FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The Power of Acupressure to Drive Sustainable Organizational Change
Do you want to build caring and purpose-driven organizations to create a better world? If so, this article might interest you.
As a changemaker in my organization, I often wondered: Where should we be to drive change? Who or what should we focus on? Internal? External? The “top” of the organization? The “base”? Middle managers? What will create the pivot effect?
A Systemic Approach
I am a fairly holistic and systemic person. I rarely, if ever, work in a sequential manner. That is why I am willing to operate on different levels. Throughout our purpose-driven mission, my team and I focus on various areas of the business, such as:
Strategy & Governance
Employees' knowledge
Overall performance
Impact of Operations
New Business Solutions
Ways to Partner with External Stakeholders
As a result, we often work on multiple projects at the same time, involving various types of internal and external stakeholders.
While this method yields results, it also creates a burden and a demand that can be difficult to manage at times. In Japan, I remember feeling lost and powerless in the face of numerous projects and requests. I had to reduce the workload from multiple initiatives. Yet, “something” didn’t feel right.
An empowering posture
One day, my perspective changed. I was at my acupuncturist’s office for my recurring back problems. Then, I had an epiphany. The acupuncturist’s skill lies in knowing which points to stimulate for specific issues. He does not impose his will on these points. On the contrary, he “listens” and trusts the body to act at its own pace and in accordance with its needs.
By trying to be everywhere, support everyone, and control everything, we were, at best, exhausting ourselves in pursuit of impossible goals; at worst, we were creating the opposite of what we wanted: rejection or dependency.
So we changed one subtle yet crucial element: our approach and method for collaborating with our ecosystem. We still take a holistic approach, working at different levels with many people. Yet we harness the power of acupressure in our own way.
We act as catalysts for change. Our role is to address the specific aspects of our system related to a challenge, so that innovative, sustainable, and impactful solutions can emerge.
A sense of humility
As a result, rather than being willing to address a problem by imposing sustainability views:
We choose to reaffirm our intention and vision, nurture relationships, understand subtle signs of resistance, and find a third way to make an impact that aligns with the group's purpose and local realities.
We engage our stakeholders to challenge and enrich our projects in order to ensure long-term success. For example, to assess the behaviors that shape our business culture in Asia, participants represented our five key corporate stakeholders (the environment, employees, customers, society, and shareholders). Some even tried to understand nature’s perspective by putting themselves in the shoes of a tree!
It may sound unusual. Yet these changes in leadership style, impact, and decision-making are the result of much reflection and experimentation. What is certain is that, in addition to my back, my anxiety has subsided, and our changemaker community has grown larger and more powerful than ever. And you—what is your approach?
Take action toward your change
Identify the key categories of stakeholders in your department or company.
A stakeholder is an entity that is affected by your action and/or has a significant and defining impact on your action.
Ask yourself how you engage them.
Start by finding out what they're looking for.
Identify ways to improve relationships with stakeholders.
Find ways to engage them so that you can bring about systemic change through your joint projects.
"Themost important thing to know is that pain or physical problems that occur in one part of the body are the result of imbalances and are not exclusively related to that part. So you shouldn't focus too much on relieving that one problem."
Hello everyone, I’m Nina Cambadélis, a coach and facilitator specializing in sustainability and organizational transformation. I’m also a corporate changemaker responsible for embedding my company’s purpose at the heart of the business.
Through my work, I aim to inspire professionals to rethink business and make them proud to contribute, in their own way, to a more sustainable, humane, and nature-friendly world.
If you would like assistance with:
Become the changemaker you want to be for the world you envision
Find and assert your leadership, or foster the emergence of new leadership styles
Make sustainability and purpose-driven initiatives central to your organization
Accelerate engagement within your ecosystem to drive systemic change
Make an impact while conserving energy and promoting well-being
Here is a link to an exploratory call and a form to provide more details about your goals and challenges: English
The Power of Acupressure to Bring About Lasting Change in an Organization
Would you like to help foster the growth of organizations that are committed to making the world a better place? If so, you might find this article interesting.
As an agent of change in my organization, I have often asked myself the following questions: Where should we focus our efforts to drive change? Who or what should we focus on? Internal factors? External factors? “Top management”? Front-line staff? Middle managers? What will create the tipping point?
A Systems Approach
I’m a fairly holistic and systemic person. I rarely—if ever—operate in a sequential manner. That’s why I prefer to work on different levels. My team and I therefore focus on various areas of the company, such as:
Strategy and Governance
Employee expertise
Overall Performance
The Impact of Operations
New Business Solutions
Types of Partnerships with External Stakeholders
We often work on several projects at the same time, with various types of internal and external contacts.
While this method yields good results, it also creates a workload and demands that can sometimes be difficult to manage. In Japan, I remember feeling lost and helpless in the face of so many projects and requests. To cope, I had to reduce my workload. Yet, “something” wasn’t right.
An approach that fosters responsibility and engagement
One day, something just clicked. I was at my acupuncturist’s office for recurring back problems. That’s when I had a revelation. The acupuncturist’s skill lies in knowing which points to stimulate for specific problems. He doesn’t impose his will on these points or act on their behalf. On the contrary, he “listens” and trusts the body to act at its own pace and according to its own needs.
By trying to be everywhere, support everyone, and control everything, we were wearing ourselves out—at best, to achieve goals that were impossible to reach; at worst, to create the opposite of what we wanted: rejection or dependence.
So we’ve made a subtle but crucial change: our approach and our method for collaborating with our ecosystem. We still take a holistic approach, working at different levels with a wide variety of people. Yet we harness the power of acupressure in our own way.
We act as catalysts for change. Our role is to engage specific parts of our ecosystem in addressing a challenge, in order to foster the emergence of innovative, sustainable, and impactful solutions.
A sense of humility
Consequently, rather than trying to solve a problem by imposing our point of view and solution:
We choose to reaffirm our purpose and vision, nurture the quality of our relationships, recognize subtle signs of resistance, and find a third way to make an impact—in line with the group’s mission and local realities.
We encourage our stakeholders to challenge and enrich our projects to ensure their long-term success. For example, to assess the behaviors that shape our corporate culture in Asia, participants represented our five main stakeholders (the environment, employees, customers, society, and shareholders). Some even tried to understand nature’s perspective by putting themselves in a tree’s shoes!
This may seem unusual. However, these adjustments in leadership style, action, and decision-making are the result of much reflection and experimentation. What is certain is that, in addition to my back feeling better, my anxiety has decreased, and our community of change-makers has become larger and more powerful than ever. What about you—what’s your approach?
Take action to bring about change
Identify the main categories of stakeholders in your department or company.
A stakeholder is an entity that is affected by your actions and/or that has a significant and formative impact on your actions.
Ask yourself how you engage them.
Start finding out what they're looking for.
Consider ways to improve your relationships with each of them.
Find ways to foster their collective engagement in order to bring about systemic change through joint projects.
"Themost important thingto know is that pain or physical problems that arise in one part of the body—and are the end result of imbalances—are not exclusively related to that part. Therefore, you should not focus too much on relieving that single problem."
Hello, everyone. I’m Nina Cambadélis, an impact coach and facilitator specializing in sustainable development and organizational transformation. I’m also an agent of change myself, responsible for embedding my company’s purpose at the heart of our business.
What I love to do through my work is to encourage professionals to rethink business and make them proud to contribute, in their own way, to a world that is more sustainable, more humane, and more respectful of nature.
If you find yourself in one of these situations and would like some guidance along the way, please contact me:
Become the agent of change you want to see in the world you envision.
Discover and assert your leadership.
Make positive impact and purpose central to your organization.
Accelerate engagement within your ecosystem to drive systemic change.
Make an impact while conserving energy and promoting well-being.
Here is a link to schedule an exploratory and the form to further outline your goals and challenges.
Can you be an agent* of change without allies?
* To make the text easier to read, the words are in the masculine form. Far be it from me to exclude women from the process or from reading this!
Many of you may have seen this video in which Dereck Sivers explains why it takes two people to start a movement. Here, one person dares to dance and looks a little strange. People laugh. Then someone else steps forward and dances. The crowd follows and gradually joins in with the dancers.
It’s an inspiring call to “take the plunge” when you want to do something. It also reminds us of how a movement works. As agents of change, we are ALWAYS faced with resistance. But studies show that it only takes 20% of motivated people to shift the direction of a group.
That said, one question remains: Where do we start? Do agents of change become true agents of change through external recognition or by recognizing themselves as such? Do we first need allies to become agents of change?
The Power of “Otherness” to Shape Your Identity
The philosopher Hegel argued that a person can only gain an objective awareness of their own worth through their relationships with others. Such a position would explain the shift in group dynamics mentioned earlier. The person who started the dance went from being an idiot to a star, thanks to the reactions of the others.
“A person is human only to the extent that he seeks to assert himself over another person and to be recognized by that person. At first glance, as long as he has not yet been effectively recognized by the other, it is this other who is the goal of his action; it is on this other—on recognition by this other—that his human value and reality depend; it is in this other that the meaning of his life is concentrated. He is therefore outside of himself.” Alexandre Kojève, Introduction to the Reading of Hegel.
How powerful—and dangerous—our relationships with others can be! In their eyes, we seek the recognition we desire for ourselves. If they offer it to us, so much the better. But if they don’t, what happens? Who is right? Can self-awareness be sufficient in and of itself? Does external perception alienate us? Must we fight to the death to shape our own identity? How can we free ourselves harmoniously?
In accordance with Descartes’ statement,“I think, therefore I am,” our consciousness alone provides proof of our existence. In this sense, one might think that simply seeing oneself as an agent of change is enough to be one. Holding such a conviction can indeed give you the strength to dare to act while trusting that allies will join you. It also helps you understand that the laughter and skepticism of some observers are, in a way, proof of your disruptive power! You’re challenging the norm by calling for change!
The Power of “Otherness” to Boost Your Impact
I believe that these two positions, which at first glance seem contradictory, are in fact complementary. Our initial intention to bring about change—even if it may be vague and uncertain—gives us the power to act as agents of change. Our determination, passion, and action then enable us to attract allies, reinforce our intuitions, and spark a movement.
That said, what else can we do with the help of others? First of all, let’s start by clarifying that there is a difference between detractors, allies, and those who are simply passive participants.
According to the Larousse dictionary, "an ally is a person or group that provides help and support. It is also a country with which one is united by a treaty."
At a press conference in 2008, Barack Obama explained why he chose to have Hillary Clinton on his team (translated by Deepl):
"I put this team together because I firmly believe in strong personalities and strong opinions. I think that's how the best decisions are made. The danger in the White House is ending up in a group where everyone agrees on everything. So I’m going to encourage vigorous debate in the White House. Understand that I will set policy as president; I am responsible for the vision this team embodies, and I expect them to carry out that vision once decisions are made.”
Contributions from our allies will most likely provide a variety of friendly and constructive perspectives to help a project move forward. With their help, we can identify its shortcomings and enrich it with new ideas to strengthen our vision and roadmap.
“If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, let’s go together.”
This proverb has been quoted a lot around here lately. I still have mixed feelings about it.
I love collaborating. I wouldn’t have been able to develop so many projects if I’d worked alone. The results would also be less comprehensive, high-quality, creative, or even practical without the wonderful members of my team. Since my goal is to embed the principles of purpose and sustainability at the heart of businesses, I absolutely need all stakeholders to be committed.
However, I realize that I’m often frustrated by the time it takes to explain, persuade, and wait patiently for certain people to embrace the change that’s underway. This raises the question: Should we scale back our ambitions, delay initiatives, and focus on internal lobbying to convince everyone first? Should we first help people discover their own motivations for action? Should we act as challengers by creating disruption?
I can't really choose just one approach, so I decided to make room and time for all of them, in line with my talents and my ecosystem. I've spent a lot of time experimenting with different ways to do this. It would take too long to explain them all today.
We can conclude that, to become an agent of change, we must first trust ourselves. We need to dare to take the plunge and risk looking like a fool or a threat. Then it will be easier to invite others to help create a movement that will become self-evident!
THE PATH TO CHANGE
THE TOOL
Think of two change-makers whom you respect and admire
What do they have in common that inspires you?
What does this reveal about your (hidden) hopes for yourself and your life?
If you were as free as a bird, what kind of agent of change would you be?
What is the first small step you can take in that direction today?
Who can help you stay confident and take responsibility for such an action?
THE MANTRA
"Liveyour passion and share your dream"
IT'S YOUR TURN!
Are you ready to position yourself as an agent of change? I challenge you to answer the questions, dare to acknowledge your inner truth, and then share your thoughts with me!
Do you want to become the leader you envision for the world you hope to see? Is it time to discover and assert your leadership? Do you want to embed the concepts of positive impact and purpose at the heart of your organization? Is the challenge to accelerate engagement within your ecosystem to drive systemic change?
If your answer is yes and you’d like some guidance along the way, please contact me! Here’s a link to schedule a exploratory session and the form to further explore your goals and challenges.