What NOT to do when trying to bring change in a country?

18 Comments / Change Management, Leadership, Motivation / By

*originally published on LinkedIn on Mar 15, 2020*

We live in very interesting times. There has been an emergence of new political order in many countries, climate change is challenging the way we live and now we are fighting a global pandemic. While so much has been happening one thing has remained constant – my Facebook wall! Throughout all this, some of my friends continue to highlight the shortcomings of my country, how my country has failed, how things are not working and how the government is in free-fall. Notwithstanding their deep biases, I acknowledge that there are many things that can be made better in our country (any country for that matter!). What I want to focus on is the process to bring change in a country, specifically what we should avoid doing in this change management. I would be drawing parallels with change management in corporate set up.

Never go down the slippery slope of constant criticism

Imagine you are a leader in your company. What would you do if you see something that can be done better? Would you constantly criticize the current situation? Hopefully not! You will use the classic tactic of ‘Yes, but’. You will acknowledge that things are good but they can be done better. The same applies for citizens of a country, you should never get stuck in the spiral of negativity and constant criticism, it doesn’t help changing things, the only thing it creates is social friction. Don’t look for frailties everywhere and don’t nag about things all the time. Don’t lose your energy in spreading negativity, instead spend it on constructive consensus building for change.

Never assume that others will become agents of change (while you color your Facebook wall!)

Assume responsibility of change and don’t treat yourself as an outsider in the grand scheme of things. Everything is not somebody else’s responsibility to fix. Show industriousness and take the charge by bringing change in a tiny way wherever possible. Many times when we criticise the country we somehow forget that we are also part of the problem and more importantly we can be part of the solution. Never alienate yourself from the country. Be the agent of change yourself and see how small steps lead to big changes.

Never forget the changes that has happened till now

One of the important things that business leaders do is acknowledge the past achievements in order to motivate the company forward. While it is easy to see what is wrong, it takes introspection to acknowledge what has gone right till now and all the great things that have been done. This introspection will lead to creation of a better vision of the future. Every country has achieved many things in the past 1 year, 5 years, 10 years etc. Start by focusing on the things that have gone well and use the segue to pitch for change. This exercise also helps us know what works best in one country’s socio-political landscape.

So next time I hope we remember these 3 things when we start our Facebook activism!

18 thoughts on “What NOT to do when trying to bring change in a country?”

  3. zoritoler imol

    Greetings! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could locate a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!

  4. zoritoler imol

    What i do not realize is in truth how you are not really much more neatly-preferred than you may be now. You are very intelligent. You know thus significantly in terms of this topic, made me personally believe it from so many various angles. Its like men and women aren’t involved except it is something to do with Lady gaga! Your personal stuffs great. Always maintain it up!

  5. llamdethema1986

    Respected casino https://biamo.bet/ that pays. Prompt payouts, pay any way you want. Many different online games, slots. Huge selection of sports betting, online streaming, work all over the world. Click and win with us

  6. zoritoler imol

    Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is fantastic blog. An excellent read. I’ll certainly be back.

  7. coupon

    I was very pleased to discover this page. I need
    to to thank you for your time for this particularly fantastic read!!
    I definitely enjoyed every part of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff in your website.

    Here is my homepage coupon

Comments are closed.