How a Stuffed Giraffe Changed an Organization
One of our recent graduates, Susan Clarke shared an unforgettable story of how an accessorized giraffe helped her to lead a cultural change in her organization. Here it is:
“About 10 years ago, I was looking for ways to drive cultural change. Specifically, I wanted to create a culture where employees felt free to 'stick their necks out' to do the right thing. We purchased a 4’ stuffed giraffe, named her Bea A. Leader, and began a circulating award, recognizing folks for driving value and showing integrity on the job. Each winner was publicly announced, with details of their winning actions. My thinking was that it might increase the behaviors that we were acknowledging. Bea became very popular and circulated for years, gaining some form of personal memento with each winner (my favorite is the MOM tattoo on her hind quarters, made with a Sharpie…irreverent but personal).”
“When you are in compliance, you have to be engaging…and engaged. Stuffed animals help,” says Susan. When asked if Bea did indeed help foster a culture of “sticking necks out," Susan says she had members of large functional teams call out gaps in the processes their team owned. “This is an uncomfortable space in an organization that works in silos and hasn’t historically valued continuous improvement. Their examples helped create a safe place for candid discussions regarding process.”
“My belief is that people naturally want to perform well and many begin to identify with their roles or the processes they manage. Driving change in these environments is hard, because change feels threatening and personal. Finding a fun way to reward the team for positive change, while reinforcing their value, made change more palatable.”
Things took a darker turn when the beloved Bea went missing. Read the full story here!
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