Principles of working together to advance culture change
Par Family Councils Ontario
We’re all travelling together on the culture change journey. Whether we’re at the very beginning and only just starting to understand culture change, or we’re coaching others on how to make the progress we’ve achieved, we are all making the journey together. In order to truly embrace culture change, be good culture change journey co-travellers, and seek to change behaviours into those that reflect and further our culture change goals, we need to understand the principles that will enable us to do so.
Be present. To be present with your culture change journey travellers is to be fully engaged in the moment. Being fully engaged in the moment requires letting go of the past and not thinking about the future. It requires focus and attention to the people, interactions, sensations, and experiences as they occur. It requires your mind and body being attuned to what is currently happening. Doing this will help ensure that people feel seen and heard. Without this, people will not feel valued, seen, or heard and we must value, see, and hear our partners if we want them to make the journey with us.
Meet people where they are. Embrace your culture change journey travellers by first accepting and meeting them where they are. In order to support people we must recognize, understand, and respect where people are within the culture change journey. Not everyone will be where you want them to be. To partner with them, it is essential to meet them where they are and continue the journey with them. Seek to understand people’s experiences, goals, wishes, and fears in order to truly connect with them in a way that helps build relationships and community. It is only through understanding, connection, and community that we can truly make the changes we want to see.
Be authentic. To be authentic is to bring your true self into your task.. It means to be present with authenticity and to be courageous. Advancing culture change requires focussing on what we are doing well, admitting what we need to change, and having the vulnerability and courage to admit your struggles, ask for what you need, and try new things. It also requires reflecting on how we get in our own way and how we stop ourselves from making progress. Ask yourself: how are my feeling, thoughts and actions helping or hindering my progress? How are they impacting my or my organization’s work to advance culture change? Be authentic and brave in answering these questions and taking the next steps to create communities where everyone thrives.
Keep the end in mind and learn from your experiences. Culture change is a journey and not always a direct one. Like any long journey or process, there will be bumps in the road. Your car may break down or an activity may not work. The hotel may lose your reservation or there may be disagreement between families and staff on how to make a process to make it more resident-centred. These events could derail your progress or deplete morale, but only if you let them. If you can learn from every experience, both positive and negative, and keep your end goal in mind you can keep moving forward on your journey instead of getting off track.
Next week we’ll wrap up our culture change series so stay tuned! In the meantime, share your tips for working together to advance culture change on our Facebook page.