Groundswell: Influencing Change from the Inside Out

I’ll never forget when I left the small business we owned in Austin, Texas, for an executive-level position in our franchised organization’s corporate headquarters. After working in the field for 15 years, I was excited to serve the company in a bigger way and had plenty of ambitious ideas coming from the field. As an enthusiastic activator who was passionate about our company and all we could accomplish, I couldn’t wait to get started!

Reality Check

But I was barely up and running before I naively stepped on toes and ruffled feathers due to my lack of awareness of the unspoken rules and silos that reside in larger organizations. It was my first experience working in a corporate atmosphere. Crazy enough, I loved it! Working in a corporate environment handed me unique challenges I was determined to overcome.

It wasn’t easy though, and I finally realized that my up-front, head-on approach to making changes and influencing leadership within the organization wasn’t going to get me anywhere but on the curb. (more…)