# The Hard Work of Authenticity and Thinking By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2024-09-20 Few people know why they feel a certain way, so they grasp onto the nearest approximate emotion or suggestion. This leads to problems when asked to speak about their thoughts and feelings. Many organizations, leaders, and people believe that asking people to speak, listening to their thoughts and feelings, and responding with some action is the definition of a good organizational culture. In many ways, this is true, but these actions are not the culture. One can easily force these things to happen and play the game but fail to progress. Most of the time, it just results in endless frustration. Nevertheless, many managers and organizations insist that people speak their thoughts and feelings as a job requirement. They sit in a meeting, and everyone is required to say something about how they feel. This is unlikely to result in anything other than people making things up because most people do not have anything to say or know exactly why they feel a certain way, let alone how to fix it. In this case, an organization cannot fake it until they make it. Forcing these actions without building a real culture of reflection and thinking that isn't forced to happen immediately and within a short interval takes time, intention, and significant effort. Leaders need to lead and show the way. Reflect out loud, highlight where they've changed their mind, make mistakes and own up to them, and listen much more than speak without authoritarian retribution. At this stage, an astute reader knows that things that take effort and discomfort rarely get implemented in today's organizational culture. There is just too much money to make by scraping the bottom of the barrel. Eventually, there will be nothing left, and then comes the revolution. #### Related Items [[Thinking]] [[Reflection]] [[Authenticity]] [[Management]] [[Organization]] [[Effort]] [[Culture]]