Page 135 - Make Work Great

6 When Growth Is Diffi cult

his all sounds ideal, doesn’t it? You’re going to allow people to
T add themselves to your cultural crystal, a few at a time, by role-
modeling new cultural patterns to those who are most receptive to
them. Don’t worry about the diffi cult people, and don’t worry about
making mistakes. Just do it, and keep doing it. Will the rest really
take care of itself?
Actually, to a large extent, it will. The more frequently and con-
sistently you demonstrate the new patterns to the people around you,
the more you encourage your additions in progress to become culture
demonstrators themselves, and the more diligently you hold yourself
to your new, higher standards of behavior, the more results you’ll see.
This is an organic process, like ice formation or plant growth. If the
conditions are correct, success is the natural outcome.
It sounds very promising. Yet if you’ve worked with other human
beings, you know how problematic interactions can be, and you know
that the best intentions and plans can quickly go terribly wrong. So
you may fi nd yourself hopeful but feeling you’d be a little more com-
fortable if you had some answers to your questions. These questions
probably begin with the phrase “What do I do if . . .” and end with
statements of calamity such as “my boss won’t listen,” “my peer gets
angry,” or “my direct report calls me an obscene name.” If you’re feel-

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