funny you said ‘sermon’ earlier,” Commitment continued at last, “because that pretty much sums up what I feel like I’m doing here—preaching. The congregation—made up of leaders and managers—comes every Sunday. They smile, nod, shake my hand and then go out and behave any way they want Monday through Saturday. Academically, they understand that people are much more likely to buy in to a Change when they are involved in the planning and have an opportunity to influence decisions. The leaders and managers are just not, may I say, committed to consistently applying the knowledge. And they fool themselves into thinking our employees don’t see what’s going on.”
Commitment looked exhausted. This was odd, considering that McNally had heard Commitment was typically full of energy and enthusiasm. “One more question,” McNally said. “Do you know who might have killed Change?”
“I truly don’t,” replied Commitment earnestly. “It’s hard for me to believe that people wouldn’t be committed to Change given what he was trying to do.”
Once again they shook hands, and Commitment left the room.
Reflections on Culture and Commitment
TAKING a break from the interviews, McNally stepped outside the office, lit a cigar and thought about what he had learned from Culture and Commitment. He wrote in his notebook some ideas about what he’d learned.
CULTURE
While Culture could readily recite the formal organizational values that were displayed on posters throughout the organization, she wasn’t really in tune:
She did not understand the real values of the organization—the predominant attitudes, beliefs and behavior patterns that characterized the organization.
When there is a disconnect between stated values and the way an organization actually operates, the values posted on the wall are disregarded. Employees become skeptical, even cynical, about leaders who say one thing and do another. The real culture and values always speak louder than the stated ones. Change would have been better off spending his time trying to understand and align himself with the real culture and values of ACME than seeking advice from Culture.
COMMITMENT
Commitment is an interesting character:
He knows that people are more likely to buy in to a decision that they’ve influenced than a decision imposed on them by others. He also knows that uncovering the predictable concerns people have in the face of Change allows the concerns to be addressed, increasing both trust and buy-in.
Despite his passion, Commitment was not able to convince the leaders of the organization to act on his knowledge. As a result, the people left out of influencing Change reminded the leaders that they could derail or even kill him.
Were Culture and Commitment viable suspects? At this point in the investigation, McNally didn’t know. He had more questions than answers.
Did Change understand Culture well enough to align with her or try to change her?
Did the senior leaders understand that while it is true that decisions can be made faster when fewer people are involved, such decisions do not usually translate into faster, better or more sustainable integration of Change because there’s no Commitment without involvement?
Did those leaders who knew a lot about Culture and Commitment do everything they could to help Change become a real part of the organization?
SPENCE Sponsorship was a walking advertisement in a men’s fashion magazine. From his shined shoes to his perfect hair, he hadn’t missed a single detail. Agent McNally glanced at his own wrinkled shirt, loosened tie and dull black shoes, and made a mental note that he could not allow himself to dislike Sponsorship because of his image. Dispassionately, McNally asked, “So, what do you do here in the organization?”
“One of the main jobs I have,” replied Sponsorship, “is to be the executive sponsor of a Change’s major effort here and ensure we have a Change Leadership Team that works well together. What I mean is that for Change to have a major success at ACME, there must be one person—someone in an influential position—who takes what I call ownership of the Change. To that end, our organization is structured so that I am the one to whom most departments eventually report. Granted, I have directors and managers who take care of the day-to-day operations. But the staff here is keenly aware of my position. If I endorse, shall we say, a project, staff members know that it’s going to happen—one way or another.”
McNally took a mental note that in Sponsorship’s opening discourse he used the word I six times in six sentences. “So how many Change initiatives have you had in the past year?” asked McNally.
Sponsorship did not hesitate. “Four,” he said.
With virtually no attempt to mask his sarcasm, McNally asked, “And other than relying on your status and position, what did you actually do that might be perceived as true sponsorship?”
Sponsorship looked puzzled and responded, “I organized meetings and communicated my expectations.”
There was a long pause. Finally McNally prompted, “And what else?”
“I have directors and managers to take it from there.”
“How well did you know Change?”
“Oh, we were good friends. We played some golf and every once in a while we would get together for a game of racquetball.”
“What about your professional relationship?”
“Certainly at these meetings I would put Change front and center. I would leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that I was behind Change one hundred percent.”
“Then you would let your directors and managers take it from there?” McNally asked.
“Well, yeah. To deal with Change is one of the things I pay them for.”
“Let me ask you a question,” McNally said. “Married?”
“No.”
“All right. Let’s say you have a girlfriend who one day tells you she loves you. After that day, you barely talk except when you say hello as you pass in the hall. Is that a relationship you think is going to work out?”
“Well, no, probably not.”
“Do you see the connection?” asked McNally.
Sponsorship, looking puzzled, did not respond.
McNally lost his patience. “Look, you cannot expect Change to be successful based on putting him front and center in a
