there is a guard posted deep within an establishment who finds himself in a predicament. you see, this guard's company has recently received new management. if you were to ask the guard, he would tell you he personally is of the opinion that it was a hostile takeover, and is not a fan of this corporate restructuring.
why; you ask, is the guard less than enthusiastic? i will happily explain on the guard's behalf, beginning with what the guard's life was like prior to the upheaval.
for years and years, our stalwart sentry would stand at his post, and occasionally, he would be called by management to come grab a box or a stack of files to bring to the room where he stands guard. his instructions were simple. place the information in the room—it didn't matter where—and make certain no one disturbed what was inside.
this room was full of stacks and stacks of, who-knows-what, that the upper management deemed something they would address later. in all the years our loyal friend stood at his post outside the door, no one came to confront the ever-growing piles.
the sentry often wondered what he was guarding. there had been stories, of course; reports of business where management had allowed another company to overstep its bounds. questionable transactions that had been explained away, policies that had been violated but deemed isolated incidents. the devoted attendant deduced that he was the keeper of the many times where management reviewed the matter just long enough to decide no immediate action was necessary, boxed up the report, and sent it downstairs for no one to visit the contents again.
who was he to judge how the establishment was conducting business? those decisions were above his pay grade, and frankly, the guard had it easy watching over stacks of boxes and paper—no matter how disorganized and cluttered that room was. and on top of that, this sentry was honored to work for an establishment that prided itself on the principles of: confidence, steadiness under pressure, discernment and intuition, strength, and dependability. the guard admired these integral principles and strived to hold to them himself.
six months ago, there was talk. talk of an upheaval in conduct. trusted fellow companies—three, to be exact—had been exposed through a pattern of repeated breaches and ethical violations that the guard's establishment could not overlook anymore. a consultant was brought in to look around with an outsider's perspective. and that was when the guard began to suspect change was imminent, which made him nervous.
the consultant asked many questions, and listened, and wandered down halls forgotten which helped the board of the establishment to see that strategic pivots would benefit the company immensely, and that would begin with management. no one in the company expected things to move as quickly as they did, and the guard keeping his post deep within the walls had not witnessed all the changes first hand, which brought an unsettled feeling. he knew from a lifetime of experience that transformation was uncomfortable without fail. he did not like change.
one of the most surprising moments for the guard was when the consultant began looking into the principles the company prided itself on. the consultant uncovered that the principles themselves were not the problem; no—the principles were worth holding onto. it was the methods management had been using to achieve them that needed to change. the consultant pointed out those methods had been far more costly to the company than anyone had realized:
- confidence was obtained when staying in control.
- steadiness under pressure was achieved by overriding distress.
- discernment and intuition were trusted so long as conclusions were not destabilizing or inconvenient.
- strength was measured by how little the company had to rely on others.
- and dependability was achieved by overriding the company's limits.
the guard watched anxiously as the board tested the consultant's findings against the company's history. to his dismay, they found the assessment held. once the board saw what the old methods had cost the establishment, they began dismantling the management structure that had relied upon them. our devoted sentry found discomfort in change. change in management meant an unsettling amount of instability. instability brought disorientation; and disorientation brought disruption, questions, and doubts. ...all of this because of change.
change in which the consultant would say was growth and development.
change in which the guard would say was chaotic disruption leading to vulnerability.
change in which the board of directors decided was going to happen nonetheless.
...thus, our loyal doorkeeper would say, was when the hostile takeover began.
the rapid pace at which everything began to shift was destabilizing to say the least. from the guard's perspective, nearly every department around him had changed policy at once. the company was undergoing a deep reorganization in how it handled pressure, conflict, responsibility, and its dealings with others. memos were sent from each department explaining what employees could expect to sort out to make the necessary transformation. the guard wasn't sure how a structure could handle so much reshaping in such little time.
the relations department stopped trying to regulate every interaction, whether within the establishment or beyond it. the new management began retraining staff to stop intervening in every tense exchange merely to restore immediate calm, or sacrificing the company's own ease to keep outside parties pleased. the guard didn't need to deal with others much in the depths where he stood post, but he wondered why restoring immediate calm was such a bad thing.
the operations department began returning responsibility to its proper owners. new management spent time encouraging personnel to see that problems caused by another's choices and actions were no longer automatically reassigned to them for cleanup. plainly put, it was not their job. along those lines, assistance was no longer approved simply because another establishment was struggling.
the risk and compliance teams were given new standards. this memo especially made the guard concerned for his position within the company. it stated that misconduct was not to be minimized, explained away, or filed as an isolated incident merely because confrontation would be inconvenient or full of tension. ...if misconduct could no longer be filed away, what was left for our loyal friend to protect? a second memo stated that new management no longer required conditions to become intolerable before limits were imposed—that, he agreed with.
putting the internal welfare department on the advisory board was a big move, and the guard wasn't sure how he felt about it. the biggest struggle was that the internal welfare department seemed to have a language all its own. so not only was the entire establishment told to welcome and consider the signals, but also to interpret them accurately. and if you could, the next step was to treat the signal as useful information to act upon. ...even if it was more convenient to override and accommodate another department or outside company. how was conceding to an advisor in a distinct language going to make the company stronger? and what did this have to do with the previous methods used to achieve the prided company principles?
he found he did not have long to wait before finding out. new management and the consultant eventually made their way into the depths of the establishment where the guard remained faithfully at his post.
standing outside the kept room, the consultant recommended to the board and new management and that the accumulated boxes and files be removed. most of the hoard had been sent there after the old managers had decided that directly addressing the matter would create more disruption than accommodating it. once enough time had passed, reopening the issue felt increasingly difficult, and so the files remained—unresolved and accumulating. against his trepidation over the situation, the guard had to smile when he overheard this conversation. he relished the fact that he was correct in his deductions about what was in the room he was watching over. though his mood shifted quickly to unease when new management and the advisory board agreed with the consultant that this could no longer be the company's method.
the guard could hardly make sense of the instruction he had just heard. for years, his orders had been remarkably clear: keep others out. protect what had been placed inside. do not allow the contents to be disturbed.
...and now?
open the door.
and just like that, a removal crew was brought in. and one by one, the stacks he had spent a lifetime guarding disappeared. ...were the walls and ground trembling again? our steady friend had never felt more shaken.
as quickly as the room was emptied, they began renovation. all while our sentry stood outside the room. he questioned what modifications were being made as he heard the cacophony of construction taking place, yet could never allow himself to take a look inside. no one had questioned his opinion on the matter of all this change, and they certainly hadn't felt he was important enough to share their plans with. he was also never told to move from his post, so he loyally remained, feeling overlooked and of little importance; all while collecting a paycheck on watching an empty room.
just as with the other transformation within the establishment, our devoted sentinel found the room was modified quickly. besides the hoards of unresolved incidents and violated policies being removed, he tried to catch a glimpse of other odd things being taken out as well. was nothing to remain the same? portions of walls were being removed, old flooring, and then... the door of which, our resolute watchman stood post at, was taken down. how did they expect him to do the job to the best of his ability without a door?
i am certain you can imagine how wide our sentinel's eyes became, the day the door frame was widened into an archway. really; how did they expect him to keep others out with an entrance that large? ...or would he be dismissed altogether? did anyone even see him there? did his life's work mean nothing? still he remained, waiting to see this through. waiting for further instructions.
it seemed to our stalwart friend, that as quickly as they entered, the remodeling crew cleaned up their things and left. in the silence of the aftermath, the guard's curiosity won over and he decided it was time to take a look at the room he was keeping watch over. as he approached the newly formed archway doubled in width of the former door, he stood astonished at the transformation. furniture and decor had been brought into a room completely unrecognizable from the cold gray cinderblock walls with metal tables and shelving. was the room this size before?
the guard looked at the room with awe. a fireplace on one wall, large chairs anyone would love to curl up in or sit to chat with one another for hours, a table ready for games in a corner, shelves that touched the ceiling; all with woods and colors in warm tones. the guard was impressed by how cozy and inviting the room felt with the multitude of books lining the shelves, and he found himself curious what types of books he would find there. our devoted keeper pondered if he would now become the watchman over a library. but why would a library of any sort be kept in an establishment such as this? though the room brought the feeling of respite, the man who spent his life in security had never felt so confused and, dare he say it? insecure.
best to stand at his post where he felt the most at ease and wait instruction.
not long after the renovation was complete, the board and the consultant made their appearance. after approving of the beautiful and inviting work of the room, the consultant asked the board what the guard's task would be now? after light consideration, without really understanding what the room was for, the board suggested that perhaps the guard should stand in the newly formed archway, assuming this would be easier for the guard to not only keep watch of who approached the room, but also what was happening inside it. reasoning that if anything was left unattended, the watchman could make certain it was taken care of. concluding, no overlooked incidents would ever accumulate and be filed away recreating the methods that caused the hoarded clutter of the old room.
how did our loyal sentry feel about this? absolutely overwhelmed—not to mention, a bit passed over. the new responsibilities would be much more difficult than his old position required.
the guard tried; he really did. he had to get this right. without knowing what the room would be used for, he couldn't predict the types of people he should expect coming and going. he attempted to prepare himself for the amount of people he may need to confront. he stayed at a vigilance that, quite frankly, was exhausting. for he was in fear of being removed if he got this wrong; just as the old managers and the contents of the old room were.
our determined friend tried to remain alert and cautious about every movement around him. attempting to detect any misdeeds or violations before they had even been executed. this only resulted in him jumping at every noise, and his muscles trembling while staying at the ready. why would they assign such a heavy weighted task to one person without conversing and communicating with him regarding the ambivalence of the task. the way he was doing this was not sustainable. he was sure to fail... perhaps he should give in, and resign.
the board of directors noticed something was not right. although they had seen improvements in the departments with the new management supporting new policy methods, there was still a sense that made the establishment feel unsteady and
