Don't expect the status quo to welcome you
Kent Valentine
Director & London Office Leader at Oliver Wyman. Expert facilitator solving hard problems through design, collaboration and (serious) play. Chaotic good.
It’s the status quo for a reason. It serves a group of people and it protects their interests.
When you challenge the status quo and try to change the culture, the status quo will reflexively try to stop you.
Those whom it currently serves will see you as a threat, thinking this is a zero sum game.
They won’t assume that you can grow the pie so that everyone can eat - they’ll assume that you’re out to steal their lunch and make their lives miserable.
This is not to stay don’t try. This is just to say that you shouldn’t expect the entrenched power structures to thank you for pointing out their hypocrisy and to welcome your recommendations.
They will umm and ahh and misdirect and “whatabout” you till the cows come home. (Cows they probably own by the way).
Change takes time and the status quo will resist you if it can.
If you want to change the culture and you feel that resistance from the establishment, it’s not a sign you’re doing something wrong, it’s a sign you’re doing something right.