“When new work processes become the norm,” Farshida says effortlessly in response to my question about how she measures the results of culture change. “And I see it in internal communication via email, WhatsApp groups and also live in conversations and meetings: communication is becoming shorter, smoother and focused on making each other better.” Qualitative results, but very concretely: Outcomes.
Farshida Zafar explains her examples of culture change in great detail. It's almost as if you're standing next to it and experiencing it live. She consciously chose not to move into the director's room at the Erasmus Center for Entrepreneurship, where she is director. She wants to sit among her colleagues to stimulate collaboration and communication. It is an example of cultural change by doing rather than talking about change. She is now an experienced culture change agent.
“Building trust and performance are two inseparable currencies.”
Her fastest learning curve was during her change assignments at the School of Law, which is also part of Erasmus University. There she started the first 'blended learning' part-time course in 2012 in an academic environment. The digitalization of education was a major culture change in 2013. Everyone was used to teaching live in lecture halls. In an academic environment, it is not self-evident that change will take place, if the top wants it. In many ways, informal leaders are in charge. “For example, we wanted a script to be present for every recording of a lecture before the recording took place. There was a lot of resistance to that. Ultimately, the only recipe is to visit the people who are resistant and ask them what they are really concerned about. At the same time, you can then investigate what lies behind their answers. Where the real resistance lies: the fear, the uncertainty. You have to build trust.” That is her first design principle for culture change. Trust is one of two inseparable currencies. The other is your own performance. Keeping your own commitments strengthens the other currency's trust. Performance and confidence cannot exist without each other.
“Making big assignments small”
The second principle is to make every big assignment smaller. It is often referred to as the 'granularity of strategy'. Farshida started with the people who wanted the change and saw an opportunity. And then she built the course: subject by subject. Start in year 1 and then year 2 and year 3. Do not aim to build the entire course at once. With each step you learn more about what works and what doesn't. “We often think that change is gigantic, but changing habits is very difficult. For everyone. Also for me. I once tried to make coffee for three weeks in a different way than I was used to. After three weeks I gave up. I wanted to try something different, but I had no higher goal. And even with a higher goal, sustaining changed habits requires discipline. Otherwise, you will simply return to your old, sometimes even dysfunctional, habits.”
A third design principle is to look around to see who else has an interest in the change you are aiming for: in my case these were the IT department, the media support center, the teachers, and the study advisors. Most of them thought this was an interesting development that also offered opportunities for themselves. Calling for their help brought support and acceleration. I have come to find it very normal to ask for help.
“You have to be grounded to dare to be critical and say no.”
The fourth design principle is to manage expectations well with all stakeholders. The client is of course one of them. And of course an important stakeholder. It takes courage to be critical and not to say yes to everything. A realistic assessment of what is feasible is more valuable than a loyal yes. “I had to develop that myself. I certainly haven't always felt so grounded and integrated within myself. I grew up as an Afghan refugee in the Netherlands. For years I have done my best to be as Dutch as possible and to meet the expectations of others. That doesn't make being critical or saying no easier. Ultimately, of course, I was never Dutch enough and at the same time never Afghan enough. I have learned to integrate the different identities of woman, Dutch and Afghan. For a long time there was a Chinese wall between my work and private life. All my attempts to do the best I could, made me want to radiate the unyielding 'superwoman'. To the point that that no longer worked, as we all experience at some point in our careers. From that moment on my relationships started to change. And I have started to hide less and less of myself. I became more authentic and no longer needed the separation of private life and work." This means that I can show much more of myself in change processes. That exemplary role is perhaps my most important 'tool' in cultural change. More important than all those other design principles.
