Be the Change You Want to See

Of course, Mahatma Gandhi didn’t quite say that.  The actual quote was longer.  But that’s what he meant.  He is pictured here right after he switched from western suits to the loin cloths of poor Indians.  He was communicating directly with his followers.

“I am one of you,” he was saying.  “Together we are going to find independence for our country!”  After many hard years, it worked.  The British left India.

If you’re a new manager, you’ll find that nonverbal communication gets your message across far better than your meager words:

• Not many of us have the resources of Richard Holbrooke, but he engineered one of the most impressive nonverbal messages of all time to bring peace to the Balkans in 1995.  After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Balkans were in flames from religious wars and ethnic cleansing.

The US State Department assigned Holbrooke, its most senior negotiator to bring the bloodthirsty warlords to the conference table and end the killing.  To put it mildly, nothing worked.  Holbrooke broke the impasse by moving the venue to Dayton, Ohio.

“What!” you say.  “Dayton, Ohio??  What’s in Dayton, Ohio?”

Well, actually it wasn’t exactly in Dayton.  It was in Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, next to Dayton.  And it wasn’t in an office building in the base.  It was in a hanger.  The conference table was situated under the nose of a stealth bomber.

The warlords got the message.  The treaty was signed.  Thousands of lives were saved.

• Cortes, according to legend, lined up his soldiers on the beach and burned the ships before marching to Tenochtitlan to conquer the Aztecs.

• In the movie “Hidden Figures” Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician at NASA in the 1960s, is confronted by her boss, Al Harrison, about her long breaks in the middle of the day.  Johnson explains that the ‘colored ladies’ restroom’ is half a mile away. 

In the next scene Harrison is on a step ladder with a sledge hammer.  His whole department is assembled in the hallway outside the colored ladies’ restroom.  No explanation is given as he smashes the ‘colored ladies’ sign into shrapnel.

Harrison then announces, “From now on, we’re all one team,” and walks away.

You may not have the opportunity to transform whole societies, like Gandhi or Holbrooke.  But, if you’re a manager, keep in mind that your employees are looking to you for direction whether you’re giving it or not.  You’re always on stage.  Actions count.  Words, not so much. 

What are some concrete examples we can use in everyday life? 

• If you let bad product get out the door, all the words spoken by all of humanity until the end of time will not recover your credibility.
• Don’t tell your employees that you value them.  Go to bat for them.  People will line up at the door to get into your department.
• If you want to create a culture of quality, let your people own part of the show.  Check out Positive Compliance (tm).

How about you?  Do you have a similar story?  What has worked best for you?  Comment below.