If you have the right Attitude… - Organisation Development

…you can find any aptitude you need.

Watching the TV coverage of the Diamond Jubliee did you get a sense of pride in being British?  At the moment when the crowd outside Buckingham Palace sang God Save the Queen did you not feel a tiny little swell in your chest regarding our nation?

We British do pageantry better than anyone in the world.  Other countries might demonstrate their military prowess with marches in squares, but when it comes to flag waving and gold leaf I think Britain is a world-beater.  I love the eccentricity of our nation, the fact that we can have street parties in the pouring rain, put on a 7.5 mile flotilla of boats, line the mall in our thousands unable to see anything but cheering anyway, and light up the palace for a concert.

Everything is emblazoned with the union jack from clothes and food to paperwork, and people are wearing the flag with pride.  But seeing the coverage this weekend I was struck by the contrast with the normal news coverage about Britain as a nation.  This weekends pictures were a far cry from the normal Brit-bashing, austerity smashing, recession crashing nation in crisis.  This weekend the nation stood up and said to the world - crisis what crisis?

It felt good, didn’t it.? Not to be focusing on our current difficult circumstances but standing up for who we are, coming together as communities and as a nation.  It felt the same when the Olympic torch relay came to town.

Maybe this year is providence for the British nation.  The Diamond Jubilee, the Olympic Relay, on Friday Euro 2012 starts, then the Olympics, it is a chance for us to put the Great back into Great Britain.  And that makes a difference.

It is very easy in difficult circumstances to get downtrodden, to focus on the negatives, and feel like you are on a hamster wheel, running hard and getting no where.  Looking up, seeing what is possible is very difficult in that place and it affects how we feel about our past, our future, ourselves and our organisation .

I believe that this weekend has made the British nation look up, literally (for the fly past) and metaphorically.  We have seen what we are capable of when we come together as a nation.  We have connected with our neighbours and with complete strangers, and suddenly the burden doesn’t seem so great when we are joined together with others.

In organizational life carrying the vision for what could be, can be a very lonely place, and sometimes trying to make the vision happen may be too heavy.  But drawing people together, getting them to line the streets and flag wave and cheer as progress is made will enable all manner of visions to be realized.

Just having the ‘can do’ attitude will mean that you draw together what you need to make things happen – you will find the aptitude you need to achieve whatever it is the organisation is trying to achieve.

Learn to inspire others, convince them of the significance of what the organisation is trying to achieve – getting the right message, to the right people at the right time will greatly enhance your chances of success.

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