Culture change is never easy and happens best drip by drip by drip. So how we as leaders (and we all are leaders) react to something new or different sets the tone for how the rest of the organisation will respond. People are watching to see how we respond and how we do creates ripples throughout our organisations.

So when a Prime Minister brings her baby to the UN, people notice. When an MP kicked out of parliament for bringing her newborn to work, people notice. And people notice too when a MP brings his newborn to work after his paternity leave ends and the Speaker of the House not only welcomes the MP back, but also takes a turn of feeding the newborn while carrying out his duties as the speaker of the house.

How we respond has a ripple affect. What we celebrate, permit, ignore, refuse, creates ripples. People notice and it reinforces existing norms and culture or creates space for something new to grow.

The choice is ours, but the impact is beyond just us.

Photo by Linus Nylund