I liked this tweet Harold Jarche made a few weeks ago:
The disenfranchised see things much more clearly. Engage with them to make real organizational & institutional change.
Can I hear an “amen”?
This reminds me of the value of seeing the shadow side to any facilitation process. This is especially true for the ones we’re really proud of or confident about. Some people will love the process and feel empowered by it but others won’t. And if you miss what they have to say, you may be missing something really crucial.
It’s way too easy to label the “disenfranchised” as “resistors” and get rid of them. It reminds me of that old joke that business would be great if it wasn’t for the bloody customers. When we’re entranced by our wonderful process and the smart, committed people who “get it” we need to seriously ask, what are we missing? who are we ignoring? ( and maybe, who is ignoring us?).
Useful change is often the work of subversives operating on the margins. It happens as far away as possible from the sweety-rich, highly cappucinoed, university-endorsed idealab-createspace-hubzone-changeforum-incubationyurt occupied by the corporate “innovation champion”.
Gratuitous illustrative Python clip:
Extra bonus NSFW python clip:
