Building Culture From the Middle Out: Leading Change Through Your Zone of Influence, by Jonathan H. Westover PhD

Abstract: This article provides a framework for implementing sustainable cultural change within organizations from the middle levels out, rather than solely top-down directives. It explores how organizations' cultures emerge through daily interactions and the limitations of leadership-mandated shifts. The concept of one's "zone of influence" is introduced as the sphere of impact natural to each person's current role. Strategies are outlined for leveraging daily interactions, meetings, networks and processes under individuals' control to subtly shift behaviors and mindsets from the grassroots. Industry examples demonstrate how coordinated grassroots efforts can compound over time into organization-wide cultural evolution. The framework equips readers with an empowering approach for cultural evolution through cultivating everyday change agents throughout all levels of the organization.