However, as Elizabeth Lank put it:“The program has set a new
expectation level for the company’s investment in dialog with employees,
and the company’s leaders will need to meet—or exceed—that
expectation in the years to come.” A good challenge for any organization
to have as an outcome of successfully releasing the natural intelligence of
its employees!
Think about any significant period of change you have been through in an organization. Go
through the story of it in your head or with a close friend or colleague. Reflect on any simi-
larities to and differences from the ICL and Celemi example. What do you learn from this?
Look at some examples of the different statements people make when faced with a challeng-
ing situation that is going to call on them to change. Which of these do you most often use?
Which would you want others around you to use? Can you put them into any kind of order?
“The reality of the situation is...”
“I’ll find a solution.”
“I wasn’t even aware that there was a problem.”
“I’ll wait and hope that someone else sorts it out.”
“It’s my problem too.”
“It’s her/his fault.”
“I can’t do it because...”
“I’ll get on with it.”
Responsive learning
Once you have learned something and decided to change as a result
of it, a number of reasonably predictable things begin to happen. Of
course, they are much more complicated than the ones sketched out
below. But there will, hopefully, be enough resonance with your own
experiences for you to find this useful.
The goal for most organizations is to ensure that they have
flexible, adaptable, optimistic employees. Most people recognize
that flexibility and adaptability are key skills for their continued
employment and personal success.
While it is easy to aspire to such goals, it is, of course, much
more difficult to realize them! One way of preparing yourself is to
be much clearer about the process of change and using the appro-
priate learning tools to thrive and adapt.
Responsiveness 217
