“Can we change the consciousness of an organization without changing the consciousness of the people working within the organization?” It needs deep thinking!
If we go into the history of management, the locomotive of economic change affecting the organization globally was either America or Japan. The organizations are managed based on the American system – the Taylorism approach or the Japanese – Kaizen system. But, in today’s era, even these systems do not seem to work in tandem with the growing economy.
American system moreover worked like military style, they said, “bring your hands to work and we will use our head”. The decision making was centralized. This system went on for about 30 years and then emerged Total Quality Management by the Japanese, they realized the creativity of every human mind and said, “why just come with your hands, bring your creative mind as well” They valued people’s creativity, ideas and suggestions and thus introduced the Kaizen system. This helped them emerge as leaders of the world. But today even this system is facing challenge.
Organisations of today are becoming more purpose driven moving away from profit driven. They not only need hand and head but also the hearts of the people. This changed landscape does need people who are aligned with the organisational purpose who are clear on & how one is adding value and contributing to the overall purpose of the organisation & while the individuals values and purposes are catered to by the organisation. The people management function which is the enabler of creating this kind of environment spend quality time and effort working towards building the overall capability of the organisation. Despite all this, why only few people get engaged and take up the responsibility? Motivation and commitment cannot be taught or brought about through trainings, The motivation must come from within and then change happens automatically. The effort should be to change the consciousness of the people, and this can only happen through proper awareness.
Now, how do we bring a change in the consciousness of the people, so they bring their heart at the workplace?
Consciousness gets a makeover with a flow of new information. To be able to take the right decision and to be successful, people need to be aware of the changing situation as the information helps to change our way of thinking. In today’s world, people must be more knowledgeable to enhance their level of discernment and their capability to take decisions and this enables taking up responsibility.
They need to be self – motivated.
So ,how do we start the wheel of self-motivation?
Self-confidence brings self-motivation and leading to job satisfaction. However, one needs to have the willpower to get the confidence to perform. Knowledge is power, which generates the inner strength and confidence. By developing knowledge, we have the confidence driving us to become persistent. With the confidence, we have the courage to take the initiative and bring about a change and when we master that change, there is job satisfaction. The most important and driving factor for motivation is satisfaction, which is the sense of achievement. It enriches us with valuable experience and enhances our learning which gives us more power, and this is how the wheel of self-motivation
starts. When people are motivated, they take ownership. When they enjoy their activity, they arm themselves with more knowledge. In the absence of lack of knowledge, there is neither an enjoyment nor satisfaction as there is no feeling of progress and self-development. The motivation is also affected, and life becomes mechanical.
Today we are flooded with information, and one needs to be selective and self – empowered to filter and absorb the correct information to enhance knowledge and understanding; else we only bring about a temporary change at the superficial level only.
There are various levels of change:
The first level of change is at the behavioural level – to bring about change in our actions and
activities.
The second level of change is at the intellectual level – start understanding things in a different way.
The third level of change is at the emotional level – bringing a change in our feelings.
The fourth level of change is at the consciousness level – To change the consciousness means to change our thinking process. When you nourish your mind with healthy positive inputs, you empower yourself. One needs to be mindful and aware to feed the memory with positive input. Spiritual dimension thus enables one to empower self to get quality information or knowledge.
Knowledge generates will power and we can thus take focus of control in our own hands. Once we are self – reliant, we see things differently and manage them in a better way. This allows one to have a balanced approach to view things without getting attached or being biased. Hence, organizations need to focus to change the consciousness of the people at the first level. For this there need to be a
robust system at the workplace where people not only bring their head and hands but also their heart.
Author: Neetu Jaiswal
Founder Nevoxel Consultancy
