It All Starts at the Top

Any book about change management or culture transformation will emphasize how critical leadership buy-in is to change adoption. For example, in HBS professor John Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model, “building a powerful coalition” (of leaders) is the second step in the change process (after establishing urgency surrounding the need for change). In my opinion, sustainable change simply cannot happen without the support, urging, permission, and ideally modeling by an organization’s leadership.

Thinking about the power of leaders within organizations, what could be a better place to support and model healthy behavior than in the White House’s kitchen, gym, and corridors? I guess Michelle Obama agrees, and I’m thrilled to see her seizing the opportunity to speak out about and model healthy behavior. According to an article in today’s International Herald Tribune, “In her first weeks in the White House, Mrs. Obama has emerged as a champion of healthy food and healthy living. She has praised community vegetable gardens, opened up her own kitchen to show off the White House chefs’ prowess with vegetables and told stories about feeding less fattening foods to her daughters.” She is talking the talk AND walking the walk. Finally. And hopefully, her example is helping some Americans — rich, poor, urban, rural, men and women — think they can make positive changes in their lives.

Beyond being a great example for the American people and global community, Mrs. Obama is a great role model for the leaders of today’s public and private sector organizations. After all, how is an executive who survives on salty airplane food, sleeps three hours a night, never sees her mother, and has no time to pursue her interests going to lead her employees along a healthier physical, emotional, and structural path? She simply can’t. Employees are empowered by both words and action, and it’s time our nation’s CEOs start to embrace the health status they want to see their employees achieve. Hopefully they will take the cue from one of their leaders, Mrs. Obama. And in exchange, I’ll bet they will see more productive, more satisfied, and maybe even happier employees.