You ARE the traffic jam

“You’re not IN the traffic jam, you ARE the traffic jam.”

A beautiful statement by Shirine Moerkerken, giving meaning to social constructivism, on which she bases her interventions in organizations.

You may hate being in a traffic jam, but you are always part of reality. After all, for the other person, you are the traffic jam. So what did you do about it or what can you do differently to improve the situation?

And if you don’t know for a while: that’s totally fine. Not knowing is a good start for an open search. Engage in that search, because “it is better to act disordered than to act disordered not.” (Weick).

Change is done with search strategies (Shirine) and by “observing loosely,” according to Arend Ardon, with improvisation and experimentation. After all, “at a standpoint you stand still.” (Jules Deelder).

And should anyone catch you taking a different stand last week than you do today, don’t get defensive. Rather, quote Nelson Mandela: “Hmmm, apparently I have two opinions on this complex subject.”

It was raining inspiring quotes at the Change with Impact 2024 Annual Conference, organized by Verhaal met Impact and The Change Studio, at the beautiful location of Burgers Zoo in Arnhem.