What we change towards is as important as what we change from.

I am practicing Lent for the first time in many years, and using Sarah Bessey’s Field Notes as a guide. She wrote an essay that emphasised the desired behaviour. She encouraged her readers to pay attention to behaviour they want, rather than what they are doing now. Here is an extract from the essay:

Turning away from social media and turning towards inviting a friend over.

Turning away from panic and fear, turning towards tangible practical support for refugees.

Turning away from fast fashion, turning towards thoughtful sustainable clothing.

Turning away from mindless fossil fuel usage, turning towards public transit, or walking or biking.

Her ‘turnings’ made me think about change.  What we change to is as important as what we change from.  Much corporate change is focused on unwanted behaviours, rather than desired behaviour.

Changing towards

Changing from a culture that’s resistant, and changing toward everyone’s success, inclusion, and equality.

Changing from a silo mentality, and changing towards parts working together because they understand the whole.

Changing from business processes that inhibit, and changing towards processes that enable people to be more human and alive at work, to bring their full humanity to the workplace, and embedding that into the culture.

Businesses that build tomorrow’s world will change towards acts that will advance each other within and without the organization.

An integral part of the MyCube4Change framework is answering the question ‘what new behaviour will result from your change?‘ If you want your team to explore what they can change towards visit mc4c.net/101.

I am indebted to podcaster and blogger Sarah Bessey for this blog.