Our Purpose at The Change Maker Group is to “develop Change Makers everywhere, so they can change their world”. A couple of years ago I wrote “There is a rising tide of change makers across the globe. Join them and make a difference”.
I was writing that anyone can be a change maker, and that it is up to the individual to put themselves in a position to make the most of their strengths and skills. I was also stating my opinion that businesses and other organisations need to nurture their change makers and get them focused on the gut-wrenching change that is necessary in the 21st century.
This is no less true now. With the massive political and social upheaval that people around the world are experiencing, the warnings of perilous global warming in our lifetimes, and a sustainability crisis that no-one imagined 50 years ago, we need change makers more now than possibly ever. If we consider the world in terms of VUCA (coined in the 1980’s to recognise the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity of sustaining society and humanity) – we’re at VUCA+ now. Some issues are perceived as just too massive to handle.
In our working lives we will be as impacted by these factors as much as in our private lives. Think about some examples – about Brexit in the UK, political turmoil in Venezuela, government shutdowns in the US, climate strikes by children in Europe – all of these impact upon people working across the globe. People will need to deal with practical issues such as undersupply of products and materials, disruption of funding, personal impacts through changing ways of working or unemployment, and a myriad of other implications. Technology won’t deal with any of this for us. Whatever happens, people will go to work and have to deal with these issues. It is apparent that it will not be easy.
How do people cope and work to deliver everything that is needed? They leverage their skills, knowledge and experience, and their innate strengths and desires to make everything as good as it can be. For their families, colleagues, communities, employers, the planet. They draw upon the same facets of those around them, helping one another achieve great things. These are the change makers. They help move change forward in their organisations.
There are a large number of high-profile change makers in history and today. But the truth is that there are millions of unsung people around the world, striving to make things better than they otherwise might be. People working in organisations need to be developed to make the most of their attributes as change makers, dealing with the challenges facing them, being resilient in adversity, making the most of scarce resources. To deal with the massive issues in our VUCA+ world change makers need to be set free to contribute to change – the days of following a long-term strategic plan are over. (1)
Do you know who your change makers are and how they can help your organisation deal with the challenges now and in the future? Do they have the development and support they need to be effective and resilient? You need your change makers now more than ever.
Back to our Purpose – we use every opportunity to create change makers. This way we will support our triple bottom line – people, planet and profit. Rather than paying dividends to shareholders, we use our profits to create even more change makers too! That is our legacy.
Contact David at [email protected]
(1) Our WICKEDD© thinking about working in a VUCA world (with Nicky Carew)
