MARCH - 2023HR TECH OUTLOOK8In MyOpinionI remember riding in the car with my family when I was young. Sitting in the back seat, staring out of the window and watching the hills slowly scroll past in the horizon as the clouds beyond the hills keep pace with our car. Then I would be abruptly shocked out of my daydream as a truck would thunder by in the opposite direction, and becoming suddenly aware of the swoosh of wind as the telephone poles whizzed past. I can recall being puzzled about why the hills moved so slowly in the background, appearing to stand still, while the car and everything nearby moved so quickly. As I grew older I came to understand this optical phenomenon of the slow moving background, known as motion parallax. I am reminded of this phenomenon as I work with and observe organisations as they look to significantly impact the movement and direction of their cultures. The organisation, typically through its senior leaders, recognizes that the accelerated pace of change in its industry or respective market requires a response to fuel growth and capitalise on emergent opportunities. While this can take the shape of adjustments in strategy, policies or processes, it often calls on our ability to help usher in some level of culture change. Specifically, in shifts around the fundamental beliefs and concrete behaviors that drive performance and ultimately, business outcomes. Returning to the analogy from my childhood experience in the car, the `optical' illusion is the speed and amount of effort poured into the transformation activities and how they don't seem to align with the glacial pace of change that many in the organization are experiencing. After all, you can't expect to drive a culture of (agility, digital savviness, innovation, customer-centricity, ...) overnight. It takes time, UNDERSTANDING ANDDEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURERicardo Troiano, Group Head, Change and Organizational development, SyngentaByRicardo Troiano
< Page 7 | Page 9 >