Can one person make a difference within a large organization? Donald Pols is exchanging his director’s chair at Milieudefensie for the seat of chief communications and sustainability officer at Tata Steel. Many people think something of that. That was to be expected.
But what does research actually say about the chances of such a thing? lone ranger? And what are some tips if you want to change the thinking and actions of many others on your own – even if you are not at Tata?
Everything starts with a minority
“In the beginning there was a minority,” says psychologist Radmilla Prislin in one recent overview article on ‘minority influence’. Because: “Those who deviate from the norm and are in the minority are at the basis of every social change.”
That was also the insight with which the study of minority influence started in the 1970s. Psychologist Serge Moscovici was annoyed that scientific research into influence mainly revolved around the impact of majorities on minorities.
Moscovici argued that all major social movements, such as Christianity or the struggle for women’s rights, were initiated by individuals and small groups. Without minorities there is no innovation or change.
How does minority influence work?
Prislin lists the findings of Moscovici and many other researchers. The very short summary: if you want to get people on board, you as a minority must keep an eye on the following three things.
- Consistency: stick to clear positions for a long time.
- Consensus: stand united as a minority.
- Sacrifice: Endure isolation and resistance.
But how does that work? Why would a majority be impressed by this?
A consistently different sound leads to tension among the majority, says Prislin. And this makes people think. That’s the first step.
This may not immediately lead to visible change, but members of the majority do make an inner choice. They then carefully test these with others and only later speak out in public.
This can ultimately lead to the majority embracing the minority’s ideas and even seeing them as their own. The origin has often already been forgotten. Social cryptomnesia this is called in the social sciences. As a minority influencer, you better not hope for an honorable mention afterwards.
Persevere for half a century
A few weeks ago I saw Aletta the musical (recommended!), about the life and work of Aletta Jacobs, the first female Dutch doctor and fighter for women’s rights. The musical took about two hours between her request to Minister Thorbecke to be allowed to study and the introduction of women’s suffrage. In real life it took almost half a century.
Social change takes time, Prislin also says. A minority that wants success must be patient, open-minded, not too dogmatic and gradually recruit more and more followers.
She cites the climate movement as a successful example. In recent decades, this has caused major changes in knowledge and attitude: many people started to worry about the climate. In addition, behavioral changes have been achieved, such as an increased use of green energy. And there are green political parties, countless laws that prohibit CO2limiting emissions and global treaties.
We have also come a long way here. The famous report of the Club of Rome, Limits to growthdates from 1972. And the climate film An Inconvenient Truth is also twenty years old.
And we’re not there yet.
It is still somewhat unusual that the boss of Milieudefensie is switching to Tata Steel. We actually think it’s still too early for that. But at the same time, due to all the attention to climate and the environment, Tata has had its back against the wall for some time. It has no choice but to change.
Rebels within the system
Well, you are a lone environmental warrior within an organization like Tata. What is your next step? Researchers Debra Meyerson and Maureen Scully the two of us advised in 1995: tempered radicalism; moderate radicalism. Their idea has now been widely accepted in organizational science.
What do you do as a moderate radical? You strive for fundamental change, but you work on it within an organization, according to the existing rules and systems.
By combining the critical view of an outsider with the knowledge and network of an insider, you can achieve important changes, say Meyerson and Scully.
You can do this, for example, by means of small winssmall changes that step by step guide the culture in a new direction. This can go hand in hand with the introduction of new language, with which you, for example, reformulate a social problem as a business opportunity.
What you need to watch out for in the meantime, Meyerson and Scully warn, is isolation and emotional exhaustion. To prevent this, you need to build a support network within and outside the organization.
Practical
Major changes involving large organizations require two things. Pressure from outside, from minority groups who understand how to maximize their influence. And efforts by people on the inside, who understand how the system works and at the same time refuse to give up their deviant ideals.
A real risk is that the idealists outside and inside will come into conflict with each other. While together they can achieve much more. It’s exactly what their opponents want.
I hope that Pols and his former colleagues will soon have a cup of coffee together and then promise to keep each other razor sharp in the coming years.
