A final SNCC legacy is the destruction of the psychological shackles which had kept black southerners in physical and mental peonage; SNCC helped break those chains forever. It demonstrated that ordinary women and men, young and old, could perform extraordinary tasks.
Julian Bond
In my last blog, I mentioned the all-intrepid “sixties”.
http://consultingforpassion.blogspot.com/2014/04/its-time-for-what-to-do-it-all-or-to_25.html The sixties are a good marker for what’s possible. It was a fundamental moment when life mattered and investment in a future counted for something. It shaped a global “conversation”. In organizational development, we call that shaping a new organizational culture.
Folks were tired of inequality, injustice, dogma; the US going to war, and promises made but not kept. Universities were hotbeds of change. Students were through with hypocrisy. They wanted values built on living out noble truths.
I asked a friend, a high profile University administrator, what was her best career accomplishment? “I left my job to travel down south in support of Martin Luther King’s initiatives.” I was inspired. Such are the affirmations that change cultures.
“The Sixties” was a meeting point of collaborative ventures. It was a time of great integrity. Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus. Other Afro-Americans sat down in what once were “white people only” diners and requested to purchase a cup of coffee. Martin Luther King studied Gandhi’s ahimsa model and implemented an American non-violent protest movement.
“I have a dream” is at the heart of any good organizational development work. Finding that dream, laying down the values, and creating the culture that supports that dream being realized is how change occurs. Martin Luther King inspired a nation and generated an organizational design for a hopeful future. Ask anyone who was active during that time and they will tell you: it changed their lives.
Well, guess what? It’s still “The Sixties.” We’re still working for equality for all women, children, races, cultures and economic groups. And then there’s Mother Earth and ALL her children. Alice Walker was asked about the future she wanted. “I want a world of peace and happiness and joy and plenty of food and water for everyone. That’s what I want for everyone, men and women, animals and trees.” Today, I received an email from a friend who is working on an initiative to save the wolves. My heart lightened. Every shift in our shared culture initiatives empowers us all.
Every organization I know needs organizational development. In the sixties, we were on fire to develop our leadership, that of institutions, and of a nation. We asked ourselves the hard questions. We sought mentors. We became teachers. We evolved equitable partnerships. We set the bar high.
What would thrill me? I want all organizations to step up and request organizational development, inclusive of stakeholders, CEO’s to frontlines. People and animals deserve it. The environment needs it. So do the organizations!
Our world is waiting. What organizational change will you initiate, dear reader?
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