Four core principles of change

Organizational change efforts most typically produce unmet promises. This is not surprising to Margaret Wheatley, who points out that, "Every person, overtly or covertly, struggles to preserve this freedom to self-create." Her four principles of change recognize the value of involving people in the creation of change, rather than being caught up in the struggle to deliver it:

• Participation is not a choice. "We ignore people's need to participate at our own peril."


• Life always reacts to directives; it never obeys them. "It never matters how clear or visionary or important the message is. It can only elicit reaction, not straightforward compliance."


• We do not see "reality." We each create our own interpretation of what's real. In the descriptions of this principle, Margaret Wheatley emphasizes a world of shared significance, and that "arguing about who's right and who's wrong is a waste of time."


• To create better health in a living system, connect it to more of itself. "When a system is failing, or performing poorly, the solution will be discovered within the system if more and better connections are create." This, she says, is the best precsirption of thinking about organizational change efforts.

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