What if the success of the agents of change were to disappear?
"How do you deal with a lack of recognition?"
"How do you know your efforts are worth it?"
"Have you ever wondered if the days you spend in front of your computer or in meetings could actually help address the challenges of today's world?"
“How do you know when it’s time to step down?”
I remember hearing these questions during one of my presentations to a corporate CSR/SD community. These doubts were nothing new to me. These concerns have often been raised over the past ten years. I have experienced them myself.
If you’re working toward sustainable change and these issues resonate with you, perhaps it’s time to rethink what success means to you as an agent of change.
Your worth does not lie in being recognized as amazing or indispensable. Your success lies in your ability to fade into the background, to become unnecessary.
I can already sense some instinctive reactions:
"Really?"
"No, but the poor girl smoked."
"How naive!"
"I'm no Buddha."
"What is she talking about?"
The external recognition you’ll receive from your ecosystem will only be superficial. And that’s good news.
You may remember a time when a coworker proudly explained a solution to you… one that you’d spent months trying to get across to them. You probably had to bite your tongue to keep from snapping at them. Well, what you thought was an insult was, in fact, a sign of appreciation. It was proof of your value, not your insignificance. Let me explain.
Your goal is for your transformation project to be fully accepted by your ecosystem, isn’t it? Change is successful only when it becomes the new norm. Consequently, behaviors and ways of thinking that seem strange to you today will be “business as usual” tomorrow. Everyone will embody the desired change. But then, you, too, will have become just like everyone else.
Your ordinariness, your invisibility, will be proof of your success. It is because your words will have become unnecessary—because they will have become redundant in light of the behaviors around you—that you will have succeeded. The more your conversation partners strive to prove that they, too, are highly active in support of the environment, society, shared governance, or new forms of management, the more you will be able to rejoice. Change will take shape outside of you. It will transcend you.
Your mission is to fade into the background and ensure that change becomes the norm—visible and accepted as a matter of fact.
Take action to bring about change!
When I’ve shared this vision with my loved ones, my peers, my team, my managers, and my clients, I’ve often seen a sense of relief in their eyes and their shoulders relax.
Here are a few examples of how this approach has been applied:
"That reminds me of my role as a mother. I'm here to help my child reach a point where they no longer need me."
"A long time ago, I took part in a transformation project to simplify access to health care services in my country. I spent hours trying to convince doctors to adopt a process that would reduce their administrative workload and increase their availability to patients. Last week, I benefited from this process and realized that it had become the norm. It doesn’t matter to me whether my name is mentioned or not. I’m proud to see the positive impact it’s having on doctors and their patients."
"Our boss revisited our goal of becoming obsolete, because that would mean that the practices central to our purpose would truly be embedded. He loves and shares this vision. It's great to see that."
“I’m proud to see that this event is a success even without me. This movement is bigger than me.”
Some people may remain skeptical. I understand them. I, too, have often wondered if I wasn't in a state of serious denial about reality.
Until the day I realized that my mission was to create the conditions for lasting change— not to change every business model and every practice on my own. My mission was to inspire, support, and challenge committed professionals in order to foster a collective commitment to systemic change within a given context.
Today, after 10 years of experimentation, I know this is where I belong and that it’s worth it. In future articles, I’ll tell you more about my approach to creating these conditions and the prospects for my proud disappearance.
THE TOOL
In the meantime, what matters is helping you save time and energy by rethinking your vision of success. Here are a few questions to help you define your ambition:
What will make you decide that it's time to proudly step away from your transformation project?
What would you have created in your own way? What legacy would you leave behind?
How would you feel about your contribution?
How does your need for external recognition change when you measure your success by your ability to fade, slowly, into the background?
What's the first thing you want to do to get closer to this kind of success?
The quote
“Thegreatness of man lies in the fact that he is a bridge, not an end in himself.”
The Call to Action
As agents of change, if this message inspires you to think differently about success, please “like” it, share this article with your friends and family, and subscribe to stay updated on new articles.
Hello to you, agents of change!
My name is Nina Cambadélis. I am an impact coach and facilitator specializing in sustainable development and organizational transformation. I am 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 support along the way, please contact me:
Become the agent of change you want to see in the world you hope for.
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.
