Over the years, I have written extensively about the interconnectivity of organizational history, culture, and meaningful work within successful organizations. In particular, I have pointed out how excellence, culture, and strategy impact execution. I have noted the role of cultural clarity and the concept of alignment plus the power of meta-messages in building culture. I also have explained the importance of accountability in building culture, and have even explored the subject of how organizational culture becomes real at the team level.
Today, I want to explore one element of building a better culture, namely personal transformation. In particular, I have been reflecting deeply on something that Franciscan priest and writer, Father Richard Rohr wrote: “Transformed people transform people.” On the surface, this seems elementary. Beneath the surface, there is great depth in such a short and powerful sentence.
Most people, especially ones in leadership positions, focus on the later part of this single sentence. They want to “transform people.” They want people to change, and to generate more and/or better outcomes. They define this as the pathway to building a better culture in their organization.
From my perspective, few people want to focus on the first two words of this sentence, namely being a “transformed” person. I think this happens because most people believe they are just fine as they are. They believe that they have it all figured out. They believe that the only problem in their life is that others have not changed enough to accommodate their clarity. From their perspective, they believe they already have transformed and now everyone else needs to catch up.
Still, if the goal is to build a better culture, then transformation is a two way street. And the first step is being open to personal transformation. This is a choice that take courage, fortitude, and commitment. It is not an overnight process.
One element of this choice is to stop trying to change other people and their ways of thinking before having done our own personal, internal work. Instead, we need to be open to changing our ideas and most important our perspective. Not that everything needs to be abandoned in our life and work as part of this process, but certain ideas and perspectives need to be routinely re-evaluated to make sure we are not missing critical information or telling ourselves a story, for lack of a better term, that is not true or accurate. As executive coach, author and founder of The Restoration Project, Lindsay Leahy in her book, Take It All Apart: How to Live, Lead, and Work with Intention (River Grove Books, 2024), writes: “Discovering and then releasing what no longer serves us is a critical part of our personal evolution as a human and a leader that we typically avoid or skip. We like to jump straight to dreaming and doing more, likely because letting go can be painful. When we succumb to the temptation of skipping this part or moving through it too quickly, we find ourselves unsettled, frustrated, anxious, and eventually back at the base of the mountain, having taken the wrong path . . . again.”
This in-depth work of personal transformation requires us to do three things. First, we need time and space for reflection. Second, we need quality resources like the aforementioned book to help us to create new insights. Third, we need people who will support us in this work. They can be allies, confidents, executive coaches, or mentors. These are the people who will be present as we think out loud, reflect deeply, and move through the normal, and sometimes painful steps of personal transformation.
When these three elements are present, transformation can begin. And, in time, building a better culture will also take place. As Tod Bolsinger reminds us, “Leaders are formed in leading. Leadership formation is a hard and humbling, repetitive process of personal transformation.” This week, I encourage you to do the hard, humbling, and repetitive work of personal transformation. It will make a difference in your life at work and at home.
