Catherine Otim

A new article on the "messy middle" of change. This is the gap in the change process between the intent/ambition for change & the ability of a system, organisation or team to make progress. The messy middle is the hard work of delivering real change. Unless we have methods to motivate people to work towards something new, we may never get past it. benholliday.com/2025/01/28/t… By @BenHolliday. It builds on "Kanter's Law" that says that the middle is the hardest part of change: hbr.org/2009/08/change-is-ha… @tashwillcocks compares the messy middle to the "groan zone" in the diamond of participation. Getting through it is a relational, not just technical process: linkedin.com/feed/update/urn…

As leaders we are role models: our words, deeds & the environment we create are massively amplified to those around us. New research evidence shows that people will take on more challenging tasks if they see others around them do so. It's like a form of social contagion. If, as leaders, we visibly engage in & embrace challenging tasks, we can influence our team members to do the same, encouraging a culture of growth, innovation & collective support. psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202…. Via @CansuOgulmus. Graphic by @marissashandell.

Our organisations are socio-technical systems. Very often in our improvement efforts we over-focus on the technical (strategies, priorities, processes, methods, metrics) & under-focus on the socio (collaboration, agency, relationships, culture). We have to work with both: - Use systems to organise tasks AND rely on relationships to help motivate people. - Create processes for consistency AND foster trust to handle the unexpected. - Develop policies for accountability AND lean on connection to build engagement & belonging: nateschloesser.medium.com/pe…. By @nateschloesser. Graphic via @junek.