David and Goliath
What if we uncover impediments, we make their impact visible to the organization, but we don’t have the authority to make any changes to alter the state of affairs ourselves? How does it make you feel?
It can make you feel very, very, small.
This feeling is especially acute the larger the organization you are part of is. You feel like a lone voice in the wilderness. It’s tempting to give up. That’s when we need to switch gears and put on our change agent hats (in my case: a pith helmet). There are some great guides for effecting change in large organizations (e.g. Linda Rising’s Fearless Change). It requires building a long term adoption strategy, getting a mentor, obtaining sponsors, and generally girding ones loins for a long term effort.
Taking on the corporate Goliath is real work. It requires a stubborn streak of truly epic proportions. It ain’t easy being David, but the rewards, for you, the organization, and ultimately your customers, are worth it.