The purpose of this research study is to explore the nature of change agentry and the embodied experiences of internal change agents who identify as Edgewalkers within corporate settings. More specifically, this study examines what it is like to be an Edgewalker working as an internal change agent using their consciousness, spirituality, and creativity as personal resources for their change agentry. The focus is on the essential nature of Edgewalking —that is, the integrated body-mind-spirit experience—of the high Performing change practitioner, within the context of the self-organization relationship. Given that so much successful organizational change is facilitated by people that so many organizational leaders just do not understand, this research study is essential to future research, theory, training, collaboration, and change management practice in the field.
Okay, so that was also hard just riffing from a template. So let’s start again and just not care.
What’s the problem? Organizational leaders are reliant on high-performing change practitioners to facilitate successful transformations, yet very few leaders understand us or what it’s like to be us. This can result in unintentional detrimental environments, relationships, and expectations for the HPCP. It can also result in the company’s leadership unintentionally killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
The problem: research has focused more on the Tangibles of change agentry. But few people understand what it’s really like for high-performing change practitioners to be the odd duck in their corporate setting. Research paints us as hard to be with. It’s hard for us, too.
I still like this one.
What’s the problem? Organizational leaders are reliant on high-performing change practitioners to facilitate successful transformations, yet very few leaders understand us or what it’s like to be us. This can result in unintentional detrimental environments, relationships, and expectations for the HPCP. It can also result in the company’s leadership unintentionally killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
What am I really writing about? Studying? Odd ducks in organizations Self-actualization and change agency.
What’s the problem. The intangible and self-actualizing things that make internal change agents exceptional at what they do can also be challenging for their organizations to understand or support, and difficult for the change agents themselves to articulate or describe.
We’re different from our organizations yet everyone wants to understand based on what we do. Problem is, the secret sauce is in how we are and that’s stuff organizations tend to shy away from because it’s intangible and messy. Processes are neat and clean. But a process duplicated without the underlying intangibles does not yield the same result. Businesses want to downplay or suppress the importance of the intangible, and we may downplay our intangibles as we work with corporate partners.
What’s the question: what is the nature of self-actualized change agentry as defined by Conner, Neal, and others?
What is it like to be a highly actualized internal change practitioner in a less-actualized organizational environment?
What’s it like to be a self-actualized internal change agent? What’s it like to be different in your organization? What’s it like to see what others in your organization do not? Opportunities, obstacles, cliffs, etc.
What’s the purpose of my study:
To shine a light on the lived experiences of self-actualizing internal change practitioners, to make their stories and experiences visible to others, to help others see themselves through this lens of self-actualized change agentry, to inspire hope and show that a person can bring more of their authentic self to what they do and not get struck by lightning, to feed future theory and model development, to help business leaders better understand, relate to, and partner with their organization’s odd duck change agents.
Make it visible Help others understand and relate Pave the way for future research, theory, and model development.
I should just whip a draft together and turn it in, knowing full well that it will not be perfect or complete. I look forward to things getting nice and tight, but I am probably a year away from that happening. So let it be where it is right now and continue to explore and refine.
So close, I can finish this off before heading to the airport. Then when I’m there I can finish it for submission and respond to comments. Oh my goodness.
