“Stop asking why”, the new culture of the capitalist world?
I recently had dinner with some amazing people, ex-colleagues who are still fighting to survive in the capitalist world.
I’ll admit that I was somewhat anxious that seeing them again might trigger me. I had finally closed the door on that world and spent several months rebuilding my mental health. I had rediscovered who I was, reclaimed my soul and my purpose. But I also felt I needed to prove to myself that I was centred enough to be able to engage with that world again.
The evening turned out to be truly delightful. Of course, it did. They are delightful people!
But it also turned out to be mind-opening in terms of the level of toxicity that is being reached in the corporate world today. With my outside view, I now see that these leaders are clinging onto the old ways like a life vest. They are running around in circles, trying to extinguish the fires that are being thrown at them, left, right and centre.
Black Lives Matters, COVID, the war in Ukraine, the climate crisis. The world is throwing so many challenges at them that they are simply struggling to keep their heads above water. They are resisting change, ignoring that the world has evolved and that there is no going back. This is the new normal.
Over dinner, my friends started telling me some stories about how their company was handling the recent crises. I looked at them, speechless. After a stunned silence, I simply said “but don’t you think that is just wrong?”.
Of course we do, they replied. But we have been told to stop asking why.
This seems like the epitome of an authoritarian red organisation model (see Frederic Laloux’s “Reinventing Organisations”). Instead of progressing towards more evolutionary Teal models in which employees fully live the company’s purpose, the corporate world is regressing as it resists the friction that it is facing.
There is a new world out there …
I do believe that there is hope. That the increasing toxicity will reach an inflection point and eventually tip to the other side. There is increasing pressure from employees and consumers for brands to take a stand on the world’s challenges. You only have to look at how many companies were called out for their slow reactions to the war in Ukraine to see that it is no longer a question of choice, but a question of survival.
And the only way to survive in this new world is to step up and take a stand. To become a true leader of the new world. A leader that lights the way for others and shows up with empathy and kindness. A leader that challenges the status quo and constantly asks why?
We need the corporate world to step up and become those leaders. To take a stand. To act through a meaningful purpose and ignite a movement that shifts mindsets and evolves society. Those that are able to do this will be the ones that survive and thrive in this new world.
So please, my dear friends (you know who you are!), keep showing up as your full selves and not just the shell that they are asking you to be. Please do keep asking why. The world needs it. The world needs you!
I recently had dinner with some amazing people, ex-colleagues who are still fighting to survive in the capitalist world.
I’ll admit that I was somewhat anxious that seeing them again might trigger me. I had finally closed the door on that world and spent several months rebuilding my mental health. I had rediscovered who I was, reclaimed my soul and my purpose. But I also felt I needed to prove to myself that I was centred enough to be able to engage with that world again.
The evening turned out to be truly delightful. Of course, it did. They are delightful people!
But it also turned out to be mind-opening in terms of the level of toxicity that is being reached in the corporate world today. With my outside view, I now see that these leaders are clinging onto the old ways like a life vest. They are running around in circles, trying to extinguish the fires that are being thrown at them, left, right and centre.
Black Lives Matters, COVID, the war in Ukraine, the climate crisis. The world is throwing so many challenges at them that they are simply struggling to keep their heads above water. They are resisting change, ignoring that the world has evolved and that there is no going back. This is the new normal.
Over dinner, my friends started telling me some stories about how their company was handling the recent crises. I looked at them, speechless. After a stunned silence, I simply said “but don’t you think that is just wrong?”.
Of course we do, they replied. But we have been told to stop asking why.
This seems like the epitome of an authoritarian red organisation model (see Frederic Laloux’s “Reinventing Organisations”). Instead of progressing towards more evolutionary Teal models in which employees fully live the company’s purpose, the corporate world is regressing as it resists the friction that it is facing.
There is a new world out there …
I do believe that there is hope. That the increasing toxicity will reach an inflection point and eventually tip to the other side. There is increasing pressure from employees and consumers for brands to take a stand on the world’s challenges. You only have to look at how many companies were called out for their slow reactions to the war in Ukraine to see that it is no longer a question of choice, but a question of survival.
And the only way to survive in this new world is to step up and take a stand. To become a true leader of the new world. A leader that lights the way for others and shows up with empathy and kindness. A leader that challenges the status quo and constantly asks why?
We need the corporate world to step up and become those leaders. To take a stand. To act through a meaningful purpose and ignite a movement that shifts mindsets and evolves society. Those that are able to do this will be the ones that survive and thrive in this new world.
So please, my dear friends (you know who you are!), keep showing up as your full selves and not just the shell that they are asking you to be. Please do keep asking why. The world needs it. The world needs you!
