How do you spark change when you are not in a leadership role?

I’m working for an established international company that I perceive has a misogynistic culture. Is it possible for me to change the culture even though I’m not in a leadership position?

-Manager

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Dear Manager,

In many companies, you don’t have to be in a top leadership position to spark change. I’ve seen employee-led initiatives catch fire.

Hopefully, ideas for improvement are welcomed from anywhere in the organization because innovation comes from everywhere. That said, it’s possible that your company may not have this kind of openness and it also could be harder to effect change from a satellite office as opposed to being in the epicenter of the company.

However, some things are clearly within your domain. You can deploy the culture you want within your area. When I was a first-time manager and working in the finance department at a behemoth company, I had to live within the company’s larger culture, but I was able to establish the culture I wanted within my own department. I was managing a team of cashiers and tried to treat them well by holding them to a higher standard and making them feel appreciated. I held weekly staff meetings and collaborated with them on how we would attack our objectives and solicited their feedback. I held weekly 1:1s in which we talked about what they wanted to do in their careers.

There was a manager working next to me who set a different culture, one in which people didn’t feel appreciated. When it came time for opinion surveys he didn’t receive great scores, which came as a surprise to him. “I brought them doughnuts on the day of the survey,” he told me. Of course, we know that doing something nice on one day is not what makes a great culture; it’s about making people feel valued every day.

Don’t allow yourself to be a victim of this set culture. That means identifying the culture you want to see and trying to deploy it where you can. It also may mean knowing when to move on to something that will better serve you. If you can’t change things for yourself, you should consider leaving. It’s important to be somewhere that recognizes you and values what you bring. It can make a significant difference to be welcomed with open arms by a company that’s already a leader in this area. Having the right culture already in existence frees you up to focus on what’s in your genius zone and enables you to do your best work.

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