Empathy and change | Guest Opinion

Change is never easy, whether in an organization or more broadly. It takes individuals seeing beyond themselves to accomplish a shared vision and a common goal. This is a huge challenge in a diverse society with wildly diverse viewpoints. But here are three things to consider when trying to achieve lasting change.

First, and perhaps most difficult, is to “see differently”. Years ago, I remember watching a video where playing cards were flashed on the screen. Only when the video was slowed did it become obvious that two of the cards were the “wrong color”. A normally red card, like the eight of diamonds, was black and a normally black card, like the Jack of spades was red. It was extraordinarily difficult to see the truth. We “saw” what we expected to see.

This happens to us all. Research has shown that to understand our complex world, our brain creates “shortcuts” to process data. These shortcuts become ingrained based on our own experience and what we experience around us. They can cause us to literally be blind to other ways of seeing the world, and, more insidious, to believe that ours is the only right way. Nowadays, these mental blind spots are reinforced by the news channels and social media we choose.

It takes great effort to understand those significantly different from us, who think differently, act differently, and look differently. It is much easier to simply follow our prewired inclinations down well-worn paths to the same old conclusions and approaches. Unfortunately, by doing so, we can fall prey to untruths and manipulation. To change, we must force ourselves to consider different perspectives. This expands our thinking, improves creativity and problem solving, and allows us to find new solutions to seemingly entrenched problems.

The second is to commit to a shared vision and common purpose. A shared vision directs us forward and provides the north star by which we can judge our progress and actions. We are fortunate in the United States in that we began with a powerful founding principle, that each of us was “created equal” and endowed with “inalienable rights”. We have returned to this aspiration time and again as we seek to become a better country.

But we have yet to live up to its promise. When our implementing institutions fail to abide by our principles, when they are corrupt or unfair, then social trust is lost, creating a fractured and discontented citizenry. To change this, our institutions must be both representative of, and responsive to, the people they serve. We, in turn, must act as good citizens, recognizing that with individual rights comes social responsibility.

The Academy of Arts and Sciences has recently released a document that proposes several specific actions to refresh our democracy, A Common Purpose, Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century. We should take these recommendations seriously and actively support the structural changes needed to reestablish institutional trust.

This leads to the third point. Real change requires not only tearing down but building up. This takes time and persistence as well as energy. The young have energy and they deserve a voice since they must live in the world that is created. But age can provide wisdom, the wisdom born of seeing both change and its lack, and the lessons learned from each. Wisdom recognizes the need for persistence, and the patience to build something lasting. A new house must be built on a strong foundation, but a new house must also be built. Let’s begin.

This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 12:25 PM with the headline "Empathy and change | Guest Opinion."