The Power of Perception & Belief: How Relationships Shape Our Organisational Changes

Our relationships define how we perceive our organisations. These perceptions colour everything that we think shape and do. Meaning that when leaders create change they need to understand the relationships will affect perceptions that will significantly impact the response to and success of the change.

How People Usually Think of Their Organisation

When we think of an organisation we tend to think of the things that make it up.

• Who works there? 
• What do they do?
• We focus on the impersonal products and processes.
• We look at the organisational charts and we focus on what’s in the boxes.
• When we measure performance we look at the number of things in boxes.

Learn the power of perception of and organisational change and understand how that is connected to people’s relationships.

Why Do We View Organisations Through Our Own Perceptions?

We view organisations through our perception because our world view is governed by the model of the world that we have in our head. Our view of the world is then perceived through what we already think we know. This is the psychology theory of Active Inference and John Boyd’s OODA Loop. These theories explain how we view the world through the prism of what we perceive and believe rather than what actually happens.

How Our Relationships Within an Organisation Govern Our Perceptions

Our beliefs and perceptions are shaped by the relationships we have. What we associate people and things with. We will interpret what we see very differently depending on our relationship to the person doing it.

Evidence shows that cultural awareness training improves understanding and communication with others who may look and act differently from ourselves. (Verywell Mind)​​ 

Whilst exposure to a more diverse range of people from a young age help moderate stereotypes, influencing how we perceive others and form beliefs​ (Psychology Today)​.

A very small number of people are superconnected within our organisations. These people act as communication hubs and so the perceptions of few people have a disproportionate affect on how your change is viewed.

An Example of How Our Beliefs Shape Our Perceptions

An outside observer would not be surprised to see a man cleaning the loo. They would think nothing of it and walk on by.

But we would be surprised if we recognise that man as the MD of our organisation. We would start thinking differently about our MD and the task he was doing. We are then much more likely to act on it. Either asking the MD about it… or even join in and start cleaning the loo ourselves.

How Our Perceptions Affect Our Day

The same is true of the things we interact with every day.

You could get the exact same email from a good friend inviting you for a chat over a coffee or someone from the finance team who have been chasing you for a report. 

Whilst the content of the email might be exactly the same what perceive what you think and how you act maybe different.

Then again most people have a positive relationship to coffee. Meaning the meeting is more likely to be a good one.

Understanding How Perceptions Influence Others at Work

When we want to understand how people and why people act the way they do. Stop looking at what they are doing and ask about how they feel about what they do? Understand the relationship they have to the things they do?

Our Perceptions and Beliefs Affect Everything 

Our experiences of our relationships determine how we perceive and judge every action. We have all been in relationships where the cute little thing becomes a partner’s annoying habit. The habit may have been there all along. All that has changed is our perception. The same is every bit as much true in organisations.

Team Performance And Fear.

When teams get afraid, the emotion of fear can quietly spread throughout the team. Fear can quietly and significantly undermine team performance without even people being aware they are afraid as i’ve written about here.

What This Means For Organisational Change

If you want to lead or make changes in an organisations don’t just focus on the things of change. Understand the relationships people have to those things. As those relationships will often govern people’s perceptions of the change. We need to motivate people for organisational change. We need to think how perceptions beliefs and relationships can come together to motivate people for change.

Conclusion

Our relationships within an organisation deeply influence our perceptions. They shape how we interpret events and interact with others. Recognising this, leaders of change should focus not only on changing processes, but also on nurturing positive relationships and cultural awareness. This will help  organisational changes to be more effective and sustainable, as they address the human factors that drive how people perceive and engage with their work. By prioritising relational dynamics, leaders of change can foster a more cohesive and responsive organisational environment.