You're eager to lead a culture change initiative. How can you gain hands-on experience effectively?

Cultural change leadership requires a deeper understanding of both the philosophy and psychology of culture and why change in this space is difficult. Culture is something handed down to us from Moses as it were, generationally, through religion, faith, race, elders, and communities. If one accepts genomics it is built into our DNA by nurture. Culture in Freudian Jungian terms is the collective influence of unconscious beliefs and values we subscribe to. Even though we describe the world as a global village and a melting pot, cultural and tribal empathy divides people in many cases. At one level cultural understanding, acceptance and respect is learned, and at another more important level practised, before we can think of changes.

Seek opportunities to participate in or support existing culture change initiatives within your organization. Volunteer for cross-functional teams, attend workshops on change management, and network with leaders in this area. Additionally, consider taking on a mentorship role to gain insights and practical experience.

To gain hands-on experience of different cultures effectively, I believe it’s important to have deep understanding of cultural philosophy and psychology. Once we understand the beliefs and value system of different cultures, it’s about accepting them with unconditional positive regard.

Want hands-on experience leading culture change? Stop waiting for an engraved invitation. Volunteer to spearhead a small internal project, even if it’s just revamping how people use the break room (seriously, culture starts small). Shadow leaders who’ve actually done it—not the ones who just talk about it—and ask for mentorship. Better yet, start with your own team. If you can’t create change in your immediate circle, you’ll struggle on a larger scale. The best way to learn is by doing, even if that means stumbling a bit at first.

To gain hands-on experience in leading a culture change initiative, start by participating in smaller change projects within your organization or volunteering for cross-functional teams focused on improvements. This gives you practical exposure to managing resistance, communicating vision, and aligning teams around new values. For example, if your company is implementing a new digital tool, volunteer to lead a pilot team. Engage team members, collect feedback, and address challenges. By managing this mini-culture shift, you'll develop the skills to lead larger initiatives, gain credibility, and learn how to guide teams through transitions effectively.

A great way to get exposure is to put your hand up for needs outside of your day to day role. This might look like a volunteer or leadership role in an employee resource group, or offering to an office champion if your organization has several locations.

Elenque pequenas mudan?as para fazer no meio familiar, de amigos e até de sua comunidade, condomínio ou grupo religioso. Pratique e reflita sobre o que deu certo e o que n?o deu tirando aprendizados. Todos ser?o úteis na mudan?a de cultura que trabalhará profissionalmente.

In today's setting, multinational global companies need to be local. Within the local environment bringing together multiple cultures is a common requirement. This could be a Chinese company like Haier or a Japanese company like Toyota growing its business in the USA, which itself is a multicultural environment. Both these companies have been reasonably successful, still retaining their core values and at the same time flexibly adapting themselves to the multicultural environment. Haier practises Spiritual Intelligence using the revolutionary Quantum Managment concepts of Danah Zohar. It has taken the corporations decades to get accustomed to EI, and will take decades for SI. Spiritual Intelligence is the answer to cultural assimilation.

Leaders embarking on learning and practising cultural changes would find it worthwhile to learn Otto Scharmer's Theory U and Danah Zohar's Spiritual Intelligence-based Quantum Managment. Both are now adopted by leading global corporations successfully. Though dissimilar in some ways, both work towards transformation using fundamental principles of non-judgmental curiosity, empathy, awareness, respect, resilience, courage and at a higher level spirituality. These processes have the energy to help create movements to transform us societally, addressing accelerating changes in technology by staying with the core spiritual intelligence common to us all. We have coached and trained corporate leaders to adopt these processes successfully.