Intention and Concern: Why Reinterpret Stories Instead of Changing Mindsets

Understanding the motives behind actions is crucial in organizational culture. Let’s explore the concepts of intention and concern and how they influence organizational human behaviour. By focusing on reinterpreting stories rather than changing mindsets, we can foster a culture of growth and collaboration.

Defining Intention and Concern

– Intention: Something that you want and plan to do.
– Concern: Something that involves or affects you or is important to you.

Concern refers to something that invites action, not just something that causes worry.

Intention as an Action Before Action

From Newtonian cause-effect principles to Freudian unconscious drives, it is often believed that intention precedes action. This perspective suggests that a conscious decision-making process drives every action.

However, this raises the question: what drives the initial act of choosing? If an intention precedes every action, what influences that intention? This can lead to an infinite regress of prior actions and intentions.

Instead, consider Nietzsche’s perspective: there is no being behind doing; the deed itself is everything.

The Deed is Everything

Human beings act and then create stories to make their actions coherent to themselves and others. These stories are interpretative, meaning different interpretations can exist and compete. However, not all interpretations are equal; some are better founded than others.

An interpretation of an action considers three key aspects:

1. Concerns: What influences us to act, considering factors beyond ourselves?
2. Socio-historical Explanations: Past explanations that shape the possibilities of action, helping create coherence and reduce complexity.
3. Personal Intention: Planned explanations for future acts may need adaptation as actions unfold.

Reinterpreting Stories vs. Changing Mindsets

Instead of focusing on changing the inner drives that motivate actions, it is more effective to reinterpret people’s stories about their actions. Change involves inviting people to reinterpret their actions and understand their motivations differently rather than enforcing a new mindset.

Transform Your Organizational Culture

Ready to transform your organization’s culture? By understanding the organization’s narratives, we can collectively reinterpret them and steer culture.

Run a Culture Sprint with us to understand and steer your organization’s culture. Through expert consulting and innovative strategies, we create data-based participatory solutions. Ready to see the change?

Schedule a consultation and discover how a Culture Sprint can help you understand and change your organisation’s culture.