The Alchemist
David L. Bevett, BS, MPH
March 9, 2002
Leaders of organizations across the world are looking for a solution, to find a way to transform
internal dissonance and diversity into synergy and competitive advantage. Yet, “We find modern
living organized so that it demands the least possible direct dependence on others.” However,
“…there has arisen a sense that [one’s] future is not dependent on [their] neighbor but rather on [one’
s] job or, at most, [one’s] employer” (Dalai Lama, 1999, p.7-8). And given the central role and
influence of organizations, perhaps they will prove the learning environment for the saga of
transformation to unfold. Thus, people must come together, united by the realization that there is
everything to gain or lose. Hence, a new kind of leadership must emerge from the primordial void of
today’s organizational chaos. Individuals dedicated to trust-building and collaboration, committed to a
life of learning, serving, and leading. Individuals willing to embark on the journey to find the elusive
substances with the power to evolve and transform dysfunctional thinking and practices into
enlightened thinking and action: individuals dedicated to the quest of the alchemist.
The reality is that organizations must learn to work together to survive. Yet, there is much
communication, healing and bridge building to be done. Individuals leading these efforts must serve
as “Boundary spanners…sensitive to what outside stakeholders like customers, suppliers, unions, and
regulators expect and how those expectations mesh with the cultures of their own organizations.”
And “…negotiate relationships between inside and outside sets of role-senders—a requirement that is
likely to motivate them to learn the basic understandings of each” (Trice & Beyer, 1993, p.360). In
addition, it is critical for boundary spanners to serve as role models and lead by example, because
“Managerial practices are probably the most potent carriers of cultural meaning” (p.365).
The greatest obstacle to organizational transformation may be finding a way for people to reframe
their perception of the organization, its leadership, and its culture. Yet, “Cultures are inherently
messy, ill-formed, and often full of contradictions” (Trice & Beyer, 1993, p.358). And “The sense-
making processes [people] use inevitably contain many discrepancies between reality and ideologies,
and between individuals’ and groups’ understandings of one another” (p.358). Hence, it is critical for
leaders involved in boundary spanning to recognize the conflict, discontinuities and paradoxical views
that exist within and between individuals and groups. Yet, understand that the tension created by the
dissonance also represents a source of kinetic energy that has set into motion the potential for
change. Indeed, to understand that “…cultures continually change and are ready to change” (p.358).
As stated above, one of the most challenging obstacles to organizational change is peoples’ perception
of their organization. Indeed, the group experiences and interpersonal dramas that unfold in the
course of business have a lasting effect and leave residual memories and impressions on people and
organizational cultures. This truth is evidenced by Trice and Beyer (1993) in that “… persons who
are or have been occupants of the role to be attained actually deliver the training, they will help to
ensure that the new occupants do not deviate markedly from what was done in the past” (p. 389).
Thus, leaders “who seek to maintain a culture will want to support and encourage those cultural
forms that help to dissipate cultural strains and those that celebrate positive feelings and
accomplishment” (p. 388). And “Managers who want to change existing cultures need to find ways
to incorporate new elements into prevalent ideologies and cultural forms” (p.394).
Powerful transformations can occur by helping people and groups in conflict to understand that “If
we participate in the cause, it is not possible for us not to participate in the effect” (Zukav, 1989, p.
39). Further, that “We, ourselves, shall take part of the fruit of our every intention” (p.39). And
therefore, it is “…wise for us to become aware of the many intentions that inform our experience, to
sort out which intentions produce which effects, and to choose our intentions according to the
effects that we desire to produce” (p.39). Stated differently, if leaders can help people to comprehend
that they have power, they may come to recognize that their power can be used to destroy the
organization or build and restore the organization. However, leaders must first thoroughly evaluate
themselves and “…assess their own organizations’ current cultures as accurately as they can” prior
to taking on the immense responsibility and risk of truly empowering people and catalyzing the
process of “cultural innovation” and change (Trice & Beyer, 1993, p.358). In effect, leaders must
prepare themselves for the quest to become the alchemist: individuals who find the substances to
transform the basest elements of the human psyche into the shimmering radiance of enlightenment.
References
Trice, H.M., & Beyer, J.M. (1993). The Cultures of Work Organization. Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Zukav, G. (1989). The Seat of The Soul. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc.


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