Opposing the status quo
The other day one of my students at Columbia asked me: “How do you handle opposition to change?” It’s such a classic question. But I realized later we could reframe the question. When leading change, consider that it’s not that others oppose you. It’s that you oppose the status quo. And since the status quo exists mostly in peoples’ minds, you need to change the stories people tell themselves — about the future, and about their own identities.
Good storytelling is arguably the most vital leadership skill for motivating people through change. A compelling story gets straight to our emotions and it changes our minds. But we see too many situations at TJA where leadership teams are laboring through change armed with nothing more than some dense PowerPoints and detailed spreadsheets.
Or they’re drowning in corporate gobbledegook. Take a look at Boeing’s “vision”, which is a list of buzzwords (“Purpose and Mission: Connect, Protect, Explore and Inspire the World through Aerospace Innovation. Aspiration: Best in Aerospace and Enduring Global Industrial Champion”). For an organization that needs to remake itself after a self-inflicted crisis, a good place to start would be with an authentic story of the future.
Here are three types of stories you will want to master to oppose the status quo:
Stories to build belief in a new future:
+ A vision of the world as you want it to be
+ A vision of your organization as you want it to be
Stories to create urgency for change:
+ A story of now — making sense of what is going on in the world
+ A case for change — arguing why we need to act now
Stories to create stability during the change:
+ A purpose and values story — affirming why we exist and what we care about
+ A strategy story — showing the path forward
In theory all of these stories can be contained in one big (potentially long-winded) narrative. But it’s more helpful to see them as distinct stories — and you’ll want to use them in different moments for different reasons.
Two stories in particular are vital for changing the status quo: A vision of the world as you want it to be, and your story of purpose.
A vision of the world as you want it to be
Throughout an organization everyone holds a story about the future, which is usually just a bit like the present, only slightly different — slightly more advanced. Imagine working at BMW in Germany right now. You might believe in the unrivaled power of an internal combustion engine crafted out of exquisitely engineered component parts, and you might see a future that looks like a gradual improvement in those components. Electric engines seem like an additional technology, but not central.
Now imagine yourself as a leader at Tesla, who see a future in which electric engines as the dominant technology.
If you were a Tesla leader hired by BMW, seeking to ignite a transformation, what would you do?
You would have to start with a vision about a world that is distinctly different than today’s — a world that involves zero emissions. A world that is a better place for all your colleagues to inhabit. You would avoid one of those “vision statements” that you see killing people’s motivation with a boring rehash of the company’s goals. No, this would be a vivid story of the external future you want everyone to fight for.
It will:
Help people see themselves as heroes in the story.
Convey a sense of urgency — or the story will seem too abstract.
Be clearly achievable — not weirdly futuristic.
Look around and you will see many thoughtful brands doing a good job here — such as Tesla with its vision of “a world that stops relying on fossil fuels and moves towards a zero emissions future, where electric cars are better, quick and more fun to drive than gasoline ones…”
Do this well, and you are off to a good start. But you will also need an anchor in the form of your story of purpose.
Creating stability with a story of purpose
The difference between the vision you tell and the truth of today creates “cognitive dissonance” — a deeply felt tension between what you want to be true and what’s true today.
One great way to stabilize a culture in transition is with a purpose and origin story. It anchors a culture in a sense of history and continuity. And it gives a fundamental ‘why’ to any change. No matter what else is going on, everyone can turn to a story of purpose for their moral compass.
But don’t mistake a one-line “purpose statement” for a story of purpose — the more the purpose has a human story behind it, the more it will resonate.
Consider the purpose story from my alma mater, SYPartners: “In a world that too easily settles for less, we believe it’s worthy work to believe in, fight for, and envision greatness.” That purpose animated the firm and led it through so many difficult decisions, partly because it had power as a story with dramatic tension, rather than a simple goal.
Or consider this from Etsy: “In a time of increasing automation, it’s our mission to keep human connection at the heart of commerce. That’s why we built a place where creativity lives and thrives because it’s powered by people.”
Both purpose stories can be shortened (Etsy’s becomes “keep commerce human”). But notice that what these purpose stories do is they create more emotion than a simple mission statement. And notice that they put the organization directly in the frame as an enduring hero of the story.
When you combine a great story of the future with a great story of purpose, you are creating a meaningful alternative to the status quo — and you have a much higher chance of overcoming resistance to change.
Lead bravely