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CHAPTER 11
FUTURE PULL Understanding the Culture in Culture Change by LaVrene Norton
HOW DO WE CHANGE OUR ORGANIZA- TION’S CULTURE TO RESULT IN OUR DE- SIRED OUTCOMES?
Mutual reflection. Open and candid conversa- tion. Questioning of old beliefs and assump- tions. Learning to let go. Awareness of how our own actions create the systemic structures that produce our problems. Developing these learn- ing capabilities lies at the heart of profound change. (Senge et al., 1999, p. 241)
RETHINK: SHARED VISION BECOMES THE FUTURE PULL
The type of learning needed to sustain deep culture change is done together, on the job, in real time. Thus we build a shared vision, and it pulls us to it. The orga- nization’s responsibility is to create the climate where growth occurs and results in the desired outcomes.
Think of a greenhouse or a farmer’s field. It is in our DNA as caregivers to want to make a good and mean- ingful life possible for those we care for, just as it is in a carrot seed’s DNA to grow. It will do the farmer little good to stand over the carrot seeds and order them to sprout and grow. Instead, the successful farmer pro- vides a nurturing environment—good soil, water, fer- tilizer, and warm sun—while also plowing under the weeds that impede growth. The carrot can then follow its natural inclination to grow.
The authoritarian “hero-CEO” may get short-lived results by ordering workers to change and improve. But success will die on the vine if it is not sustained by personal commitment to a shared vision of the future.
To develop a compelling vision, we must all re- think what we really want. For me, it is a true home for residents where they remain in control of their lives to the greatest degree possible and continue to flourish. It is a learning climate for staff where each can grow
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