Starting Where You Are With Whoever Is There
Senge argues that organizational learning can begin below top management. Galloway’s account emphasizes starting with the people, resources, and opportunities available rather than waiting for senior leaders to drive every change.
THE IDEA
2. STARTING WHERE YOU ARE WITH WHOEVER IS THERE
People may believe there is little they can change without top management’s support. Senge argues that strategic thinking and organizational learning matter for leaders at every level.
“I often hear people say ‘We can’t initiate change without top managers driving it,’” says Intel’s Galloway. “If we waited around for top managers to drive every change that is needed, we would wait a long time. That’s one of my hot buttons, I must admit. Part of it has to do with my background. When I started in graduate school in 1986, I felt like I had come home. I knew this organizational learning and change work was my calling. But I also heard all my professors continually saying ‘Organizational change has to start at the top.’ At that time, as an African-American woman, I knew I was not going to get a job with the head of [an] organization. So, I had to think long and hard about whether I believed I was going to get a chance to make a difference. Two things helped me. One, I started to look at the social changes in the U.S. The civil rights movement, and the feminist movement were reshaping lives and the nation. They were not initiated by elected officials; these were grassroots movements. Second, I ran across an article by John H. Johnson, the late publisher of Ebony magazine. In the ‘50s when he tried to start the magazine, the white establishment said he wouldn’t have anybody to put in the magazine—there were no middle-or upper-class African Americans, no black celebrities. He couldn’t get any money to publish it. But he said, ‘There is no defense against an excellence that meets a pressing public need,’ and proved them wrong. I have the quote on my wall, and that became my strategy.”
When to use it
A new employee wants to improve a process but lacks authority; they can form a cross-functional team to pilot the improvement.
A community organizer mobilizes local residents to address a neighborhood issue without waiting for government action.
A teacher implements a new teaching method in their classroom despite district resistance, demonstrating results that eventually influence policy.
A nonprofit staff member launches a small-scale program to meet an unmet need, using available resources and building momentum from the ground up.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Galloway's Grassroots Strategy
As an African-American woman in graduate school, Diana Galloway realized that waiting for top management to drive change was not feasible. She drew inspiration from the civil rights and feminist movements, and from John H. Johnson's quote 'There is no defense against an excellence that meets a pressing public need.' She chose to start where she was and make a difference.
Implementing a New Process
A mid-level manager in a large corporation wants to implement a new process but lacks executive support. Instead of waiting, she builds a pilot team with interested colleagues and demonstrates success, eventually gaining broader adoption.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
In your current role, what changes can you initiate without waiting for top management approval?
What grassroots movements in your organization or community have you observed that brought about change?
How can you apply the principle 'There is no defense against an excellence that meets a pressing public need' to your work?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- The Fifth Discipline The Art Practice of the Learning Organization (Peter M. Senge)