The big presentations are happening today. All the managers have their best suits on, all the hallways have been cleaned and there is a definitive smell of anticipation in the air.
The way forward has been decided by management and is being presented today. By all accounts we are going to be great.
We all down tools are directed to the large meeting room. T-shirts for everyone.
The CEO is on the podium with a suitably placed glass of water at hand. It is good to see him as he hasn’t been in touch for a while. He introduces the consultants standing behind him – at last we know who these individuals are as they have been walking around the site for the last month. He then starts the ‘bells and whistles’ powerpoint presentation.
He tells us that we need to change. We are going to be more empowered, synergized and now we will be working better in teams. They have finalized the plans and now it is up to us.
The slideshow is full of colored graphs and projections for the future – if we didn’t know where we are we would believe that we were in another organization.
As staff we look around at each other and it seems that we are all sharing the same thoughts.
‘I never knew that I wasn’t empowered’
‘We always work in teams and we work very hard’
‘Instead of spending all that money on consultants they should employ the staff they promised last year’
‘Why didn’t anyone ask us’
We begin to tune out, take away the new t-shirts with the catchy vision statement and head back to our existing/new jobs and wonder what it is all for.
This simple story happens around the world everyday. People embrace change if they are involved in it, they’ll question change if they are not.
Involve your staff
