The Paradox of Change: Fake It ‘Til You Make It
A.K.A. How to Change Institutions while Institutionalizing Change
Implementing true cultural change is a process laden with irony. The leaders who pioneer difference are rarely those who embody it. Instead, the first generation to spur transformation does so by going through the motions despite not fully “getting” it.
I Know Best…?
Sound counterintuitive? Not really. Think of parenting. The core value shifts many experiences as mothers and fathers have little to do with sudden enlightenment. More often, they involve pretending to be better people than we actually feel ourselves to be in the hope our children will internalize this modeled behavior. We “fake it ‘til we make it”—projecting qualities not yet hardwired internally so our kids might absorb something better than our current reality.
At least, that’s how I did it.
The Pressure is On
The same goes for organizational change. If we’re being honest, the impetus for cultural innovation typically comes from outside of the C Suite, whether it’s by social pressure, client culture, or talent demanding new norms. Legacy leadership, defaulting to the status quo, takes cues from this groundswell when they realize or are forced to confront the fact that change is upon them. Though the “why” behind needed changes may feel foreign, the savviest of executives understand that adapting to new cultural standards is essential if they don’t “get it” yet.
So they fake it. These influencers model emergent norms that don’t entirely jibe with their own generational values, for example, putting in face time with younger staff and mimicking emergent flexibility standards even while secretly preferring old modalities. They start walking the walk even if, in private among their peers, they aren’t talking the talk.
The beauty, of course, is that the next generation observes—and integrates—this posturing as their cultural baseline, layering their own evolving expectations on this new foundation. They absorb executive modeling that, though not fully authentic, moves the bar for leadership expectations far beyond the previous status quo.
This institutionalizes change and changes institutions.
Culture Flows Downhill
The key to success is reminding ourselves that culture flows downhill. Authority figures demonstrate priorities via behavior, which subordinates then mirror and internalize. The transformation we wish to see is catalyzed by leaders willing to fake it ‘til the next crop makes it their new normal.
This is how the endless cycle of learned limitation gets broken - by responding to the talent marketplace and future leaders around us rather than insisting on broadcasting our own values or criticizing those of others.
Real change starts with the courage to model new norms. Even imperfectly. The rest takes care of itself.
