZATION OR WHAT HE CALLS, “A SMELL” OF THE PLACE.
Fontainebleu Forest
The profound metaphor that seems to resonate with so many of us is the analogy he uses about comparing his energy when he is walking through the forest of Fontainebleau in spring and when he is visiting his home town of Calcutta in the summer. He challenges us to go to the forest in spring and try to have a leisurely walk.
There is something in the air, in the smell of the forest, that can’t help but put a spring in your step that will want to make you jump, skip and run. When he visits Calcutta in the summer, it is very hot, and very humid. He is tired most of the time and stays indoors most of the visit. He generally has a lot of energy, and in Fontainebleau, he has even more. In Calcutta, his energy is much lower and his “kick in his step” is diminished.
“Most of us have created Calcutta in the summer inside our organizations”
especially in larger organizations. And then we blame it on our employees that they won’t want to change, or they’re not motivated or engaged the way we want them to be.
He goes on to describe the four main differences between a “Calcutta in Summer” organizational tone and a “Fontainebleau in Spring.” They include shifting from:
- Constraint, Compliance, Control, & Contract instead to:
- Stretch, Discipline, Trust & Support
He gives examples of what each of these mean and I encourage you to listen to his examples and see what resonates with you as it relates to your own organization.
The real power in his message comes when you invite others to join you in a dialogue to think together about what this means to you, your team and your organization.
Questions me and my clients have been pondering:
What does it take to create Fontainebleau in Spring in our organization?
What is the “current smell” in our organization and what do we think about that?
What is my role as a leader in affecting “the smell of the place?” and how have I been doing in the last six months?
What mental models are we holding on to that might be unconsciously creating an atmosphere of Calcutta in summer?
What would the front line say about “the smell of the place” if we were to ask them how it feels around here?
I encourage you to give this inspiring and thought-provoking video a look and bring it to your next team or leadership meeting and invite a conversation and see what comes up. The beautiful thing is, as Professor Ghoshal points out, even if you do have Calcutta in the Summer in your organization, it IS possible to change it to Fontainebleau in the spring. Here’s the video. And following it, are my gushing appreciations to a few colleagues for introducing me to it and some other resources you may be interested in if you’re as fascinated with social and corporate culture and tone as I am.
Thanks to Dorian who originally introduced me to this video. Dorian learned of it from Glennie. I have the privelege of working with both Dorian and Glennie as colleagues of Dialogos. Dorian is many fabulous things and my favorite is her ability to connect people who need to be connected to create great things and her never ending generosity in bringing fascination and inspiration to the world. Glennie is simply, to me, one of the absolute best facilitators and coaches I have ever met and every minute I’m in her presence is like a life time of mentoring.
If you’re interested in organizational culture, check out anything by Ed Schein, particularly Culture and Leadership, or The Corporate Culture Survival Guide. Professor Ghoshal himself has publications in the MIT Sloan Review as well and you can find his bibliography at:
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