They always make me cry.
Those elephants tied to nothing but unable to move.
You’ve probably seen the videos. When young, these elephants are tethered by chains and learn they can’t break free.
Eventually, the physical chains come off, but they don’t move because they’ve stopped believing they can.
The mental shackles remain.
Work can be like that.
People get used to doing things a certain way. The unspoken “this is how we do it” culture tethers them to a certain way of working.
When a new leader comes in, asking people to speak up, take risks, try new things, not much usually changes.
It's not that people don't want to change.
It's that they’re still tethered to the old approach.
Telling people to “be bold” isn’t enough.
You have to show them it’s actually safe to try.
You have to unshackle them.
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